New Year's Eve Day Ride Recap - Too Cold For Cons?

We had a sunny day for the last ride of 2011. The temperature was around 30 degrees when we began the ride at 8:00 am and warmed up during the course of morning and turned into a really nice day. Our group consisted of Dale, Felix, Paul, Elliot and his friend Andrew, and me. The snow drought allowed Felix to get in his 16th ride during December and hit his goal of 7,200 outdoor miles.

We assumed it was too cold for Cons, who only made one appearance this year on a day when the temperature dropped below 30 degrees. Of course some might think that is a sign of sanity, but anyone who made as many rides as Cons did to work in the city leaving well before sunrise must have at least one screw loose.

We went up to Bluffington's via the Skokie Valley Bikeway. With Martin in Taiwan, I had thought that today's ride might be at a moderate pace. However, having Elliot join the ride fully compensated for not having Martin along. Our trip north was at an energetic pace with a very quick sprint as we approached 176.

The adventure of the ride came right before the tunnel heading north on the Bikeway. There was a nasty patch of black ice in the midst of the left hand turn. Elliot, Felix, and I all skidded on it and just barely stayed up. Beware of this spot.

It turned out to be a good ride to finish off 2011. Here's hoping for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012 to all and lots of great bike rides.

Rides For The New Year Weekend

Felix will lead rides on Friday, Saturday, and Monday.

1/2/12 Update - Monday ride cancelled. Slippery roads and 5 degree wind chill.

We'll join Cliff Hoffman's ride on Sunday - 10:00 am

1/1/12 Update - New Year's Day Ride Cancelled. Nasty day even for the Polar Bears.

On Friday we will meet at 9:00 AM at Panera Bread in Wilmette and head to Lake Bluff.
On Saturday we will meet at Panera Bread in Wilmette at 8:00 AM and go to Lake Bluff one more time.
On Monday we will meet at 9:00 AM at Panera Bread in Wilmette

The Friday, Saturday, and Monday rides will be at our standard pace

The New Year's Day ride will be at a 14 mph pace on the trip down to Chicago and at our standard pace on the way home. Details below. This ride was a lot of fun last year. Highly recommended.

On New Years Day we will meet at Panera’s in Wilmette at 10:00 am and being a holiday you will be able to park along the tracks free of charge. We’ll try and work our way to the Lakeshore path and down to North Ave. beach where we will witness the Polar Bears taking their plunge into Lake Michigan. We will then proceed to Tiparos Thai Restaurant for lunch and talk about how much saner we are because we just ride our bikes in winter. If you are going to participate in the Polar Bear plunge please remember to bring your own suit and towel as the City of Chicago prohibits nude bathing in public and the club does not furnish towels for this ride

Rides for the Christmas Weekend

Rides are planned for Saturday 12/24 and Monday 12/26. Meeting at Panera Bread in Wilmette at 8:00 am. We'll probably go 40-45 miles on both rides. If you are close to a mileage goal for the year, come out and join us.

Got 7 Minutes to Waste? The Difference Between Cycling and Bike Riding

Cycling Explained should provide a chuckle. There are aspects of this parody that we can all identify with.

Cycling Explained
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/12674956/cycling-explained

Is the Upstroke in Cycling Overrated?

Felix came across an interesting article that attempts to debunk the idea that pedaling in smooth circles is optimum for cycling. Given that I am a self admitted "masher", my positive bias toward the author's conclusion is probably a bit suspect.

Bike Fitting: The Myth of the Upstroke

While there are 100's of articles that emphasize the importance of smooth circles, here is another article that minimizes the value of the upstroke.


The Pedaling Technique of Elite Endurance Cyclists: Changes With increasing Workload at Constant Cadence

Snow Drought Rides for the Weekend of 12/17-18

Let's get out this weekend and take advantage of the snow drought providing unusually good weather for mid-December bike riding. Our group has about 600 miles under our belts already this month, and we should be able to hit our 1,000 mile December goal this weekend. For reference, last December, our group only got in about 3 rides all month, and the entire membership of the EBC only logged 1,000 club miles.

On Saturday we're going to leave from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 2:30pm and ride up to Fort Sheridan. Based on the how soon everyone needs to get home, we may or may not make a stop at Starbucks.

On Sunday we will meet at the regular 8:00 am time and probably head up the Skokie Valley Bikeway to Panera in Lake Bluff.

12/10/11 Ride Recap - 6 Riders x 40 Miles on an 18 degree Morning

It was definitely a bit chilly when we started out. Felix's suggestion that we push the ride back to 10:00 am was popular with the group. In addition to Felix, the group included Gary, John, Martin, Paul, and me. We took the Skokie Valley Bikeway up to 176 and then headed over to Bluffington's for a mid ride stop. With the temperature warming up to the mid 20's under sunny skies, the return trip home turned into a surprisingly comfortable afternoon ride.

The most interesting discovery of the ride was learning how well the food service disposable poly gloves that John had purchased worked as glove liners. John used Gary and me as his test subjects. We learned that the poly gloves kept our hand almost as warm as latex and were much easier to slip gloves over.

What a difference a year makes. Felix noted that last year he only got in 3 rides during December due to all the snow. Today was his third December ride already this month and Sunday will be he fourth with three week still to go.

Weekend Rides - December 10 and 11

Saturday ride is being moved back to 10:00 am to give the sun a chance to warm things up a bit.

Sunday ride will start at 8:00 am. Both rides are meeting at Panera Bread in Wilmette. Tentative plan is to ride to Bluffington's on Saturday and Panera Bread in Lake Bluff on Sunday.

Cancelled Ride - 12/3/11 Ride to Bluffingtons Canceled

Roads are dangerously slick. Light rain expected to fall all morning.

Hot Chocolate Ride to Bluffington's on Saturday 12/3

Ride cancelled. Roads are too slippery.

We're going to make a run up to Bluffington's for hot chocolate on Saturday (and/or Eggs Bluffington). Bundle up, because it is supposed to be a chilly day (high of 40 degrees), but given the unpredictable weather in Chicago, this may be as good as it gets for weekend bike riding during the remainder of 2011. The ride will leave from Panera Bread in Wilmette shortly after 8:00 am and should be around a 50 mile round trip at a pace of about 20 mph.

