Riding Day 30 - July 7th, 2019
Start: Hillman Ferry Campground
End: Metropolis, IL
Miles: 50.4
Feet climbing per mile: 51
Record of today’s ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/36954131
Today began at 6:30 with a swim with nobody else around. Despite getting up early I didn’t get on the road until 10:30, thirty minutes after yesterday's arrival time. I expected to ride only 44 miles, so there was no need for an early start.
The adventure began shortly after mile 38 when I discovered that the bridge I had planned to use to cross the Ohio River was closed. A woman working in a gas station told me I could get across using the bridge for I-24 (“I’ for “interstate”) a few miles to the west.
I knew biking on the interstate is not allowed in Illinois, but the next closest bridge would have involved riding an additional 80 miles or so. I was pleased to see that traffic was slow due to construction. While riding on the very wide shoulder I was usually moving faster than the rest of traffic.
As I approached the exit ramp I would take, I saw a state patrol car with lights flashing. As I entered the ramp he pulled in front of me, got out, and asked for my drivers license (which I gave him, although I ought to get some other ID to use in such situations). After he spent some time in his vehicle he told me that riding on the interstate is never allowed (actually, in some states it is. He also told me I had contributed to congestion because the other vehicles had to move over for me (not true, since I was the only one on the shoulder, but I didn’t argue the point). He said that when I encountered the closed bridge I should have called the local police and asked for options. For this suggestion I thanked him. I hadn’t thought of that. He let me off with a verbal warning. I wonder what a ticket might have cost me.
I'm spending the night at Fort Massac State Park. Dinner at the nearby Sonic Drive-In was quite satisfying.
End: Metropolis, IL
Miles: 50.4
Feet climbing per mile: 51
Record of today’s ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/36954131
Today began at 6:30 with a swim with nobody else around. Despite getting up early I didn’t get on the road until 10:30, thirty minutes after yesterday's arrival time. I expected to ride only 44 miles, so there was no need for an early start.
The adventure began shortly after mile 38 when I discovered that the bridge I had planned to use to cross the Ohio River was closed. A woman working in a gas station told me I could get across using the bridge for I-24 (“I’ for “interstate”) a few miles to the west.
I knew biking on the interstate is not allowed in Illinois, but the next closest bridge would have involved riding an additional 80 miles or so. I was pleased to see that traffic was slow due to construction. While riding on the very wide shoulder I was usually moving faster than the rest of traffic.
As I approached the exit ramp I would take, I saw a state patrol car with lights flashing. As I entered the ramp he pulled in front of me, got out, and asked for my drivers license (which I gave him, although I ought to get some other ID to use in such situations). After he spent some time in his vehicle he told me that riding on the interstate is never allowed (actually, in some states it is. He also told me I had contributed to congestion because the other vehicles had to move over for me (not true, since I was the only one on the shoulder, but I didn’t argue the point). He said that when I encountered the closed bridge I should have called the local police and asked for options. For this suggestion I thanked him. I hadn’t thought of that. He let me off with a verbal warning. I wonder what a ticket might have cost me.
I'm spending the night at Fort Massac State Park. Dinner at the nearby Sonic Drive-In was quite satisfying.
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