I woke up at my hotel room in Eligin West/Dundee (after going on a bike/Metra ride out there on Sunday), getting a bit of a late start (it is a rare Monday off from work after all) and after the usual free hotel breakfast got on my bike and rode to the Big Timber Road Station–(16 Photos), this station opened in 1986 primarily to provide more Commuter Parking stations in the western suburbs, and only sees service on weekdays (another reason I chose the Milwaukee West Line to take this adventure on).
I got on the 9:36 train, realizing I probably needed the 8:36 train to complete my goal of riding all the way to Franklin Park (I have all the stops after that one already photographed from a CTA bus adventure a number of years ago). I take this train to Bartlett–(46 Photos)
I then got on my bike and just started riding, stoping at each Metra stop, it was largely an uneventful bike ride of stations in quick succession:
- Hanover Park–(31 Photos)
- Schaumburg–(28 Photos)
- Roselle–(31 Photos)
- Medinah–(17 Photos)
- Itasca–(28 Photos)
- Wood Dale–(21 Photos)
As I approached Bensonville I realized it was nearing 2:00pm and the train I needed to take to give myself enough time to get the Evening Express train home to South Bend, the only westbound train on weekdays with a bike car. First I road by this park with some old locomotives in it:
I then got to the Bensonville–(17 Photos) Station where the ticket office has closed.
It was an easy ride into Union Station, where I used the North Exit.
I then biked across the loop with a quick-stop for a late lunch. It was then an easy, under two hours ride (with just one other bicyclist in the car) on the 3:58pm Evening Express home to South Bend. Where I got home at 7:00pm happy to have some time to relax before having an intense 5 days at work (I took Monday off to work a Saturday event).