11/30/11 Update - Bluffington's is going to provide a free hot drink to everyone in the group Whoo-hoo

Bluffington's is going to provide some sort of special deal to our group, details to follow. Also, there is some sort of holiday fair in Lake Bluff on the 3rd that we can take in if the spirit so moves the group.

If the weather is not good for riding a cancellation will be posted by 07:00 AM on the day of the ride to this site.

Sunday's ride will be a Show & Go ride, but we may consider heading to Rooster's in Bloomingdale. The highlight of this route is viewing the elk while riding through Busse Woods It's about a 60 mile ride if we don't make any wrong turns (it's been about 3 years since I last made the ride, and the odds are fairly good that if I lead the read, I'll make at least one wrong turn). However, this is just a possible option, and if the members of the group are time constrained, we can follow our usual winter route of Panera to Panera.

Thanksgiving Weekend Ride Recap

Is it stating the obvious to indicate rides during the fall in Chicagoland were greatly affected by the wind? The wind was above 10 miles an hour for all the rides, so the wind was quite a factor. It was blowing mostly out of the south, so all our rides north were at pretty good pace, while we fought the wind on our ride home.

We had a good turnout for the Thanksgiving day ride, including Cliff, George, Big Bob, Martin, Felix, John and me. We met at our usual spot, Panera Bread. It seemed a bit odd when I rode up to see everyone standing outside, including a good sized contingent from the "Fast" group, as Panera was closed for Thanksgiving. Due to Panera in Lake Bluff also being closed we altered our route a bit. We took the Skokie Valley Bikeway up to Route 176 and the headed east on the bike path. We stopped at the Starbucks by Fort Sheridan.

The Black Friday group included Cliff H, George, Jim H., John, me. We took the same route north, until arriving at Fort Sheridan, and then headed north up the bike trail to Bluffingtons. We decided to come back via the scenic route along the lake.

Saturday's ride featured warmer temperatures (in the '50's), with a threatening sky and rain in the forecast. We decided that Heidi, who turned back for home at Lake Cook Road due to work commitments, was probably a lot smarter than Cliff, John Martin, and me. She avoided the drizzle/rain that the rest of us got caught in. We had decided to shorten up the ride by just going up to Route 176, and turning back. But we were unable to beat the rain. John made the rest of us feel like weather wimps, because he headed on to Bluffington's on his own.

Weekend Rides - November 24,25,26 and 27

EBC Show & Go rides are scheduled to leave from Panera Bread at 8:00 am on all four days of the holiday weekend. Participation by members of the 20+ group may be a bit spotty, but presumably there should be a group going out each morning.

Heidi passed along the following:

Hi all – I thought you might like to know what a fellow EBC’er has accomplished. Phil Procida easily won his age group at the Tour de Tucson with an 18.7 mph average for 111 miles. 111 miles in 6 hours. Did I mention he is 75?

Ride Recap - Weekend of 11/19-20

We got in a couple of rides featuring a brisk pace this weekend. On both rides, we took the Skokie Valley Bikeway up to 176. However, on Saturday, John talked us into heading east to Bluffington's instead of our usual stop at Panera Bread in Lake Bluff. On Sunday, we did the standard Panera to Panera ride.

The wind changed direction by 180 degrees between the two days. On Saturday the wind blew us north and we fought our way through it on the way home. Sunday was just the opposite. The ride home Sunday with the wind at our backs was definitely more fun than the ride north.

Saturday's group included Cliff, Dave, Felix, John, Martin, Rob and me. Bill Rizek also was with us for part of the ride. Rob lived up to his reputation as having bloodhound like capabilities for tracking down rides, as he met up with up at Hibbard and Tower Roads.

The colder temperature (low 40's) may have held down the size of the group by a bit on Sunday, as it only included Felix, Gary, Ian and me. Despite the chilly weather, we seemed to have overdressed, as we all worked up a bit of a sweat on the strenuous ride against the wind heading north. We extended our stay at Panera to give our cold, clammy bodies an opportunity to thoroughly dry off before getting back on our bikes for the trip home. As we were in good company, no one seemed to mind extending the stay.

Hopefully, we'll get in some decent weather during December. We set of a goal for our group of racking up over 1,000 EBC Club miles next month. Of course, if 40 degrees seemed chilly, once December's weather descends, the 1,000 mile goal may start to seem rather ambitious.

Rides for Saturday and Sunday 11/12 and 11/13/2011

I will lead VF rides from Panera in Wilmette on Saturday and Sunday starting at 08:00 AM.

We will do Panera to Panera with optional extra 10-15 mile loop on St. Mary/O'Plaine roads if the weather is nice and the group feels like it. If the weather is not good for riding I will post a cancellation by 07:00 AM on the day of the ride.

Felix

Saturday 11-5-11 ride

This past Saturday we had a brilliant ride to Panera and points beyond. The pace up the bunny trail was a steady 28 mph for those that could hang on...I got caught out in the back of the surge and, although the line was always in sight, I could not catch back up. However, there was a soft tailwind and I had a terrific ride up the trail on my own and felt great.

After that effort, no one was in any hurry to leave our comfy quarters at Panera in Lake Bluff....but eventually we did and Felix led us on the St Marys/O'Plaine/Atkinson/Waukegan etc loop that goes by the forest preserve. Passing the silver lakes with the leaves drifting down in the sunshine as we paced along was fantastic.

I have new keywin pedals and discovered that they stiffen up in the cold and don't want to let me unclip....I was sure this would happen and I would have the inevitable tip-over - my plan was to stay close to Big Bob so I could lean on him instead of the pavement, but luckily I was able to get out every time -- also good time to practice the track stand.

But now I come to the real reason for this blog post. As we were returning Cliff slowed down and, when we turned to get onto Green Bay he stayed out of view. We waited for him and called his phone but he didn't show up or answer (did not hear the phone) so we assumed (correctly) that he didn't see us turn and went a different way. Because we know he can fix a flat (!!!) and knows his way home we weren't worried and decided to continue home. There was a plan for Cliff (and anyone else inclined) to stop at my house for wine on the way home and, sure enough Cliff turned up after awhile.

