Fifty Plus (50+) - Rode 40 mi the Driftless Area of NW Illinois this week

We rode about 40 miles in the Driftless Area of NW Illinois earlier in the week.

We had planned to ride for 4 days, but only got a day and a half in due to bad weather. We were prepared to ride with temps in the low 40s, but most of the time we had temps the mid 30s with rain, or in the mid 20s with snow.

Still, it was one of the best rides of our short riding history, and we made some hills we wouldn't have even thought possible for us last year. Shoot ... we made some hills we didn't think were possible for us when we started up 'em.

Some photos are at http://www.customized-applications.com/bicycle/id74.htm

Hey, if you're riding in that kind of weather, it won't be long before you're a year round rider in IL (that is of course, unless you already are.)

We had planned to ride for 4 days, but only got a day and a half in due to bad weather. We were prepared to ride with temps in the low 40s, but most of the time we had temps the mid 30s with rain, or in the mid 20s with snow.

Still, it was one of the best rides of our short riding history, and we made some hills we wouldn't have even thought possible for us last year.

Some photos are at http://www.customized-applications.com/bicycle/id74.htm

If you are doing hills like this on a frequent basis- you won't worry about the temperature- Except for "Where is the Cold beer at the top"?
Mind you- 20 degrees is a bit cold so I should think you have a reason, not an excuse, for cutting down on the riding in such countryside. Well done on the ride- and the pics.

Hey Recycle-You should have stopped by! You were just a bit south and west of monroe. Could have taken you for some limburger cheese at Baumgartner's and then a ride to Irma's. The apple pie was just fine this sat. past.

Nice pics as well - where'd you get that program?

Really like the route map via satellite image then the pics posted under it...

Looks like a real workout up and down and up and down!

And you were close to Irma's and didn't stop for pie? :eek:

Looks like you had a great time even with the cold. Great photos. Nice to see you are
climbing hills.

Great ride. I've driven in that area many times. You're certainly well ahead of me right now in what hills you can scale. I have hopes that I could think about making a similar ride by next fall.

Is that a crank-forward bike that your wife is riding?

Hey Recycle-You should have stopped by! You were just a bit south and west of monroe. Could have taken you for some limburger cheese at Baumgartner's and then a ride to Irma's. The apple pie was just fine this sat. past.

rck, you got me all excited about the pie ... Where's Irma's? :)

Thanks for the compliments everybody. Glad you enjoyed the photos.


Is that a crank-forward bike that your wife is riding?

Yes. It's a 2005 Giant Suede DX. She loves it. I can't tell you how many different Trek, Cannondale, and Giant models she tried before settling on that one. The upright riding position is the thing thast sold her.

The only thing she doesn't like about it is that the geometry and frame size do not allow for an off the shelf rear rack to be attached properly.

Thanks for giving us a good idea for a trip. Great pictures.
Will

Nice pics as well - where'd you get that program?

Really like the route map via satellite image then the pics posted under it...

Looks like a real workout up and down and up and down!

And you were close to Irma's and didn't stop for pie? :eek:

You can create the route on one of several different web sites.

I started at http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ It can place mile markers as well as routes on the map image, and it's fairly fast. The elevation maps are crude, tho. And when you save a route, you have to save or remember the URL if you ever want to get back to it.

The images for the routes in this thread were from a site I discovered last week ... http://routeslip.com/ It produces excellent elevation maps and lets you to annotate turns and easily manage your routes. But it is slow. It also generates cue sheets with your directions and annotations. I prefer a slightly different form for cue sheets, so I copy theirs into MS Excel and customize it.

Once the route is built, display the map in hybrid (satellite+map) format, capture the screen with PrintScreen or an image editor, and save the map portion as a .jpg. I use the free MS HTML Help Image Editor, but any image or photo editor will work.

At that point, the map is just another .jpg which can be placed on a web site like any other photo. I like to add a link from the map photo on my web site to the website where the map actually lives so a user can browse it in detail if they wish.

Hope that helps...

And man ... I gotta try one of Irma's pies.

Recycle, Irma's is in a little town called Argyle. Look on a map find Monroe which is directly north of Freeport, IL and the look north and west. If your interested let me know and I'll set up a cue sheet to send to you.

I've been to Argyle (and Blanchardville) a few times but didn't know anything about good pies being there. I love taking fall drives down there, and on out to places like Shullsburg, Darlington, and Mineral Point.

Back to the original thread, that's a fine testimonial to the hill climbing capability of a crank-forward bike. Your wife conquered some impressive hills.

I am over in that area every couple months. If you take a drive in mid January you will see a lot of eagles along the locks and bridges on the Mississippi.