Great Lakes - Chicago, Rockford, South WI area BF Ride - Date Poll

I know I am asking for it, but I need to know what date will work best for the up coming BF ride to be held between the Chicago and Rockford area. I apolofgize for not including details about the ride, but I want to lock in a date before I post the details.

Chime in...which of these dates will work for you (no other dates are/wil be discussed), and tell me if you are planning on riding.


Date options - Vote for ALL of the dates you can make.... 09/23, 09/24, 09/30, 10/01

I've chimed in with my votes.

When is the poll closing?

Ooooh a Poll. We are so officially a bike club. Let the BFNIC roll!! Later.

Good job on the poll, Mr. President, you are the BFNIC grand poobah..

Good job on the poll, Mr. President, you are the BFNIC grand poobah..

Or more like..."Grand Poop - Ahhhh"...as I prefer to be known...:D

I have a wedding in Houston, TX on Friday the 22nd and will be traveling that wekend to get back to Aurora.

30th or 1st for me (no kids that weekend) and yes I WILL ride!

As noted in another thread, the Sugar River Century is on the 30th just northwest of Beloit/Rockford.

9/23 is out for me...engagement party for my brother. I voted, but am pretty flexible at the moment.

Could be cool. :)

I'm just getting back into riding so I may opt out on this round 'cuz I don't want to be a straggler, but I'd be interested in regular group rides in the future.

Could be cool. :)

I'm just getting back into riding so I may opt out on this round 'cuz I don't want to be a straggler, but I'd be interested in regular group rides in the future.

I haven't announced the details yet, but this ride will be a different format. There will, in essence, be a 100, 62, and a 31 mile route. The 100 group will start early then loop back (38 miles) to the parking lot to meet up with the riders for the 62. Everyone will go ride the second loop (31 miles) together. No drop past the ride leaders (me and at least 1 other volunteer).

Then we all meet back at the beginning. At this point we meet up with the 31 milers. This way the "fastest" riders with more endurance will already have 69 miles in their legs by the time we start out with the "slowest" group. This will help keep the groups together.

Timing is key, but I have a really good idea of how long it will all take. Worst case is that the next group will spend an extra 10 minutes getting to know each other before we all get a chance to make introductions.

It is meant to be a social ride. I am organizing it to make sure that it will work for all riders. I also think it's a great way to give riders who haven't done a century, metric, or "half-metric" a chance to do it with other riders with more experience riding alongside them.

Long story short....you aint gonna be a straggler. You're gonna be a fellow rider.

Hope to see you there!

I am organizing it to make sure that it will work for all riders. I also think it's a great way to give riders who haven't done a century, metric, or "half-metric" a chance to do it with other riders with more experience riding alongside them.

Long story short....you aint gonna be a straggler. You're gonna be a fellow rider.

What a great idea!

"I'm just getting back into riding so I may opt out on this round 'cuz I don't want to be a straggler, but I'd be interested in regular group rides in the future."

Drag, I'm no century guy either, my personal best is a 50 mile ride, but I started off that ride with Psimet, Cylowe and the guys. It was very fun and a decent pace, that worked for all, when they say that there will be no stragglers or anyone getting dropped, they mean it. A great group to ride with. I hope this calms your fears and helps get you out for the ride, you will enjoy it for sure.

When I am on your wheel it means just that. If you are going 3mph then so am I, so if you are a straggler, then so am I.
Kenal0

Alright, you guys are infectious. I'm opting in. The end of the month works best for me, but I'll let the voting take its course. At least that'll give me a chance to get some mileage in before then. Realistically, I can only handle the 31 miler for now. Thanks gang! :)

A bit of a background - I'm traditionally a mountain biker. Started riding recreationally in '89. Got pretty serious in the early '90s but it waned as the years passed and my riding partners and buddies all got wedded off or we became more focused on our careers. Anyway, I've been completely off the saddle since 2001. :( A year and some months ago, a revelation (and a near heart attack) hit me that I needed to get my act together or I'll die one fat potato. Started running (and lost over 20 lbs) but that never panned out as a regular thing. I was never that good of a runner - never thought it was all that fun. So two months back I took a hard look at my bikes collecting dust in the corner of my basement and it hit me like a ton of bricks! What have I been thinking? Where have I been? So I updated my old roadie and also bought a new one. It was odd why when getting back into cycling I gravitated toward my road bike instead of my roots which is mountain biking. I've always thought of my road bike as a novelty, even though I've been a TdF groupie for the last several years. Anyway, here I am and this forum has been awesome! I'm looking forward to meeting all of you local BF folks. Btw, I'll be coming from Addison, Illinois.