Cliff is on heart medication and it turns out that his heart rate went way up past where it should be with the medication. He slowed down to 12 mph (so of course he got left way behind) and still could not get his rate to a safe place until he actually got to my house. This was a potentially threatening situation -- the VF rides generally don't have a sweep since all are experienced riders, but I think we should all consider if there is some way to lower the chance of this kind of thing (or an accident, for example) happening again and without the rest of our knowledge.

Cliff and I drank a whole bottle of a very good German pinot noir in the sunshine at my picnic table and all ended well with no harm done and it was another great day on the bike.

Comments/ideas welcome

Ride for Saturday 11/5/2011

Dear All,

I will lead a VF ride (20mph) this Saturday.

We will start from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 08:00.

Distance is going to be between 50 and 70 miles.

Destination either Libertyville or Cuba Road.

There will be a food stop in the middle of the ride.

If the weather is not good for riding, I will post a cancellation before 7AM on the day of the ride.

Felix

Evanston Bike Club Featured in Panera Bread Newsleader

Panera Bread has a feature story in their current newsletter about the Evanston Bike Club meeting at their Wilmette location. Although the article is about the entire club, two of the three bike riders in the photo illustrating the story are from our group. Herb is shown on the left and I'm modeling a Sub 5 Hour Century Challenge jersey on the right

http://mypanera.panerabread.com/storiestips-view.php?id=145

A third member of the Sub 5 Century Team is also shown in a photo in the e-mail with "teaser" information about the article. The photos shows a profile shot of Heidi wearing her Sub 5 jersey.

Show and Go Rides Weekend of 10/22-23

The sun is predicated to come out again this weekend and it should be good (although a bit brisk) bike riding weather. No firm plans, but on Saturday we may head up along the lake and see what is left of the fall foliage after this week's wind storms. Come meet up at Panera Bread at 8:00 am on Saturday and Sunday morning and contribute your vote on where the day's ride should head.

Video Recap Of Our Team Riding in the Sub 5 Hour Century Challenge

If you missed the premier of the video Cons produced about our team's participation in the Sub 5 Hour Century Challenge at last night's Evanston Bike Club meeting, don't despair You can still view the video on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4NPQTnOcPI

Thanks Cons for a job well done, both in producing the video and in MC'ing the presentation last night.

Show and Go Rides Weekend of 10/15-16

Given the uncertainty about the wind speed on Saturday and rain on Sunday, we'll decide where to ride to based on who shows up at Panera Bread at 8:00 am on Saturday and Sunday.  Tentatively, we're considering a ride to Bluffington's on Saturday and from Panera to Panera on Sunday.  If the weather is favorable and the group is in the mood, we can certainly decide to go farther and could consider a Cuba Road or Barrington Hills ride. Meet us at Panera and cast your vote.

Ride Start Moved to 8:00 am Beginning Weekend of 10/8-9

We're moving the start time for the rides to 8:00 am beginning on 10/8. Meeting at Panera Bread in Wilmette. No firm destination selected yet for the rides this weekend. We can come to a consensus on the optimum destinations to take advantage of the nice weather predicted for this weekend once we get to Panera. . Tentatively, the Saturday ride will probably be a medium distance ride (40-60 miles) and the Sunday ride will be a longer ride (80-110 miles).

Ride Recap - Weekend of 10/1-2

The original plan was for a moderate ride on Saturday and a hard ride on Sunday. However, Saturday's 42 mile Panera to Panera ride featured a number of hard sprints, and turned into a fairly energetic training ride. Although, I missed the Barrington Hills segment of the Sunday ride, the early part of the ride turned out to be at a more moderate pace than Saturday's ride

Saturday's group included Charles, Cons, Heidi, Herb, Rich, Felix, Ian, and me. Cons invited the group back to his house after the ride for a viewing of the Sub 5 Hour Century Challenge video. It is a professional quality effort. The official premiere of the video will be at the EBC monthly meeting on 10/18 and after that we'll post a link to the video on this blog.

Sunday's group consisted on Cons, Clay, Felix, Hugo, Herb, a couple of my friends, Tom and Bryn, and me. Clay gets bonus points for joining us on his anniversary. This gave him a pretty good rationale for turning back after a stop about 35 miles into the ride.

10/2 Ride to Barrington Hills will start at 7:00 am

Meeting at Panera Bread at 7:00 am on Sunday morning for a Cuba Road - Barrington Hills ride. Should be 85-90 miles with a quick stop at 30 miles and lunch at 65 miles

10/1 Ride Starting Time is Still 7:00 am

We'll meet at 7AM at Panera in Wilmette and do Panera to Panera with a possible loop on Atkinson/St. Mary. Back before noon. We may move the ride starting time back to 8:00 am the weekend of 10/8 in order to stay in synch with the EBC Fast ride.

9/24/11 Ride Recap - Panera to Panera

The combination of riders tapering before tomorrow's Apple Cider Century and the wet weather led to it being a small group today. Our ride consisted of just Gary, Felix and me. And while it was a successful ride, the early going in the rain was pretty miserable.

Prior to the ride while gathering at Panera, we took some good natured teasing from Heidi. She mentioned that while the members of the group that rode in the Sub 5 Hour Century are pretty fast for five hours, that the more experienced members of last Saturday's ride can go a lot more than just 5 hours. (Heidi, Phil and Charles added an extra 20 miles to last week's ride by heading up to the Botanic Gardens). We had to admit that there is definitely something to the knowledge and stamina that years of experience riding in the Evanston Bike Club provide, because after riding in the rain last Sunday and again today, I wish the rest of us had gotten in some bonus miles taking advantage of the gorgeous weather last Saturday.

The ride up to Lake Bluff was at a very leisurely pace due to caution on wet roads. It stopped raining after we were about half way, and then suddenly became very pleasant. We debated whether or not to stop, based on getting back home before it started raining again. However, stopping to dry out wet socks won out. While we enjoyed the conversation and hot drinks during the break, as it started raining on us again just before we got home, maybe we should have gone with Felix's initial inclination to not make a stop.

