Autumn is sweeping through DeKalb treetops, and local bike paths offer routes away from the exhaust and tumult of traffic to appreciate the season.

Although in certain areas the routes are indiscernible from streets and exist only as green rectangular signs which point out the next turn, there are lengths of paved trails which snake along the Kishwaukee River or through area parks.

These are the highlights of the paths for those looking to escape the clamor of the numerous and frequently inattentive local drivers.

For the cyclist seeking a rougher, less urban experience, the Great Western Trail is well within reach.

Beginning near the DeKalb Taylor Municipal airport on the northeast corner of North Peace Road and Pleasant Street, this route runs north into Sycamore.

It detours through the Sycamore Community Park and Golf Course before popping out onto State Street and developing into a rugged gravel trail that follows Rt. 64 into St. Charles.

However, with as many miles as the Great Western Trail offers, it leaves something to be desired by local enthusiast Jay Barre. Barre, a 22-year-old NIU chemistry grad student has been working on bikes at the North Central Cyclery, 534 E. Lincoln Highway, for about three years. His critique of the trail:
“Kinda boring.”

Barre has biked a diligent three thousand miles since January, and says he banked five thousand this past year. His exploits take him as far as Wisconsin, but he said in this area he focuses more on road biking.

But Barre, owner of five different bicycles, according to the North Central Cyclery Web site, may be more difficult to please than the layman cyclist.

With two trails present inside the DeKalb/Sycamore boundaries, and more available throughout the state, there are numerous opportunities for area bike owners to get out and soak up those autumnal colors before the landscape turns to frost and bitter cold.

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