Episode 030: Top Motorcycle Roads in Illinois - Best Motorcycle Roads - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtJKxe4wYGI

Transcript:

(00:00) what term do you use to refer to an Illinois politician I don't know [Music] inmate hello and welcome to best motorcycle roads I'm Tom and I'm Todd we have over 65 years of combined motorcycling experience and 30 years of planning and riding motorcycle trips we're here to share with you everything we've learned over those years our goal at best motorcycle roads is simple make your next motorcycle trip the best it can be we dive into technology planning packing the roots and everything in between from essential prep to

(00:42) Unforgettable Roots we've got you covered before we Kickstart today's Journey we ask you to sign up for our BMR Rider alerts it's our way of keeping you in the loop with the latest rides tips and stories we promise no spam only the essentials to enhance your motorcycle Adventures join the BMR crew today we'll put a link in the show notes this segment about motorcycle gear reviews and tips we call the toolkit let's talk about heat gear gear for the heat we're rolling summertime now and it

(01:15) gets hot out there yeah and last time we spent a lot of time like on hydration if you didn't hear that go back and listen but but also it really helps you know some of the early years I would take my coat off I'd be riding with you know short sleeves and there's a lot of people that do that and if that's good for them that's fine but like I always feel like I have insects crawling under my skin if I do that and then you know you've talked many times about proper like sunscreen and the more I covered up

(01:44) my skin when we riding the better I always felt so like I continued to kind of add different things including like mesh gear to ride and and really I'm a fan so that's kind of what we're promoting here I guess but you can get everything from a mesh coat to mesh pants to you know long sleeve shirts that Wick kind of the sweat away and cool um it's all really good I mean and every major manufacturer has some sort of a gear like that um we've talked about different kinds there's some armor

(02:16) that fits under your clothes and that kind of Wicks away and brings in you know coolness um I don't know I'm a big fan of it I like it a lot because I feel like I just feel more comfortable at the end of the day when we're ring when it's really hot so I don't know what you're feeling about it I do like the the jackets that are you know meshing the sleeves and you know got some mesh in the front and and mine has a liner too that I can you know unzip that you know for that hot weather but uh absolutely I I like that it it

(02:45) really does my favorite thing about riding the heat we riding to Memphis I think you were meeting us that day and we pulled into this convenience store and we walked in and the AC was on of course which was great and I just remember we asked do you mind if we step in the cooler for a minute and just hang out cuz it was so freaking hot oh my gosh and the lady's like okay I bet that felt great oh my gosh it's probably bad we probably over overcooled overed yeah ridewise is the section we focus on planning and safety tips in ridewise

(03:15) today we're going to talk a little bit about um doing some planning and since we're going to talk about some Illinois riding today I thought I thought it was Illinois leave the S off please okay um you know some some ways to find some of the best routes other than just listening to our podcast right right um utilize websites like Twisted Road uh best motorcycle roads Facebook group yep uh there's apps like Reaver uh caloto those those can help you discover popular Roes routes that have been chosen by other

(03:50) writers um and and those can often include things like reviews difficulty ratings uh some stunning visuals you know to help you pick the you know your adventure and then join some communities well I think even just in that vein before you go on to the communities like YouTube videos there's a lot of great people that have taken time to record their own video instead of cheating and borrowing somebody else's and I'm not going to throw people under the bus but like look for authentic videos from people that rode the the the roots I

(04:21) mean they've taken time to actually do it instead of just trying to drum up YouTube viewers you know I get all antsy about this but there's so many good like people on YouTube putting great content out and sharing videos that they take it's it's hard to make videos of riding motorcycles and put it out there that's a lot of work and you can tell the difference because it's like these stock video that go by it's like you're just reading things off of paper you're not doing it you know so just be be

(04:50) choosy and when you find them you know like them and give them comments because that helps them too yeah and I know I mentioned you know the forums or Facebook groups yeah yeah there's so many Facebook groups out there you can find Illinois Facebook Illinois you know motorcycle riders you know join join one but if there's a bunch of garbage in there uh you know advertisements and people not even really sticking to the subjects or the topics get out just go find another one there's more the same noise will be in half of them like it's

(05:18) the same post posted seven times of you know this that and the other thing I I like the ones that are really well moderated you know and they stick to topics and they don't allow garbage and people just to you know throw junk in there well and it's hard we we have we know what it's like it's not easy but it's also if you don't keep it clean or keep it to the rules I don't even care what the rules are if that's what you want in there if you want memes and things that's fine

(05:44) and that's okay people like them they're funny but like stick to the rules and then hold those people accountable to it you know yeah but there's so many great communities the motorcycle Maps one oh gosh that's fastic yeah um I saw that he just went over 100, th000 subscribers which is insanity it's a great group too you know like ours is different we do just motorcycle advice for people we try to keep it just to that that's not posting your ride picks that's not promoting your YouTube video none of