The ride home down the Bunny Trail (Skokie Valley Bikeway) started out at a leisurely pace. However, with each pull, we each progressively took turns speeding up the pace by about a mile per hour. Once we got up to 25 mph, Gary and I decided that we did not want Felix to have tired legs for his century the next day, so for his benefit didn't take the pace up any higher. (I realize that most readers of this post that know Gary and me will be skeptical that we backed off because we were being considerate, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

The tail end of the ride was wet, as it began raining again. Once again, as has happened numerous times this year, we got really wet on a day when Weather.com only predicted a 10% chance of rain. However, the middle portion of the ride was so enjoyable that it more than made up for the wet early and late sections of the ride.

Planned Rides for the Weekend of 9/24-25

Several members of the group are headed to the Apple Cider Century on Sunday.

On Saturday, Felix will lead a Panera Bread in Wilmette to Panera Bread in Lake Bluff ride starting at 7AM. 

9/17 Barrington Hills Ride Recap

We had a really pleasant ride out to the Cuba Road rollers and Barrington Hills on a gorgeous fall day. Round trip the ride was about 82 miles. Bob, Charles, Felix, Heidi, Phil, Randy, Rich, and I composed our group. We found a pace at 20-21 mph that worked for everyone in the group, with numerous sprints that gave the faster members of the group a chance to air it out. The combination of an appropriate pace, the Cuba Road rollers and some hard sprints made it into a ride that offered challenges for all of us without anyone being under too much stress.

At one point during the ride, I tried to replicate one of Martin's surges going up an overpass, but my effort was widely disparaged because my cadence was way too high to bear any resemblance to Martin.

Randy was a first time rider with our group. His bike was ride-able despite his frightening encounter with a hit and run car driver last week. However, as we went along he discovered his bike needed an adjustment. We were pleasantly surprise to discover that Wheels of Northbrook was open at 7:45 am on a Saturday to make a quick repair. Go figure, a bike shop that is actually open when bikers are starting their rides.

The only note of dissent on the trip came as we passed the Deerfield Bakery on the way home. We had stopped for lunch at Einstein's in Barrington, and while the food was fine, and they had tables out front that allowed us to enjoy the nice day, it was sort of a mundane lunch. Although I am glad we made it home in time to get some afternoon errands in, it was a bit of a challenge to pass up all the delicious sweets at the Deerfield bakery.

The rigors of the Cuba Road rollers obviously did not deplete all the energy of Heidi, Charles, and Phil, as they added an extra 20 miles to the route by making a detour north to the Botanic Gardens and thus getting in a 100 mile ride.

Ride on 9/17/11

On Saturday, we're headed to Barrington Hills, 91 miles, plenty of hilly roads.  On the flats we'll do 18-22+ mph, with a minimal stop at about 28 miles, and a sandwich stop at about 65 miles. Leaving from Panera Bread at 7:00 am


Sunday is the North Shore Century. A number of the members of the group will be working as volunteers. If you're are not volunteering, recruit some friends for this ride. Registration on the day of the event is $25. There are 25, 50, 62, 70, and 100 mile options. 

Recap of the Sub 5 Hour Century Ride

It was a good day for the team from the Evanston Bike Club at the Sub 5 Hour Century ride in Hampshire, IL. Bob, Bob, Clay, Cons, Gary, Herb, Ian, Martin, Richard, Felix, and I all rode in the event and John and Heidi followed us providing SAG support in Herb's truck. Nine members of the team rode the 100 mile course in under 5 hours, and a tenth member would have made it if not for a missed turn. All that training that Felix cajoled us into doing paid off with a very respectable result in this event that raises funds for Parkinson's disease research.

It was a long but satisfying day. We departed from the North Shore around 5:00 am in order to get there for the 6:00 am registration. We started around 8:00 am and set off at a blazing pace down the mostly downhill initial segment of the course (for details, click on the links to Garmin data at the bottom of the post). Our first circuit of the 33 mile course was ahead of pace, as we took advantage of the minimal wind early in the morning. However, as the wind picked up mid-morning and energy reserves wore down, we slowed down a bit below our planned pace during the second lap, and really fell off the pace for the third lap. However, our fast first lap and short breaks provided a comfortable margin to hit the goal time, despite the slower following laps. Additional statistics will be added to this post as they become available.

I would like to provide a shout out to Cons and Ian for helping to ensure that leg cramps were not my undoing  again as they had been on the previous two practice sessions in Hampshire. Cons for serving as my OTC pharmacist, and Ian for his reminders to consume a bottle of liquid every half circuit.

Also, Heidi and John deserve a big thank you for following us around the course for 5 hours.

We did a bit better on our post ride celebration, as we had a nice lunch at the Old West Steakhouse in Union Il.

Garmin Ride data:

Felix's Garmin Data

Con's Garmin Data

Sub 5 Century Challenge Results


Results for All Participants

September 5 Ride Recap - Photo Opp At Panera Bread

The ride started with a free breakfast at Panera Bread for those of us that showed up early in Evanston Bike Club Jerseys. This was followed by a group photos of all the members of the Evanston Bike Club in attendance for future posting on the Panera website. The offer of a free breakfast and the opportunity to promote the club turned out to be a big draw. There must have been at least 30 participants and it became a nice social gathering.

Today's ride was our last group training session together before the Sub 5 Hour Century next Sunday, so it was a "tapering" ride. We rode from Panera in Wilmette to Panera in Lake Bluff for about a 42 mile ride. The pace was fairly brisk, particularly on the way home coming down the Skokie Valley Bikeway with a 14 mph NNE wind helping us maintain a 25-28 mph pace.

We had a good turnout of the team that will be riding in the Sub 5 Hour Century, including Cons, Felix Gary,  Herb, Martin, Rich and me. Also joining in on the ride were Heidi Hoppe, John Chisholm, and Dave Reesh. John and Heidi will also be part of the team, piloting our SAG wagon (actually Herb's truck).

