Great Lakes - Did you ride today?

if so, let's hear about it.

i managed to get out early and avoid the 20 mph winds. that being said even the little 10 mph headwind i rolled into was a toughie. earlier this week i was messing around with routeslip for some new routes. i thought i would attempt one today, but i mapped it out back on Wednesday and apparently have a poor memory.

i actually managed to find some rollers over by the Fox River on Resurection Road (Yorkville, IL). around mile 20 i took a wrong turn and ended up back on my normal route??:)?? i spotted several other riders and one large group of 20 or so. the sun was out, the legs were feeling spunky, and the wind was a tailwind on the way home!! good stuff.

it was 45 miles today and hopefully 45 more tomorrow as i plan to finish off this new route.

my ride..............MotionBased (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2584096)

how about you?

later.

I got a chance to ride right around 20 with the whole family on the Fox River Trail. It's the first real ride that I have been able to use the new FLYTE and the trailer together.

Went up to Algonquin and back. Climbed the big hill that most of you know about. Compact was handy. Wasn't too bad with the trailer. Figured I needed that with the big hilly rides coming up.

Tomorrow is the Spring Forward ride for me. My wife's cousin, co-worker, part owner of the company I work for now is coming along. He's fresh into cycling, but super fit and light weight. Bought a nice Kuota TT/Tri bike and told me he rode 40 miles last weekend with his buddies at 18mph.

We'll see how this goes....

^^^^^^^^^^ you pulled the trailer up a hill. now that sounds like some good training. good luck tomorrow. :) i hope to ride 50 in the morning myself. later.

25 miles today on the Glacial Drumlin Trail west of Waukesha, WI. I had planned on riding with two folks from work who are just starting to train for a short triathlon this July (training to finish it, so you get the idea). Then I got an email from the guy who I went to Kentucky with ... his son (15 yo) is looking for a ride today too, wants to test out his new carbon racing bike. That's cool, so I pick up the kid and we head out to meet the other good folks who show up on their "comfort" bikes which they've each ridden once this year. :rolleyes:

They are good people, so the kid and I roll out with them at a blistering 5 mph, chatting and soaking up the sun. After a few miles I send the kid off on side roads so he can stretch his legs ("Go up this road to the top of the hill, turn around and meet us back on the trail", that kind of thing). After 8 miles the kid and I break off from the others and headed a few miles off the bike trail to Lapham Peak State Park which has a nice brute of a climb. The ranger at the gate said we could ride up, no charge, so we did that climb twice (I think I hurt myself both times :p ) and then headed back to the bike trail to catch up with the others who, by now had turned around. While riding back, we hooked up with some chick who was really hauling and we did a small pace line with her all the way back to the car (10 miles or so) arriving just after the others did. Perfect timing.

I got 25 miles in, the kid did 28, and my friends from work did 20 so we all were happy and we all got to ride together for part of the way.

It must have been a good ride for the kid (he's pretty quiet) because he fell asleep during the drive back to town (half hour). :p

jw

First day with decent temps when I've been able to ride, so I squeezed in a metric century (63.4 miles, 2,917 feet of climbing)... and I suffered. 1) Those winds were nasty this afternoon!!! WNW at 21mph and gusts up to 37mph here in the NW Illinois cornfields. 2) It was my longest ride on my new Madone. Didn't stretch first (got in a hurry) nor had I ridden it more than 15miles before today. At around mile 32, I had a nasty back spasm. Could have partially been a hydration issue too as I was trying to ride straight through without stopping and was metering my intake from two bottles.

I did a 36 mi ride with a pyramid (1 min fast 1 min off, 2 min fast 2 min off, up to 5 mins then back down) and a few short sprints with the wind at my back. wow was it windy though

the wind was crazy yesterday afternoon and heck it even seems more wicked nasty this afternoon. that is why i departed both days around 8am. i hate the wind. my legs were a bit tired after yesterdays efforts, but still managed a nice 35 miler at 17 mph. gotta love a tailwind.


MotionBased (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2597141)

later.

