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Cyclists take spin around Joliet paths
May 21, 2007
Ken O'Brien, staff writer kobrien@scn1.com
The Herald News
Pertains to I & M Canal State Trail, Rock Run Trail, Joliet Junction Trail, Joliet, Crest Hill
More than 500 people came out Satirday for the first ever 'Ride the Rock,' A 16.5-mile bike loop on local trails

May 21, 2007
By Ken O'Brien staff writer

Roberta Beaudoin wanted to spin her wheels.

She was sitting on her bicycle on Saturday morning, ready to start "Ride the Rock," a 16.5-mile cycling event sponsored by the Will County Forest Preserve District as a way to promote the longest bike loop in the county.
» Click to enlarge image
Kate Foster of Crest Hill pulls her children, Addison, 2, and Jack, 6, as she enters the first rest area at Joliet Fire Station No. 7 during the Will County Forest Preserve's "Ride the Rock" bicycle ride.

Beaudoin calls her bike "Black Betty," the female version of the Fonz, the 1950s character on the television series "Happy Days." The bike has a black frame, with white and pink on the wheels and a dice for an air cap. She hung a pink water bottle on the handlebars.

"It is my goal at age 60 to do something spectacular," Beaudoin said. "Black Betty and I are going for a trip."

At about 10 a.m., she hit the road for a ride that took more than 500 people through parts of Crest Hill, Joliet and Rockdale. Before riders left, Joliet Police officers John Hanke and Ed Johnson performed safety checks, which included inspecting brakes and measuring the air pressure of tires.

Steve Breese and Rachel Burke, both of Palatine, arrived with plans for one to pedal a bike and the other to ride a unicycle. He began with the unicycle.

"The longest I have ever rode on this is 15 miles," Breese said. "And, yes, I think I can do this today."

Starting at a forest preserve just south of Interstate 80, the riders -- of all ages and speeds -- took off between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Over six hours, they cycled the trails of the Rock Run, Joliet Junction and the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

The clockwise loop took riders through wooded parts of the Joliet Junior College campus, the Rock Run Preserve, the Theodore Marsh and then south to the I

   
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