At Panera in Lake Bluff, we had our final discussion on strategy for the event. The most controversial decision was about whether to wait for someone with a flat tire or mechanical problems. After much debate, Heidi firmly suggested that we should consider this to be like a race, and if someone has mechanical problems, it should be up to them to catch up to the group. Her logical suggestion sort of put an end to the debate, and we decided that as long as everyone was aware that we are going to be rather cold blooded about leaving folks behind, no one should have any reason for complaint at the end of the day.

It turned out to be an enjoyable and successful final training session.

Preliminary Forecast - Moderate Weather for Sub 5 Century Challenge

Let's keep our fingers crossed that the Weather.com 10 day forecast holds up. The current projection is for a sunny day with a high of 74 degrees and 7 mph wind in Hampshire, IL  on the 9/11 date of the event. After all the nasty weather we have had to deal with this year, it would certainly be a pleasure to have a near perfect day for the event. Good luck to all in having a great ride that day.

Sub 5 Hour Century Ride Recap - 8/28/11

During a prep ride for the 9/11 Sub 5 Hour Century six members of the Evanston Bike Club today broke the five hour century mark. Bob, Cons, Herb, Ian, Felix all rode the 100 mile route in under five hours with a group of other riders and finished in approximately 4 hours and fifty four minutes. Martin beat the entire group across the finish line by at least a couple of minutes.

We went out to Hampshire this morning for 3 circuits of the 33.5 mile course that we will be riding on during the event. The temperature was moderate, between 60 and 80 degrees during the ride, and the wind was between 8-11 mph.

The good result was based on an average moving speed of 21.3 mph and only 12 minutes of stopping time. The very short breaks between circuits definitely led to a couple of misadventures as the riders that weren't ready to saddle up on time had to work their tails off to get caught up with the group. One of our members ended up completing a circuit without his helmet, which got left behind. The course starts out with a long gentle descent, and catching up to the peleton required a pace of at least 30 mph on this section of the course.

There were about 30 bicycle riders at this training session from across Northern Illinois. Gary and I were also part of the EBC contingent (Gary had to leave after completing the first two circuits due to a family commitment). All things considered, the 30 of us held together fairly well

So how did our group of EBC'ers celebrate accomplishing this goal? Afterwards, we went to Wendy's. We're definitely going to have to work on our celebrating.

Link to Felix's Garmin Data:

Link to Con's Garmin Data

Sub-5 News

http://www.sub5century.org/news/training-nutrition-and-the-pre-ride-reception/

Ride for Sunday 8/28/2011

Dear All,

We are going to do another Sub-5 Century Course ride for this Sunday.

We should meet at the Hampshire High School Parking lot at 07:45 and be ready to start at 08:00. We will do the entire ride (3 laps) and try to minimize the breaks between the laps in order to see how it will affect the total ride time. Bring plenty of drinks and food to drink/eat on the bike and during the breaks. This most likely will be our last long ride before the actual event, so make effort to come for it. If you are planning to join us, send me an email so we can look for you.
Felix

Rides for Saturday and Sunday 8/20 and 8/21/2011

On Saturday 8/20/2011 we will start from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 07:00. We will do 45-60 miles with one snack stop in the middle. Pace 20+ mph.

On Sunday 8/21/2011 we will do the Sub-5 Century Course ride. We will start at 08:00 from the Hampshire, IL High School Parking lot. We will do 3 laps (total 100 miles) with two short water/snack breaks between the laps. Bring plenty of fluids and snacks to eat on the bike and during the rest stops.

If the weather is bad I will post a cancellation on the EBC listserve on the morning of the ride:

http://groups.google.com/group/ebclist/topics?gvc=1

8/13/11 Ride Recap- 85 Miles to Barrington Hills

We had a good 85 mile training ride today on the Cuba Road rollers and the hills in the Barrington area. Seven of us were on the ride: Bob, Clay, Cons, Herb, Ian, Martin and me. It's probably a good thing Herb was on the ride, because he was the only one of us that really knew the route. He navigated flawlessly.

We maintained our target pace of 22-23 mph for the most part on the flats on the trip out to Barrington Hills, and on the way back with the wind at our backs had a number of stretches of 24-27 mph. While the results from Cons' Garmin indicate that our average speed was 19.1 mph, that is due to all the stops and the hills. We were pretty close to the pace we need to be at for the Sub 5 Hour Century.

I have now worn my event jersey twice, and ended up on the asphalt both times. I assume it is just bad luck and not any sort of omen. Last week, leg cramps temporarily disabled me. On today's ride, we were stopped at a light, and the cyclist next to me lost his balance and took a slow motion clip fall into me. I couldn't get unclipped, and went down like a domino. The whole thing happened in such slow motion that no damage was done, and we all got a good laugh out of it. Bob even congratulated the other rider on his successful technique for breaking his fall.

I broke off early from the ride to head home. I happened to cross paths with Hugo on Sunset Ridge Road., who was out for a training ride. He is regaining his fitness, but being sensible about not over doing it.

Saturday 8/13/11 Ride

Saturday we will do a ride starting at 7:00 am from Panera Bread in Wilmette to the Barrington Hills area. Plan is to go 80-90 miles. Pace on the flats will be 22-23 mph. Limited stops. This is a training ride for the Sub 5 Hour  Century. If there is lightning or heavy rain in the forecast, ride will be moved to Sunday,

8/6/11 Ride Recap - Training Ride on the Sub 5 Century Course

On Saturday, Bob, Clay, Cons, Felix, Herb, Ian, Martin, and I headed to Hanpshire to test ourselves to see if we could ride the 100 mile course of the event at pace. We were joined by Jim Duran, a cyclist from Palatine who rode in the event last year. The previous week, we had done 2 circuits of the 33.5 mile route. However, due to stops for flats on the first circuit, a missed turn on the second circuit, and a decision not to go for a third circuit on a hot and humid day, our results from the 8/1 ride did not provide a very good indication of where we are in regard to being fit enough to make the sub 5 hour pace on the September 11 ride.