Yesterday didn't ride I was working, but today did a 45 mile with an avg of 15.1, as the others have said some strong wind today and continues rolling hills out in the country in the Cedarburg area. Overall great ride, will soon be up to shape to ride with the great BFNIC riders :)

Made it out to my regular Sunday group ride. The group usually splits up after the warmup (read: leaving the neighborhood). I finally managed to hang onto the "fast guys" the whole ride this time. They use to drop me like a red-headed stepchild...no offense if any of you are red-headed stepchildren :) We do a giant loop so the wind was both a blessing and a curse. Did 38 miles at 19.9mph avg, that's a best for me and it's still early in the season. I'm shocked my lungs still work, my legs still feel like jelly though. Looking forward to next week's century in Joliet. I just want to be able to finish that one.

That wind was horrid, but I hooked into a goup of 2 other riders at the Spring Forward ride that were animals. We worked a decent paceline (if you don't count my time up front pulling - my 5% to their 50% and 45%). Whipped out just over 62 miles at 18mph.

OK...this has gotta stop and stop now boys.

Look, it's obvious to me that you are all becoming way too fast now.

For the love of God slow down or people are going to start thinking you're bike racers...and not....well, you know....just bike geeks like me. Next thing you know I won't be able to ride with you guys ever again because you'll be bored stiff going 18 mph for cryin' out loud.

No, this has got to stop and stop now.
More posing.
Less training.
Deal?

Nope.

OK...this has gotta stop and stop now boys.

Look, it's obvious to me that you are all becoming way too fast now.

For the love of God slow down or people are going to start thinking you're bike racers...and not....well, you know....just bike geeks like me. Next thing you know I won't be able to ride with you guys ever again because you'll be bored stiff going 18 mph for cryin' out loud.

No, this has got to stop and stop now.
More posing.
Less training.
Deal?

:roflmao: :roflmao:

Yes. I rode today.

Alright...no more complaining about the wind from the rest of you. :p My ride yesterday was ridiculous. Check out my stats (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2588751).

That's right...18.4 mph wind average! :eek:

It was a ton of fun actually. Half the ride is brutal, but the other half is such a blast that it makes for a great ride. Why is it that the wind is always in your face at the end of the ride?

<snip> Why is it that the wind is always in your face at the end of the ride?
I don't know, but I think Murphy might...

I also rode the Spring Forward Invitational. I had no trouble not going as fast as some of the other members. 15mph average for 31 miles.

Alright...no more complaining about the wind from the rest of you. :p My ride yesterday was ridiculous. Check out my stats (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2588751).

That's right...18.4 mph wind average! :eek:

It was a ton of fun actually. Half the ride is brutal, but the other half is such a blast that it makes for a great ride. Why is it that the wind is always in your face at the end of the ride?

Oh, I don't know...

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2604024

My avg was just a little lower than you, but only since it calmed down at the end of my 4+ hours, but my max sustained wind was in the 20's for a good period of time. Lowest gusts for 90% of the ride were in the mid 20's and on up to 36.8mph. (http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KSFY/2007/4/28/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA)

It killed me, I started the ride into the wind and never recovered. By time the wind was at my back, I was in the hills climbing and descending where it wasn't as big a factor.

I drug the wife out for 17 more today though. Got home about 15 minutes before it started hailing here in the NW corner this evening.

Yes. So far I rode into work. Elgin to Aurora. 50 miles round trip. My legs hurt from yesterday. What doesn't kill me...makes me hurt., real bad.

Yes. So far I rode into work. Elgin to Aurora. 50 miles round trip. My legs hurt from yesterday. What doesn't kill me...makes me hurt., real bad.

sounds like a little prep for the sudden?? :)

are you commuting every day? pretty cool. i may give that a try this summer.

later.

sounds like a little prep for the sudden?? :)

are you commuting every day? pretty cool. i may give that a try this summer.

later.
I'm shooting for 2 days a week at a minimum to start. Last week I missed out because of some scheduling and the rain (yes, I prefer not to commute in the rain). Week before it was just Monday due to scheduling.

I might go again tomorrow and Friday is still on the table.


...and yes I am preparing for the Sudden. Must...Not...Be...Last....

5/8 = a big fat NO! :( !

stupid work.

how about you?

later.

So "no". Like major "No." Work as well. Commute tomorrow if the weather holds.

Yes, I rode to work today. Took the lakefront path and yes I enjoyed it. 12.5 miles each way.

Rode about 8 miles on Monday. Very slowly around the neighborhood. Does that count as a recovery ride?

