The Ride to Kenosha

So, over the past few days, life has been pretty boring for me, seeing that purple left and work is sparse and school's not in session.
So, in an attempt to break out of the boredom, I decided to go to Kenosha, Wisconsin.

"Kenosha, Wisconsin?" you say, "Why would anyone in their right mind want to go there?!!?"

And I reply that, my goal was to get as far away from Chicago for the least amount of money, in one day, round trip. So I got on Metra's website, and learned that Kenosha, Wisconsin, is nearly 70 miles from my apartment.

I jumped onto the Kenosha Area Convention and Visitors bureau, found all the "cool" things to do in Kenosha, fixed up my bike, and started packing.

The goal was to take the train to Kenosha, then bike up the lakefront north for the morning. Take some pictures, blah blah, maybe find a cool coffee shop or cheese place in Kenosha, you know, make a day of it.

Well, the only morning train leaving for Kenosha left Ogilvie Station at 6:35am, so I set my alarm for dark thirty.

At 5:45 in the morning, on January 2nd, I'm riding east on Grand St. It's dark, tired, and fucking freezing. I hit a notch in the road and my front tire goes flat.

So, after much profanity, and a new innter-tube, I am on the 8:35 to Waukegan, Illinois, which is 20 miles south of Kenosha.

Upon arrival in Waukegan, I realized why I'd never heard of it before.
The only things open were the gas station and the ComEd electrics plant sporting signs saying

"NO TRESSPASSING! POSITIVELY! Violators may be shot."

Even the beach was closed.

"DANGER! PELLIGRO!
ASBESTOS HAS BEEN FOUND ON THESE BEACHES!
KEEP OFF!"

So, I bought a map of northern Illinois, and over the next 6 hours, I biked the 20 miles through the Illinois Beach State Park.

Outside of Waukegan, the scenery was gorgeous, so I broke out the camera, and took a ton of pictures.









Upon arriving in Kenosha, I was very cold, for although I'd worn quite a few layers, It was January 2nd, and global warming notwithstanding, I was freezing my ever-loving Heiny off. Pretty much everything was closed for the holiday, which apparently lasts longer the farther north you go, but I found an open coffee shop called "Common Grounds", got a cup, and read my book for a couple of hours.

Kenosha was gorgeous. A nice little town. But it struck me a bit off guard when I rode out the the lighthouse at the end of the pier and saw, spraypainted on the concrete, a swastika and "Keep Kenosha White!!!"
I wasn't expecting it. Guess it gave me something to think about on the train ride home.






Well, that's that. Hope you enjoyed the photos.