Prior to the start of the ride, Felix handed out jerseys that were custom designed for the event. They are very distinctive and bright, making it easy to pick out our group from a long distance. However, this delayed us a bit, and we ended a hitting the road at 8:20 rather that at 8:00 am. Given that the temperature was perfect at 8:00 am and in the mid '80s at midday, the late starting time probably cost us a bit.

On the first circuit, we missed a turn and went so far off course that we decided the best thing to do was simply to keep going and then double back once we hit 16+ miles. The group easily maintained pace on the first loop. Once back at our starting point we pulled out the maps and GPS's and figured out where we had gone wrong. Our navigating certainly was not helped by the paucity of street signs in this rural area.

The second circuit was a bit tougher as the sun became brighter, and our navigation was not perfect, but at least this time we only went about a mile out of our way. We were able to maintain the pace for the entire circuit.

Our group did really well on the first half of the third circuit. We were able to keep up our 22 mph pace. However, after about 85 miles, the hot weather started to take a toll on us. Clay, Cons, and Martin all finished with a flourish, but the rest of us struggled a bit. Ian and I had the most problems due to leg cramps. Despite 4 bottles of Gatorade and 4 more of water, the knots in my legs tightened up to the point that I was unable to finish the ride. Ian struggled through the pain and was able to complete the ride. However, the rest of the group made it to the finish in a really good time considering the draining aspect of the heat and humidity..

So how did we do? We took much longer breaks than we will be able to take at the actual event, but had planned on doing so. In regard to weather, we caught a break in not having any wind to fight against. However, the heat and humidity made the conditions on the 3rd circuit really challenging. Given that we still have another month  to train for the event, our group should do pretty well if the wind, sun and rain are favorable.

The results for the ride from Felix's GPS can be viewed here.

7/31 Sub 5 Hour Century Training Ride Recap

Cons, Felix, Herb, Martin, Rich, and I drove out to Hampshire for a training ride on the Sub 5 Hour Century course. The following is the summary of the ride from Rene, the organizer of the event, "Another good ride yesterday with 16 folks completing the first lap despite 5 flats from 2 (unnamed riders)and 13 completing the second lap with no flats. We were just under 21 miles per hour as measured by half a dozen Garmins ... still some dispute over elevation".

We all did well on the first lap of the 33 mile route. I think heat stress kicked in about mile 50 during the second circuit of the course. While we decided against going for a 3rd lap, our group performed well on a nasty little hill about 3/4 of a mile from the finish. Martin exploded up the hill with Cons right behind him, and the rest of the EBC group gave chase. We left all the other riders in our dust. It was a tough climb after 65 miles under a hot sun on a humid day. The highlight of the ride was hearing  one of the other riders as he wearily got of his bicycle after trying to chase us down on the last mile of the course exclaim, "you Evanston guys are brutal".

We finished off the day with a nice lunch at the Wild West Steakhouse in Union.

Rides for the week of 7/25/2011-7/31/2011

Today (7/26/2011) we will start at 17:30 from Panera Bread in Wilmette and go to Ft. Sheridan. We will do 5 hill intervals in the ravine, then go back to Panera.

Thursday there will be the usual 17:30 Higher Gear Store ride from their store in Wilmette to Ft. Sheridan. I am on call that day, so I will not be able to do it. Martin, Gary and Cons will be there.

Saturday we will do a ride at 07:00 from Panera Bread in Wilmette. We can practice double rotating paceline on Waukegan road and back.

Sunday we are going to do another Sub-5 Century Course ride at 08:00 from the High School in Hampshire, IL. The plan is to do two loops (67 miles) with an optional third loop if we feel like it.

Felix

Sub-5 Hour Century Course Ride

Today 8 of us joined 5 other Sub-5 riders for a 2 lap preview of the actual Sub-5 Century Route. We met at the Hampshire, IL High School parking lot at 08:00. The day started with some clouds and light rain. We started the ride as non-rotating double paceline. The pace was brisk, everybody was feeling good. Few miles into the first lap we started to do a variant of the double rotating paceline, where the rider at the front of the fast line will move over to the slower line and hold it there for a short period of time. Two thirds into the first lap Hugo pulled the same inner thigh  muscle that he recently injured and slowed down. Cons and I slowed down to wait for him. We tried to follow the main group, but we could not see where they made a turn. When we reached the end of the road we made a turn based on gut feeling. It turned out, we went in the wrong direction. After realizing  the mistake, we stopped and resorted to technology. We used the phone GPS for directions. It took several minutes to acquire satellite signal and download the maps (no 3G connection there). We followed the directions until we ended up at the I-90 entrance. At that point we re-routed (going back for a while) and made it to the High School Parking with extra 10 miles on the odometer. Few of the other riders had already left. Hugo and Cons left too. Hugo decided not to push further and risk a more serious injury, Cons was going to be late for a birthday party. The remaining seven of us started the second lap of the course. This time we were doing the rotating double paceline. It was mostly smooth in the beginning, but as we progressed and got a little tired, we started to open bigger and bigger gaps. At that time the wind had picked up a little bit and was in our faces. That added more stress on everybody. With 3-4 miles left, we resorted to a single paceline. At the end of the lap, there was a hill, not very steep, but made us slow down. Randy and Martin reacted quickly and we were back on track. Everybody seemed happy when we arrived at the parking lot. According to the data from the Garmin of one of the riders, we did the first lap at 20.6 mph. The second lap was almost at 22 mph. The question remains if we can maintain the pace for one more lap?

Sunday July 17th, 2011 Ride

Dear All,
Tomorrow we will start from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 07:00. We will most likely go north and do Panera to Panera, with optional extra 10-15 miles loop depending on how everybody feels.
Felix

Saturday July 16th, 2011 Ride

This Saturday we will join a group of other Sub-5 Century Riders for a two-loop ride of the actual course.
The ride will start at 08:00 from the Hampshire, IL High School.

42.121320, -88.497437 GPS coordinates

1600 Big Timber Road, Hampshire, IL 60140

Hampshire High School, located on Big Timber Road approximately one-half mile west of Route 20 near Hampshire, Illinois. From I-90 exit HWY 20 and make a left (South) to Big Timber road, make Right (West) on it and you should see the high school on the south side about a half a mile from there.