(06:14) that not selling your motorcycle we don't even promote this podcast on there even though we're moderators because that's not what it's for you know right so like yeah I mean I love those two groups motorcycle map he's just doing a fantastic job and I really like ours it's very it's narrow laser focused you know if you have a question there's people from all over the US that can answer it you know yeah yeah that's that's the way I would do it for your planning and uh yeah pick pick a state

(06:43) ask certain questions and they'll get answered in those you know we posted pictures of potential rides that we've taken and people are like oh do this do this don't do this don't I mean it's amazing yeah it's amazing the next segment is what we call the mile marker it's our story segment now we have the mile marker so we're in the middle almost is by the end I guess we'll be at the middle of a six-part series we're in Three of six now what we're doing is is talking about the top five best

(07:09) motorcycle roads of Iowa Missouri Illinois Wisconsin Michigan and um Minnesota so I'm enjoying this um hopefully we drum up some controversy and people tell us about their favorite roads that we left off the list because that would be Dandy so yeah top five motorcycle roads in Illinois and no 888's not on the list not one Tollway tollway right it's great no I it's rough too I was on that recently o they and it's constantly under construction at some point too that's true so so our number five Great

(07:45) Road of Illinois is called the Great River Scenic byway so basically where Mississippi Missouri and Illinois rivers come together that's this and so there's some it's not a long set of roads it's just kind of a lot of Roads around Rivers which we always like oh yeah but um one of the things we've also been doing lately is getting better pictures of our bikes with with certain places so in Alton it's the world's tallest man statue which I thought was cool and then there's a mural of a Native American

(08:17) Dragon called the pza bird and then at the same area generally down there there's a lisis and Clark Confluence Tower which I assume is some it's like a historical marker for the lwis and Clark area that they were there so of course the best season of this area would be fall um leaves and temperatures and just it's not a big area down here but just take your time there's just a lot of cool things to see and you being from Illinois you didn't even know it existed more or less so like it's kind of

(08:45) interesting so um it just looks like there's a lot of things to see um number four which is closer to Chicago so people that are in Chicago Illinois River Road and so basically just outside of chic Chicago per Peru Illinois you go down the southeast side of the river down to Peoria and then you cut back and come up the northwest side um a couple state parks uh star Starved Rock henpen canal and then this was self-proclaimed as I was doing the research but probably worth a drive now the world's most beautiful Drive Grand

(09:23) View Drive near Poria Heights so I think spring and fall would be a great time here again all around a river lakish area not too far from Chicago so you're in the cities that's an option to get kind of uh get around there another short one but comes in at number three is the Kaki River Road essentially a 30 mile little run from Willington to can can k k I have too many c not enough CA the first time so um but in this Kaki River State Park there is some historic covered bridges which is interesting in the summertime

(10:03) they have a lot of activities going on in the area um and just a very scenic route around the Kaki river which I think is great for just a casual ride it's not going to be something that's going to take you days and days it's easy to get there and around it and back in a day so um coming in at number two for us was the Illinois Lincoln Highway so this is state border to state border um so Sterling Illinois to sulk Village um and along that way many people know Ronald Reagan's boyhood home and then there's

(10:37) actually a Lincoln Highway Association Museum there which I've never been there um Springtime is best for the weather here but this is a very historical route now this route goes all the way I think from coast to coast I think it goes from Boston to California I think 30 does yeah I think it was one of the first highways that was trans us uh you know clearly Lincoln Highway Lincoln made it happen but man even just in Illinois there's some great spots to stop um lots of historical markers and some of the

(11:09) towns coming across Illinois are really cool gets you off that big Interstate Tollway kind of keeps you rolling at times I think some of it's actually on that but I think you can take the old road as well yeah I've ridden I think I've ridden most of that have you yeah yeah through Illinois I mean it's not exciting a lot of cornfield it's not really hilly but I think the historical markers in the small towns is the thing to see there more or less yeah yeah it is and then of course I think hands down no question

(11:38) even if you disagree about two through five I don't think anyone's disagreeing about the Great River Road yeah 550 miles Galina to Cairo um some great places in between there Galina navu named by Joseph Smith the leader of the Latter-Day Saints you've got the Quad Cities you can stay on the Rock Island Molen side and get the best um the best Euro in my opinion in the whole state of Illinois or Iowa at Uncle Pete's um you know technically St Louis jump across the river some great barbecue I'm sure

(12:12) there's barbecue on the Illinois side and then it all ends down in the shaune National Forest which is pretty awesome in itself it is awesome um late spring early fall of course just a if you don't if you're into a Native American historical sites this ride is it there are so many sites down there that you just forget about if you don't believe me go on YouTube they tell you everything great food the scenery along this is just amazing so yeah I mean we didn't talk about uh savanas on there

(12:45) you know these there's some great places motorcycle places too yeah couldn't agree more that that's Shaunie National Forest I I just remember that being just a great ride yeah I mean it's kind of interesting because if I remember things correctly it's kind of to the there's the Shaunie national forest and there kind of the river valley and you're riding in between the river and the Shaunie National Forest it's just an it's just such a kind of interesting place like it's just kind of weird

(13:14) because I think isn't that the same place where the uh is it the Bald Knob uh cross yeah I think I think so and it's just interesting because like if you go to that cross you can see this Valley and there's so much of that still Illinois and you have a panoramic view there too it it's just kind of interesting it's just it's not like big mountain areas it's just different it's a river valley you know the podcast can be found on best motorcycl roads.