Today went to Performance with a coworker who just bought a new OCR3. He's all jazzed to ride and picked up a jersey, bibs, and socks. Probably ride the Poplar Creek FP path on Thursday after work.

A big NO for me. This is the fifth day I haven't ridden since the beginning of April. I went out rollerblading with my wife and oldest kid. My third time out. (Can you guess what's coming?) All I can say is that brakes suck on roller blades and I don't see myself rollerblading on any more hills until I get a lot more comfortable on them. If the saying about you're not bleeding until it hits your socks still applies, I guess it wasn't too bad. Still, my wife wants to go out on a tandem ride this evening and I'm not sure if I'll be up to it. :(

Anti-stress ride today. Dressed in civies, rode from Greenfield Park in West Allis then out on the New Berlin trail. Watched the birds, listened to the frogs. About 10 or 11 miles in just under an hour. Keeping the legs loose.

Ahhhhh ...... serenity now.

jw

yesterday i took prairie road to the gilman trail to the fox river trail. i was going to hook up with the ipp. however, next thing i knew, i was in batavia. whoops. i was just getting into the ride a little too much to notice i passed the bridge. rode back on east side trail. stopped in an lbs for a little break and to look around. ended up talking bikes with the guys there for a while. passed a guy on another felt going the other way. on the home stretch, took a bit of an inside track on a left turn. freaked out the roadie coming the other way out of the turn. sorry bud!

today, more car problems. put my bike in the truck and drove to the dealership. left the truck there and planned on hammerring the whole way home for a quick ride (10 miles or so). unfortunately, my blood sugar tanked right off the bat and i had to stop to carb up. ended up on the gilman trail again and took it to waubonsee college. saw a few serious roadies on the way. one guy had cosmics on his roadie. man, you can spot those from a mile away (totally cool looking). passed a guy in an isu jersey just as i got back into town. when all was said and done, i rode about 15 miles and averaged about 24mph that last 6 or so with a decent crosswind i had to fight (sometimes). probably didn't even average 16 for the whole ride tho since i bonked early on.

No, yesterday yes but today=no.
Kenal0

Hey atomship47 where do you live? I am only a few miles from Waubonsee College.

Thanks, Jeff

5/10 = YES!!

i love the summer weather in spring time months! i had an 8am meeting in kankakee, then a 12pm in Joliet that wrapped up at 2pm. after 150 automobile miles i decided against going back to my office in naperville. i went home, geared up, and headed out for an easy spin.

a lovely 31.33 miles with very little WIND!!

The Numbers (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=2695110)

the weekend looks promising for me and the plan is 50 early saturday then 35 ish sunday. how about you?

later.

Commuted to work by bike again today. Rode it yesterday as well. 100 miles in the last 2 days. Taking the weekend off due to wife working. I could probably use the break as well. After the 2 weeks of weekend metric and imperial centuries, followed by commuting 4 times, and running each day in between...I need a break.

Commuted to work by bike again today. Rode it yesterday as well. 100 miles in the last 2 days. Taking the weekend off due to wife working. I could probably use the break as well. After the 2 weeks of weekend metric and imperial centuries, followed by commuting 4 times, and running each day in between...I need a break.

breaks? you think the hills at the HHH are going to be taking breaks? :D

seriously though, nice work. keep it up.

later.

and running each day in between.
Running...what exactly is "running"? It sounds vaguely familiar from my distant past. I'm not sure I've ever done it, at least not intentionally. Is it a pleasurable experience?

Yes, Finally. Got me and the Mrs. on the trail for a nice little 15 mile ride. She wanted to look at the houses and I wanted to hammer, soooo, we looked at houses :( at least most of the time. Bumped in to a friend from a few years back and spent way too much time chatting with him at our lunch stop.. But at least I finally got out..

Yes, Finally. Got me and the Mrs. on the trail for a nice little 15 mile ride. She wanted to look at the houses and I wanted to hammer, soooo, we looked at houses :( at least most of the time. Bumped in to a friend from a few years back and spent way too much time chatting with him at our lunch stop.. But at least I finally got out..
Your bike didn't fall apart did it? I've been hearing rumors about your mechanic. Not right in the head...

Not today to busy at work.
I plan to do a ride out to dousman from milwaukee tomorrow. I remember
when that trail was mostly limestone never knew they paved it all the way out to
dousman. Do they have plans to pave it out to madison?