 

Send me an email so we can make travel/carpool arrangements.

 

We can try to do one lap with double rotating paceline and the second one with a single paceline and see which configuration will allow us to make a better time. Bring some extra water/Gatorade in a cooler so we can refill between the laps.

Felix

Sunday 7/10/2011 Ride Recap

Three of us - Cons, Herb and I joined 9 other Sub-5 Riders for a ride. The ride started from Union, IL and went north to Lake Geneva. We started riding in a double paceline with a nice tailwind. The ride was in very rural area, the car traffic was minimal, there were very few busy roads crossings. The pace was brisk. Mostly flat terrain until we got to Lake Geneva. There were several, not very long, but steep enough hills to make you shift to the small ring in the front. We made a short stop at an Ice Cream shop in Lake Geneva where we got water and Gatorade. The owner was nice and gave us extra ice. We made a loop around the lake with more hills. A brief stop at a beach stand to get more water and we headed back. Few more hills on the way out of Lake Geneva started to split the group. The wind was in our faces. We re-grouped and started to practice double rotating paceline. It was not a very smooth one. With the heat, humidity and the constant acceleration/deceleration the group started to fall apart and the average speed plummeted. We re-grouped at a highway crossing and continued in a single paceline. Making a good time was out of the question at that point and we continued at a slower pace. We had to make one last water stop at a small store in Union just 2 miles from the finish. We made it safe and stopped for a lunch at the Wild West Town Steakhouse. The burgers were good, the company better. Overall very nice ride, in a new area, with new group, on a very hot and humid day.

Sub-5 Training Ride on Sunday 7/10/2011

Tomorrow we will join a group of other Sub-5 riders for a ride. The ride starts at 08:00 from the Wild West Steakhouse in Union , IL. We will go north to Lake Geneva and back. There will be a snack/restroom stop at the middle at Williams Bay & Fontana. Total distance around 76 miles.
We will leave from Cons' house at 06:30 sharp. Please arrive a little earlier in order to load the bikes. Do not ring the ball or call, so we do not wake up the rest of the family. The address is:
310 Vista Drive, Wilmette, IL
If you have any questions send me an email at vikfel at yahoo.com

7/9/11 Ride Recap - Hugo Returns

Today's ride marked the first time that Hugo Sahagun was able to rejoin the group since his nasty accident. He seemed remarkably fit given how long he has been off the bike. It was great to have him back riding with the group..

Our route took us on a 70 mile round trip to the Wisconsin state line. During much of the ride, we worked on a rotating pace line. Despite some glitches (OK - a lot of glitches), the practice is leading to a smoother ride  with fewer gaps. Also, it helped that we had the wind in our favor on the way north.

We're definitely in a rut regarding our mid ride stop, at we went back to Panera Bread in Lake Bluff.

On the return trip, we took Waukegan  Road south from Lake Bluff to Voltz Road. Suggestion to other bike groups -- not a great idea during when their is lots of traffic, unless you like waiting at red lights.

Weather was great today. It was a beautiful sunny day. Although it heated up by end the ride, due to moderate humidity, it was not unpleasant.

At the tail end of the ride, Cons suggested we stop by his house for a beer, an offer that was hard to pass up. I was incredibly impressed at how gracious Melissa was when with no advance warning her husband walked  through the front door to a bunch of sweaty friends. As an added bonus, we were able to catch the last 15 kilometers of the telecast of today's Tour De France stage.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable ride.

Saturday 7/9/2011 Ride

We will start at 07:00 from Centennial Ice Skating Rink in Wilmette (Centennial Park Ice Rink, 2300 Old Glenview Rd, Wilmette). We will practice double rotating paceline on Waukegan Road. The plan is to do around 80 miles with one stop on the way back at around 55-60 miles. Bring water and food to eat on the bikes. We are going to discuss the plan for the training during the stop or at the end of the ride.
Felix

Thursday 7/7/2011 After Work Ride

Dear All,
I will lead a VF (20+ mph) ride tomorrow.

We will start at 17:30 from the Higher Gear Store in Wilmette on Thursday 7/7/2011. The ride goes to Fort Sheridan at a brisk pace and comes back the same way. We can decide to do the hill intervals or go back with the rest of the ride. Total distance is going to be between 25 (no intervals) and 35 miles (hill intervals).

Let me know if you are planning to join us so we can look for you.

Felix

7/4 Ride Recap - Cuba Road Ride

A good training ride today on Independence Day. We had ten riders (Cons, Dave, Felix, Gary, Herb, John, Martin, Rich, Steven, and me) for a 65 mile round trip ride to the rolling hills of Cuba Road. We picked up Herb about 13 miles into the ride, as he was waiting for once we got to Riverwoods Road (either his timing was really good, or if he waited for us for quite a while). The ride included quite a bit of rotating pace line practice. We may actually have improved a bit today.

We continued to be loyal customers of Panera Bread, as we had a nice break at the Panera Bread on Milwaukee Avenune, just north of Deerfield Road.

It worked out to be a good ride on a glorious weather day.

7/2/11 Ride Recap - Just Short of Wisconsin Ride

I think that we were all surprised that 8 of the 10 members planning on riding in the Sub 5 Hour Century showed up for this morning's ride. That seems like remarkable attendance for a holiday weekend. Then, John Chisholm volunteered to lead a ride to Crystal Lake that Felix had been scheduled to lead so that he could join us. So the ride got off to a very good start. Although three riders (Bob, Clay and Martin) had to leave the ride early due to various commitments, five of us (Cons, Felix, Herb, Rich, and me) made it to Russell Road  which practically sits astride the Illinois/Wisconsin border, resulting in it being about an 80 mile round trip.

Today's ride was the first of the 2011 where humidity played a major factor. As the temperature rose toward mid-day, the high humidity became really draining. It made us wonder why when we had reached Hwy 173, the idea that given we were so close to Wisconsin compelled us to keep going before we turned back, so that we would get in our first ride of July to Wisconsin. At the time (I'm guessing about 9:45 am), it seemed like a good idea.

