Prairie Cycle Club – Bicycle Club for Champaign County, Illinois

Top 10 Ways to Get Lost in Champaign County

Are you one of those who hesitates to take that new turn on a solo ride, for fear of being unable to retrace your steps? Are you directionally delinquent‚ or just geographically challenged? If you can take a page from the Daniel Boone philosophy of exploration ("I've never been lost, but I've been mighty confused for a few days.") and add a few tips to your tip sheet, then you too can say you've never been lost. Read on, to learn how to explore new ground, stay found and get home by sundown!

10. Ride alone on a cloudy day or in the twilight without a light.
9. Ignore the many landmarks along the way: water towers, TV towers, churches, Yankee Ridge, Interstate highways, grain elevators etc.
8. Forget that the Native American word "Tolono" means "town of too many turns".
7. Be unaware of how county roads are numbered: east-west roads are numbered in intervals of 100 starting at 0 on the south boundary of the county and continuing through 3600 at the north boundary, while north-south roads are numbered 0 to 2400, beginning at the west edge of the county. Most of our roads are also section boundaries‚, meaning they intersect every 1 mile. A county map (see #2 below) will show this very well. This numbering system is also true for all the surrounding counties, which makes things interesting once you cross a county line (just remember "south-to-north & west-to-east"). Note also, that most rural mailboxes have the Œcounty road address‚ clearly printed, white-on-green.
6. Ignore the fact that most (not all) of our rivers and streams flow from north to south.
5. Ask CJ to lead your ride!
4. Be too proud to stop and simply ask someone for directions.
3. Ride without a care, a GPS, a cell phone, or a friend.
2. Be unaware of the fact that you can pick up an excellent map of Champaign County (every road and highway) for free at the Champaign Library reference desk.
1. And the Number 1 way to get lost in Champaign County -- fail to join the Prairie Cycle Club and ride in any of the 10 weekly guided group rides!