Welcome to the fold. These guys are not only infectious, but a good group to ride with, lots of knowledge and character too. BTW, I'm probably only good for the 31 mile portion too, so looks like we've got riding partners now.

OK...I've been stewing about something for 12 hours or so...

I was going through my old cue sheets and recognized our third leg (basically) and looked to see what ride it was...turns out it was the Pumpkin Pedal Bike Tour....October 2nd 2005.

I looked online and they are running it again....on the same roads on October 1st of this year. They only offer a 25, 45 and 65 mile route options.

OK - Our options:

1. Ride the Sunday before 9/24 and invite anyone who wants to ride the Pumpkin Pedal out with us the next week.

2. Ride 10/1, but find other route options to stay clear of the other ride.

I'll make the final decision, but I just want to get a feel for what people are thinking.

I can make 9/23 and/or 10/1 but can not make 9/24. So my thought is 10/1 with a reroute.

I rode out to Silver Springs Park this past Saturday and ended up in the middle of some Organized Century. I had SAG stopping me asking my if I knew I had skipped the rest stop? It really wasn't a big deal, but I was only one rider. I did think about stopping for a cookie or two, but went with my good old Cliff Bar and road on. Later.

I cannot make the 9/24 date but if you ride and are planning on riding in the Pumpkin ride then I would maybe meet up with you guys for that ride on 10/1. A metric is fine with me. That is what I would probably do anyway due to the driving time to get to either a private ride or the Pumpkin. It is about 65 miles from my house.
kenal0

10/1 works best for me. 9/24 is doable but would be difficult as we are having 20 people over for dinner Saturday night.

Do we have any ideas of start time and start location? If I knew what time I need to leave the house in the morning, I would know how likely the 24th would be.

On a side note, who is going to start the thread about the North Shore Century in Evanston on the 17th? The roads are marked for the ride already and it should be nice and flat! :D

[EDIT] Ok, where did this regional discussions group come from? I now see the NSC thread there. OOPS!.

I just did some calculations. I wanted to see based on their latest leaving time, and slowest allowable riding on their longest route if we would actually end up crossing paths.

If we start at 8:00-8:30am then we probably wouldn't see anyone. BTW we would be riding in the opposite direction as them.

There is a possibility of us using their stop as our last stop...but remember it is for Special Olympics - pony up a donation if you want to do that.... ;)

10/1 works best for me. 9/24 is doable but would be difficult as we are having 20 people over for dinner Saturday night.

Do we have any ideas of start time and start location? If I knew what time I need to leave the house in the morning, I would know how likely the 24th would be.

On a side note, who is going to start the thread about the North Shore Century in Evanston on the 17th? The roads are marked for the ride already and it should be nice and flat! :D

[EDIT] Ok, where did this regional discussions group come from? I now see the NSC thread there. OOPS!.
:D - Believe it or not I was going to send you a PM this morning because I hadn't seen you on here yet. I sent one to Signal11 yesterday for the same reason....

:D - Believe it or not I was going to send you a PM this morning because I hadn't seen you on here yet. I sent one to Signal11 yesterday for the same reason....

Yeah, my knee has been acting up again and I have been trying to avoid the forum, just too depressed. I have had my wife massaging my IT band every night and it seems to be helping. :p

All right guys...I just spent a ton of time calculateing possible encounters between the two rides. There is a 4 mile section where we will probably encounter a "large" amount of their 65 mile riders going in the opposite direction. This only pertains to our riders who opt to ride the metric or longer.

After that, while we do share a large chunk of the same road, it looks like there may only be 2 sections of a mile or so where we might encounter heavier traffic from the other ride. The other sections should be pretty empty by the time we hit them.

I'm feeling good about it so unless there is something major that someone comes up with it looks like it's going to be 10/1 with the original route. I will wait for the poll to close and then post the thread about the ride with all of the details and send out PM's to everyone who might be interested in going.

Ahhhhh - now I can actually get back to work.....;)

Major kudos for all the hard work in organizing this.

OR...

Since its a ride for Special Olympics (the Official Charity of Law Enforcement), we could join the ride and ride as a group?? Hence, reaping all the bennies AND seeing our $$$ go to a good cause???

Or not, what ever you guys want. I just got back from a little 25 mile ride that Psimet tried to torture me on a few months ago, and I'm wiped. I havent been on the bike much at all lately, but I have some motivation enroute to my address. Bought a Garmin Edge 305 and am patiently waiting.