(13:41) com podcast all the information you need will be there uh but you can subscribe on Spotify Amazon music apple pocketcast and YouTube this is the interactive segment we will be looking for input from you uh we want you to send us your questions and suggestions for roads topics and anything else you have on your mind today's roadside Q&A comes from Paul and Deb um they may or may not be from Illinois I guess I don't really know but um I chose this question from them today because they're asking about

(14:13) outside of the popular Roots like the Great River Road uh asking if there's any Hidden Gem roads in in in what region of Illinois uh or illino Illinois that offer stunning views interesting historical stops uh those sorts of things and the the Elizabeth Scales Mound Road it's a scenic route in Northwestern Illinois takes you through some rolling farmlands past your's occasional glimpses of the Mississippi River in the distance and at the the top if you climb up to the very top of the mountain there's a small town uh with

(14:47) just panoramic views everywhere the countryside so it's a it's a nice leisurely ride beautiful scenery uh a very historic Charming little town and uh just a real good destination for for a Hidden Gem you know in Al I think of two more hidden gems okay um one minor one if you're into military stuff so there's an Arsenal in Rock Island has been for a number of years north of there m you can see it right on Google Maps and it's kind of a hidden secret is a huge area where they have underground

(15:22) bunkers where they I think still today store ammunitions that they make from from at the at Arsenal so that they can have stock piles and you'll see them right on Google Maps it's not a big secret you'll just see roads with these mounds and you you'll start to think oh that's what's in those so that's kind of an interesting history buff and second thing we didn't really recognize because I don't think it's one of the best rides but we probably should have put it in there as a bonus is you know Route 66

(15:49) starts in Chicago and ends in St Louis now we've talked about a little bit Route 66 in the past and it's not a great ride in Illinois but there's still some historical markers along the way so like that that is a gem it's kind of a very unpolished needs help gem in Illinois because really when you start to get the Missouri Kansas is when they kind of taking time to build some of that back up but you go right through like if you draw a line a lazy line from Chicago to St Louis that's Route 66 I mean that's where it started

(16:24) oh yeah but it doesn't end there no no no no but I'm saying it travel traverses through Illinois yeah of course you it's a road it's a historic Road um so that's another you know again many of the places I've researched it are closed and shut down in Illinois and they haven't opened them ever again but but there are you know stops yeah you know it was popular yeah for sure I I couldn't agree more that yeah try and find that now it's time for The Last Mile it's the way

(16:52) we close the episode out talk about what we spoke about today and kind of get us beefed up for the next one right so for me you know having grown up in Illinois um I I I know people think of Illinois as being real flat and you know the center of the state you know you know South is but it's not all flat there's plenty of beautiful rolling roads twisties Scenic views you know avoid the tollways avoid the interstates ride the River Roads you know the lake roads the Farmland you know rolling roads find the

(17:24) Charming little towns um on the two-lane roads and and as you get into those places talk to people yeah talk to people along the way they're happy to point out um Scenic and interesting things to see places great point just talk to people because they're going to really point you the way to the really interesting hidden gems yeah no that's a great one I would say the same I mean the Great River Road is just awesome like it's so much better than every other Road in this in Illinois in my opinion um but you know even down in

(17:57) Paduka area I mean I mean Paduka is basically on the Illinois border right there that's another River you know I mean we didn't talk about it today and we still tried to stop at a bunch but the cave in the wall is down there too and that's out just on the other side I think a shauny yeah um you know and it's a hide out of oldtime people and like every place to your point has a little Hidden Gem of something that someone you know would find interesting you know you got Effingham has the Corvette and

(18:30) Volkswagen parts place and you know we love moonshine Illinois there's gems in every state yeah and it's more about the people than it is anything else and I don't know oh for sure for sure it's just a good time and I you know funny Illinois has the weirdest like secondary roads in the southern Illinois part you know it's basically I think most the farmers just run them but I know when we've been cutting through I mean I think they just take care of them because I don't think anybody comes out

(18:55) there but you know it's it's interesting if you ever travel down there and fall you got be careful but it's fun to ride through there during um harvest season because they are just rolling I mean these huge Thousand Acre Farms down there they're just just going at it and it it's neat you know and I'm sure that if you stopped and talked to a farmer you may never get home they just talk to you true yeah so in Iowa too that's true if this episode revved up your day don't keep it to yourself like subscribe and

(19:25) share it with your crew we're all about the thrill of the ride and the bond it creates keep keep the spirit of Adventure alive and remember bikes friends and endless roads the stories ride forever take care [Music] [Music]