City Proximity

[koval21184]

I am going to be doing the big loop around all the great lakes. I see that in the decription of the ride you must hit certain cities. My question is how close do you actually have to get to said cities without having to go into them to get a DBR? My ride calls for hitting Cleveland and Chicago but some of those areas can get quite congested. I don't want to waste a lot of time going through the cities if I can get a DBR from 10 miles outside and avoid all of the nonsense. Let me know your thoughts or if you know for sure I don't have to go into the actual city.
Thanks for your help.

 

[EricV]

Put the city into Google Maps and it will show you the perimeter outline of the city. You can zoom in to a point where that disappears, but it's useful to look where the city limit crosses your route and look for potential DBR locations. Generally, if the address of the business is within the city, that address will be on the receipt.

 

[MotoToph]

Inside city limits. Easy way to do this is have Google Maps outline Cleveland, for example, and then search for somewhere you can get a DBR to get just inside the city limits. Remember, that the DBR will have to say the city. So be careful of suburbs.

 

[koval21184]

I was actually hoping someone would tell me it had to be within about 15 miles or thereabouts of the city...haha
That seems to be where the most congested areas stop and is a little more easy to get around without sitting in traffic and wasting time.

 

[MotoToph]

I was actually hoping someone would tell me it had to be within about 15 miles or thereabouts of the city...haha
That seems to be where the most congested areas stop and is a little more easy to get around without sitting in traffic and wasting time.

Well, that wouldn't be a challenge then

 

[Ira]

I am going to be doing the big loop around all the great lakes. I see that in the decription of the ride you must hit certain cities. My question is how close do you actually have to get to said cities without having to go into them to get a DBR? My ride calls for hitting Cleveland and Chicago but some of those areas can get quite congested. I don't want to waste a lot of time going through the cities if I can get a DBR from 10 miles outside and avoid all of the nonsense. Let me know your thoughts or if you know for sure I don't have to go into the actual city.
Thanks for your help.

If the requirement is for you to obtain a receipt from Cleveland, you must actually go to Cleveland, not 10 miles from Cleveland. Your DBR must have the city name or otherwise be identifiable (e.g., store number) as being within the city limits.

Ira Agins
Iron Butt Association

 

[Stephen!]

Is this the new version of "Can I start and end a 100CCC in Texas?"

 

[Baxter]

Is this the new version of "Can I start and end a 100CCC in Texas?"

I think it's a good question because the beginning or end points on a SS1000 can be near a named city without actually being in that city if the mileage is still correct. Remember also, sometimes a beltway highway doesn't take you into the city it encircles. For example, I-294 around Chicago doesn't go into the city limits except where it crosses the little narrow strip connecting O'Hare Airport to the City itself. But anyone traveling 294 will definitely feel as if they've rode through Chicago.

 

[Baxter]

I was actually hoping someone would tell me it had to be within about 15 miles or thereabouts of the city...haha
That seems to be where the most congested areas stop and is a little more easy to get around without sitting in traffic and wasting time.

I grew up in Chicago and still live in a far northern suburb that requires me to ride through the City often. You might have heard of it--Milwaukee.

Just try to time Chicago right. Avoid the morning and evening commute times by a factor of 2 hours before and after. I rode a Lake Michigan 1000 last summer, and I came into Chicago from Indiana at about 10pm with little traffic and made good time. But I once made the mistake of returning through Chicago at 3 or 4pm and was at a dead-stop, feet on the ground, traffic jam for about 45 minutes. That might have blown up a tight certified ride.

 

[LeMaitre]

Please reread the instructions for the Great Lakes 100.

Receipt does not have to be in the cities of Chicago or Cleveland.

https://www.ironbutt.com/themerides/gl/index.html

Illinois (any town is allowed)
Superior, Wisconsin or Duluth, Minnesota
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada OR North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Watertown, New York (you may use the toll receipt for the bridge on I-81 at the US/Canada border)
Cleveland, Ohio area

 

[Baxter]

Please reread the instructions for the Great Lakes 100.

Receipt does not have to be in the cities of Chicago or Cleveland.

https://www.ironbutt.com/themerides/gl/index.html

Illinois (any town is allowed)
Superior, Wisconsin or Duluth, Minnesota
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada OR North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Watertown, New York (you may use the toll receipt for the bridge on I-81 at the US/Canada border)
Cleveland, Ohio area

Good Catch!

 

[Paul Meyer]

I did this ride a few years ago didn't mess with Chicago at all. Read and understand the rules like Ira pointed out. The route through the required cities is pretty straight forward and doable. I don't remember having any traffic issues in towns/cities but did run into some frustrating construction slowdown on I39 Northern IL. Don't push the speed too much in Canada or they will want to chat about it.

Have fun

 

[EricV]

spammer reported

 

[JAVGuzzi]

BTW, I like to use I-480 / I-271 when doing a Great Lakes 100 or Lower Great Lakes SS1K to get around Cleveland. I-271 Exit 34 ( 24/7 ) Shell or Exit 36 ( 6am to midnight ) Marathon or I-90 Exit 193 ( 24/7 ) BP are good stops for a Cleveland receipt. Have used receipts from two of those on two Great Lakes 100 rides.
On one ride, we took the big ferry from Kingston to Wolf Island, rode to the other side of the island and then took the small ferry to Cape Vincent. We weren't the first to do that, BTW and had no problem getting certified on that ride. It's a nice break if you can time the small ferry without wasting too much time.

To stay away from some Chicago traffic you might consider a stop at the DeKalb rest area on I-88 and then take I-355 to I-80. Or the Chicago Southland rest area on I-80. If you can time it right, the Chicago area isn't too bad at around 1am, at least that was my experience when I did a Lake Michigan SS1K. Stopped at a Love's / Denny's in Gary, IN for a very early morning breakfast.