Great Lakes - chicago suburbs weekend rides...

i'm looking for a good weekend morning ride to join this season in the nw chicago suburbs (barrington, mundelein, crystal lake area). anyone have any ideas? i'd like to do 50-100 mile rides.

There are a group of us that ride out of crystal lake on friday nights. The guy who ran it use to work at the village peddler in Crystal Lake and so we use to leave from there around 5, but he moved to Outdoor Rec in woodstock and they may leave from there now.

I'm at school so i only rode a few times with them. If you'd like, i can send you an email, there is a guy who has a pretty big mailing list and likes to setup rides all over McHenry County (and elsewhere)

There's a group that runs out of Crystal Lake South High School on Tuesday night and on Saturday. I believe the Saturday ride goes around Lake Geneva. Call Wheel Werks, they'll hook you up.

http://wheelwerksbikes.com/

There's a group that runs out of Crystal Lake South High School on Tuesday night and on Saturday. I believe the Saturday ride goes around Lake Geneva. Call Wheel Werks, they'll hook you up.

http://wheelwerksbikes.com/

i'll have to ask bob when i'm there next. i've been to wheel werks a few times since the summer. thanks

There are a group of us that ride out of crystal lake on friday nights. The guy who ran it use to work at the village peddler in Crystal Lake and so we use to leave from there around 5, but he moved to Outdoor Rec in woodstock and they may leave from there now.

I'm at school so i only rode a few times with them. If you'd like, i can send you an email, there is a guy who has a pretty big mailing list and likes to setup rides all over McHenry County (and elsewhere)

yeah, i'd like to get on that list. do you know if they do rides on the weekends?

there is a good ride that leaves from harper college in palatine on saturday mornings. it is a 36 mile loop and you can choose to do one or two loops. there are some good rollers and it is usually a fast pace. you can check out harperride.net

Niets,

You can join my group ride (Spin Doctors Cycle Works). Saturday Morning, 6AM (light permiting), 50 miles. It starts in Elgin (south of 90 on Big Timber Road) and goes 50 miles. Three groups, A, B, C, with A taking is easy for the first 25 miles (18-20mph) and the second half around 25 mph. A group usually finishes under 2:30 including a short break.

Let me know and I can introduce you. I drive from South Barrington so we might even be able to car pool if you're on the way.

CC -- Does the Spin Doctor ride go all year? When does it start back up? I might need some good Saturday morning whippings this year to get my legs in better shape to keep up later in the year.

A few of us join in the Village Pedaler Saturday ride out of South Elgin, which is a pretty laid back 26 mile ride.

Cy,
It goes pretty strong. We didn't stop until into November, including some very light snows. It will start again as soon as the roads are clear and temps are up a little. We will start some time in March and usually move the time back (to 7 or 7:30) so it's not too dark when we take off.

We have a Yahoo group where everyone discusses what's up.

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/sdccycling/

there is a good ride that leaves from harper college in palatine on saturday mornings. it is a 36 mile loop and you can choose to do one or two loops. there are some good rollers and it is usually a fast pace. you can check out harperride.net

thanks for the link, it has quite a few other rides on there as well...

Niets,

You can join my group ride (Spin Doctors Cycle Works). Saturday Morning, 6AM (light permiting), 50 miles. It starts in Elgin (south of 90 on Big Timber Road) and goes 50 miles. Three groups, A, B, C, with A taking is easy for the first 25 miles (18-20mph) and the second half around 25 mph. A group usually finishes under 2:30 including a short break.

Let me know and I can introduce you. I drive from South Barrington so we might even be able to car pool if you're on the way.

Thanks for the offer Tim. I'll probably take you up on that in March or April...

there is a good ride that leaves from harper college in palatine on saturday mornings. it is a 36 mile loop and you can choose to do one or two loops. there are some good rollers and it is usually a fast pace. you can check out harperride.net

Big gear, I have heard rumors that the Harper ride really smokes 30+ mph. Do you have any first hand experience?

i have done the harper ride many times and it does reach 30+ at times. there are a few sprints along the way where the speed ramps up and a few nice stretches of road where the pace line stretches out. if you want to get a really good workout, take some pulls at the front or you can stay in the draft for an easier ride.

Thanks big, what's the average speed? Our group also has a couple of common sprint zones where big numbers happen but we're usually 25+/- 3 mph on the second half.

it is hard to say what the actual average speed is because of stop lights/signs and stopping or slowing to cross roads, plus the warm-up for the first 10 minutes or so. at the end of the ride the computer usually says an average of approximately 23 but i would say that the bulk of the hard riding is around 26-27mph. it is defintely a good workout.

Here is a pretty good link w/brief description of the type of ride. LINK. (http://www.chicagobikeracing.com/blog/rides.html)

Thanks Big, if I can ever get back on my bike (still having knee troubles), I can give that a go. I was told it averaged 30 mph and that I don't think I could handle. I will try it some time this year, sounds like fun.

yeah, i'd like to get on that list. do you know if they do rides on the weekends?

Yeah they do. Send me your email and i'll forward it to the guy who sends out the ride emails...

The Harper Ride isn't too bad. I got dropped my first 4-5 times when I first started riding (pre-cat5). It's easy to keep up with except for the few short hills that are thrown in, which is usually when everybody pushes the pace and races to the top. Nothing like averaging 24-25mph the whole ride and then averaging 19mph up an 8% grade a few times. It gets tough, but not bad.