I have the Garmin too. It is a pretty cool training tool. :)

I see someone brought up the NSC. I should look into that further. Maybe a good precursor to our ride. And I'm fine with joining the Special Olympics Pumpkin Ride as well.

Is there a BF Midwest jersey?

There has been serious talk about a jersey and Psimet has a demo design floating around on here somewhere. If I can find the PM he sent me with it, I'll send it to you.

What distance are you planning on the North Shore???

Is there a BF Midwest jersey?

Ahh.... there is, but it's only for those who know the double-secret handshake and only if you have your skewers at a 45 degree angle relative to that particular day's setting sun.

There will be a test. Be prepared.

:p


Hang tight. The design's almost done! I'll leave that to P-2001 for the actual unveiling or however he wants to present it.

Yeah I just "un-veiled" a new design I actually did with Adobe Illustrator to a couple of members last night. I still have 3 or 4 other designs I wanted to whip out before I started to un-veil them.

Kimber that sketch I sent you a while back if now officially outdated...;)

As for joining the Pumpkin Pedal....the problem with that is that we will not all be riding together because of how it is organized. With my ride plans we will all be together throughout (except for super-fast riders who want to go ahead *shrugging shoulders and lifting 1-eyebrow*)

I've ridden enough of these to know that our ride will be better for what we are looking to do.

I've ridden enough of these to know that our ride will be better for what we are looking to do.

Pretty confident there, aren't you, sport?

Friggin' know it all....


:rolleyes:


:D

OK, Then we shall ride as a group in the 1st annual BFNIC ride.

Ahhhhh - now I can actually get back to work.....;)

That's funny. You have a job. You are the President of the newly formed BFNIC which seems to be a full time job of its own.

Seriously, nice job on this ride. Oct 1 and the original route work out great for me. Later.

That's funny. You have a job. You are the President of the newly formed BFNIC which seems to be a full time job of its own.

Seriously, nice job on this ride. Oct 1 and the original route work out great for me. Later.
This coming from a man who reports about 20-40 milers he takes during the middle of the day during the work week.....:D ;) :D


...I need to get into your business....

Busted. I just got back from a nice little 31 miler :) Time to call in for messages!

Well, I think it's looking good for the October 1st ride from the chatter here. I hope there is a good turnout for the ride, though unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your view ;) ) I will be unable to attend...

Gonna be in Michigan that weekend at the in-laws and riding the Apple Cider Century on 10/1.

I may ride a couple of the loops of the BFNIC century on Saturday 9/23, if anyone is interested in meeting up that day for a 65-70 mile preview of the big ride. Shoot me a PM if you are interested in riding that prior weekend.

Well, I think it's looking good for the October 1st ride from the chatter here. I hope there is a good turnout for the ride, though unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your view ;) ) I will be unable to attend...

I'm still holding out hope for the 23rd/24th too. Just waiting for the lurkers to pop up and vote for the 2nd weekend so I can ride the Sugar River Century on the 30th. :)

What distance are you planning on the North Shore???

If I can make this at all it'll only be a 25 miler. My PR is only 50 miles and that was a handful of years ago.

If I can make this at all it'll only be a 25 miler. My PR is only 50 miles and that was a handful of years ago.

I believe this might be reconsidered to the 50 after you see how slow I ride and how flat this course is. Depends on which way the wind is blowing too.
Kenal0

I'm not too sure, but would love to do a 50, but 25 kicked my butt today..

Is this official now? I need to pre-register for another ride today if this isn't happening.

We will be riding on Oct 1st. I haven't had the time to put out the "official Thread". It will be out this weekend.

Thanks, I'm leaving town for a conference, so I was short on time in moving on this, not that I was trying to seem curt. Look forward to meeting you all!

Shemp, you mentioned a ride near Rockford. Are you from that area, or closer in toward Chicago?

I'm still holding out hope for the 23rd/24th too. Just waiting for the lurkers to pop up and vote for the 2nd weekend so I can ride the Sugar River Century on the 30th. :)

Go ahead and ride the sugar river, then come out Sunday and do one of the three loops with us as a recovery ride:)

Shemp, you mentioned a ride near Rockford. Are you from that area, or closer in toward Chicago?

Sterling-Rock Falls area

Sterling-Rock Falls area

A little ways down I-88, but we've been known to drive farther for some new roads. You'll have to put together a local route for us in the future.