It is not easy to find safe places to exercise near truck stops. Truckers News is trying to help. We are compiling a list of trails near truckstops. If you know of any please get a hold of Misty Bell ([email protected]). She is the tech guru. You can email me, the tech idiot, marathon [email protected], or post it to the Truckin’ Runners group on Facebook.
I have always preferred playing to exercise. Escaping reality and losing yourself is my favorite part of exercising. I want to enjoy it. I want to play. Running down the side of a busy highway is not fun. Running, walking or cycling on a trail is. On these trails you get away from the daily grind. My favorite trail runs along U.S. 41 north of Chicago. This trail runs through a wetlands preserve along the Des Plaines River. U.S. 41 comes in and out of view as you go along the trail. The trail runs about 100 yards behind the northbound chicken coops. You can see them, but they probably will never notice you. The trail is less than a mile east of the TA Truck Stop at Russell Road. It starts at the Van Patten woods. They have parking for horse trailers. I don’t know if you can park a tractor there, but it would be nice.
A few months ago I discovered a trail near a truckstop that I had been using for more than 20 years. The Ozaukee Interurban Trail is less than a mile from the How Dea truck stop in Belgium, WI. It is on I-43 at Exit 107. This trail is easily accessible from the truckstop. There is a sidewalk that you can take. Just walk west on the sidewalk about .5 mile and you are at the trail.
By sharing information we can help each other. By putting our knowledge together we can put together a solid and growing list of safe places to exercise. One bit of information that I have to share is that there will be a 1.5 mile walk at the Titletown Truck show in Green Bay, Wisc. The walk will be on July 10 @ 8am in downtown Green Bay at Leicht park.
