We get a lot of days with a wind out of the south or southwest, and this is the route for a day like that!  You should know, the first 26 miles of this ride, with a south or southwest wind, are really gonna suck.

The payback is the rollers on New Lothrop/Durand Road from about mile 40.5 to mile 45 – most of which has a slight downhill to it.  You’ll have a slight climb at Miller Road, but other than that, hold onto your butt… So, you’re heading downhill, with a tailwind?  Well, let’s work some cycling math at this – there’s an equation for this:  Warm (Downhill + Tailwind) = PURE AWESOME.

I’m telling you, this route is fun.

Now, there is one specific trait to this route that won’t make much sense to someone who doesn’t know Durand.  At 10 miles and again at 44.5 miles, we’re going around a specific section of Newburg Road:

If you look close, you’ll see a train track running through Durand at a kooky angle.  Durand is a major train station for Amtrack to Chicago… not to mention freight lines as well.  That’s not one track, it’s four or five… and at such an extreme angle, the only way to safely cross that railroad crossing is to go way out on the wrong side of the road, to cut all the way across all lanes of traffic to the right edge of the road.  We’ve had one friend break a hip, several skinned knees and elbows, damaged bikes, a tandem go down, my wife took me out once, accidentally(wet track)… folks, that track is evil.  If it’s a little wet out, you. will. go. down.  We’re avoiding it entirely.  Sure, you’ll have to cross the tracks elsewhere, but not all at once and at better angles.

Other than that little hiccup, the route is a lot of fun.

If this is your first go around, you must read the “How To” and Disclaimer first, (here)

You can find the Ride With GPS route (here)
The Strava Route is (here)

Maps by Google