Dan

Just finished an after-work 30 mile ride. Pretty nice night... especially when riding south and west!

Had a new one today though, some a-hole in a car let an air-horn rip a few feet from me. Go figure, it was about half a mile from my house at the end of the ride. :rolleyes:

Did about 21 miles this morning. Sunny, but chilly in the mid 50s.

Breaking in a new saddle (http://mensjournal.com/healthFitness/0607/images/pre_selleitalia.jpg) and so far so good. Will see how it feels over a long distance next Saturday on the Kenosha/Racine ride.

Your bike didn't fall apart did it? I've been hearing rumors about your mechanic. Not right in the head...


Nope, but I rode the bike that my personal bike mechanic hasn't touched. I havent put enough miles on the bike I let him practice on to verify his abilities before he gets the Pinarello. Last thing I want to see is my Pinarello in a picture with that days paper:rolleyes:

Waiting for my son to wake up so that we can head out on the trail. Me on the commuter with the trailer...looks like it's going to be a slow, but awesome, day.

Got in almost 60 today on the tourer. Rode from River Falls up through Hudson, where I met up with a few from the Tuesday night group. We crossed the river into Minnesota and went to the Panera Bread in Woodbury, had a tasty bite to eat and headed back. Had to fight the head wind back. Need to plan better to take advantage of a tailwind heading home, not out. Finished under 4 hours. I go 2 - 3 mph less on the tourer than the road bike, but getting ready for my June trip on the Grand Illinois Trail from Hebron to Galena and back. A good day to ride!

5/12 = YES

not the 50 i planned, but after friday night wine & cheese i got off to a later start (8am :)). a bit cold at 50, but pure sun and tons of other riders out. i wanted to put in a hard effort, i did, and the legs responded well.

36 miles, 18 mph avg, and 141 avg HR.

The Ride (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=2708826)

fingers are crossed for an early morning mother's day ride.

later.

Finally getting some good groups together. This morning it was around 40 with ten MPH winds and we decided to do some hills. eleven of us did a familiar route 63 miles and just under 3000 feet of climbing. After the rain on Wednesday the trees were actually starting to get leaves and it was looking like spring. with all the hills it made the scenery much better (no more brown dead stuff). it warmed up to almost 60 by the time we got back. Overall a great ride!

I got in 40 today on Old Plank Trail... was going to do 50, but I was bored:rolleyes:

After scouring the bike shops for my wife's mother's day present (a jogging attachment for our trailer) with no luck I finally got out on the trail with my 1 year old son in the trailer. Interesting acrobatics hauling a trailer and a bike in a car - and doing it alone.

Ripped off 20 with that drag chute - err - trailer dragging me back. Stopped to play at the park at the top of the big hill in Algonquin. Hauled a$$ home.

I think it was a big hit. Much to my wife's dismay. He's been wanting to be with me all night since we got back.

;) - he is hooked.

Copied from the road forum: 63 miles, 2600' of climbing and rolling hills (so says the Garmin) through NW Illinois (camera phone, sorry)

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t171/Shemp1/posts/zion-road.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t171/Shemp1/posts/towline.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t171/Shemp1/posts/elevation.jpg

Beautiful.

Strong NE winds here on Saturday. No way was I going to ride through the City, so I drove north to Saukville and from there rode to Port Washington and from there north to Belgium, WI. Just 25 miles, but lots of farm land. I may go back with the camera later today.

jw

5/13 = YES

yep, i already got my weekend ride number two in. it's mother's day and the wife said i needed to be back by 8am and said no problem. i think she thought this might prevent me from riding :)!

same route as yesterday, but just a bit slower. 35 miles with a 17.3 avg. The Ride (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=2715748)

it was a bit chilly so i went with the PI arm and knee warmers. i looked like a big Pearl Izumi billboard as i was sporting a PI jersey and gloves too. good times. later.

5/13 = Not yet. But I did finish building a swingset out in the yard for the kids.

And it hasn't fallen down yet.

I feel like I have just discovered fire or created Frankenstein's monster or something. :D

Need to pick up some armwarmers and kneewarmers. Mine got nabbed out of my bike bag in my car when I was riding a forest preserve loop last Thursday. Note to self... don't leave the bag on the seat where thieves can see it . I sure hope they like CarbBooms and chamois creme. Bastards. :(