One of the goals of the ride was to get in some practice at a rotating pace line. Well, we got in some practice, but were still a bit on the rough side. The fact that we were able to hold together fairly well during an energetic sprint while  in a single file line speaks to how much more practice we need if the group is going to master the rotating pace line.

Two of the riders that had to peel off early were Clay and Martin. Given that they are also the only two members of our group that have significant racing experience, it was assumed by all the rest of us that they probably had an energetic sprint or so on their ride home. Of course, neither one of them is very competitive.

Our mid ride stop for food and hydration was at a McDonalds. Once again, it seemed like a good idea at the time. However, 45 minutes of hard riding after deparing had some questioning our wisdom in refueling with McDonald breakfast meals.

As the heat rose to close to 90 degrees with the sun beating down on us on this humid day, we decided to make an extra stop in Lake Forest to ensure that we were all well hydrated and no one risked heat exhaustion. We all agreed that we should probably take it easy the rest of the way home.

Well, we are riding down the bunny trail (Skokie Valley Bikeway) and Martin and his friend Joe come roaring by us. Of course, Felix was not going to let that happen, and the next thing I knew, we are sprinting down the bunny trail at close to maximum speed hanging onto their back wheels. It was a rather swift ride down to the terminus of the bikeway at Lake Cook road. So much for taking it easy.

When I got home, I hopped on the scale and noticed that I had lost 5 pounds during the ride. It was one of those days when it was hard to stay hydrated. However, I think despite the challenging conditions, we all agreed it was a fun ride.

Tuesday After Work Ride re-cap

Five of us started from Panera in Wilmette and did a brisk single paceline to Fort Sheridan. Dave had to go back to pick up his daughter, so the remaining 4 did 5 hill intervals down the long ravine in the Fort. On the way home we continued the single paceline and made it home with the sun still up. The weather was perfect, as was the company. We should try to do a similar kind of ride during the week more often.

Monday 7/4/2011 Ride

Dear All,
I will lead a Very Fast (20+ mph) ride on Monday 7/4/2011. We will start at 07:00 from Panera Bread in Wilmette.

We are going to go to Cuba Road. The total distance is going to be around 60-70 miles. There will be one food stop in the middle.

Felix Angelov
vikfel at yahoo.com

After work ride on Tuesday 6/28/2011

Dear All,
I will lead a Very Fast (20+ mph) ride on Tuesday 6/28/2011. We will start at 17:30 from Panera Bread in Wilmette.

We are going to go to Fort Sheridan. The total distance is going to be around 30 miles. There will be no food stop.

If you are planning to join, please send me an email so I can look for you.

Felix Angelov
vikfel at yahoo.com

6/26 Ride Recap - 53 Mile Ride Practicing A Rotating Pace Line

We had spectacular weather for today's ride, and our rotating pace line riding was somewhat improved under Clay's tutelage. We had seven riders, 6 of whom had recovered enough from yesterday ride (which may not actually have been a century according to a couple of riders that were monitoring their bike computers) on  today's ride. Clay dropped off at 176, and Martin peeled off early to head home to Deerfield, but we picked up a couple of extra riders at a stop at Panera Bread. There continues to be a lively debate as to whether our group is better off using a double or single pace line, but consensus that we need more practice before we can come to a sound conclusion

6/25 Ride Recap - A Pleasant 100 Mile Ride to Pleasant Prairie, WI

The 13 riders that made the trip to Pleasant Prairie enjoyed near perfect weather, a nice group, and 26 tires that stayed inflated the entire ride. We rode at a fairly brisk pace, although not fast enough to achieve John Chisholm's goal of a 6 hour century. Once we arrived at Culvers, John attempted to recruit other riders for a quick turn around for the trip back home. However, there just were not enough riders willing to give up eating Butter Burgers to make the effort viable. Once it was obvious that we would not go for a fast overall time, adding an extra stop at Panera Bread in Lake Bluff started to seem like a good idea. Between dawdling at Culvers, the extra stop at Panera, and the group getting separated and part of the group making a wrong turn, the journey somehow expanded into a seven hour ride, despite traveling at a brisk pace most of the day. However, no one seemed to mind two much. A couple of notable events, Martin completed his first century bike ride (he was still leading sprints even after riding for 80 miles), and Heidi Hoppe rode with the group from start to finish for the first time.

Sub-5 Hour Century

Since we have a team for the Sub-5 Hour Century, here is a link to the promotional video:

Sub-5 Hour Century 2011

Obey The Rules!

Very interesting blog found by Rich:

http://www.velominati.com/blog/the-rules/

Many of the rules are good to be followed ;-)

We also need to learn the correct terminology:

http://www.velominati.com/blog/the-lexicon/

Saturday & Sunday June 25th & 26th, 2011 Rides

Dear All,

This weekend I will lead two Very Fast Rides (20+ mph). Both rides will leave Panera Bread in Wilmette at 07:00.

On Saturday we can do a faster version of the Jelly Belly Century ride. We can practice double and single paceline riding as the road conditions permit. There will a food stop in the middle at Culver's in Pleasant Prairie in Wisconsin. Bring two water bottles and snacks.

On Sunday we can do a ride similar to what we did last Sunday. Go to Waukegan Road and Voltz Road and practice double paceline all the way to Belvedere and back. Depending how we feel, we can do an extra loop. Total distance 60-85 miles at around 22 mph for the paceline. If we decide to do two loops we can have a food stop at Panera Bread on Route 176. If we do only one loop we can stop for a snack at Panera in Wilmette. Bring two water bottles and snacks to eat during the ride.

If the weather is bad I will post a cancellation on the listeserve by 06:00 on the day of the ride. If you have any questions send me an email at vikfel at yahoo.com

6/19/2011 Ride Re-cap

We had 10 riders today. Started with 8 and picked two on the way. The day started nice, not too hot, minimal wind. We re-grouped at Voltz and Waukegan road and did a double rotating paceline all the way to Waukegan and Belvedere. The group stayed together for most of the time. Everybody got a little surprised that the rotating paceline actually worked. There were moments that we were doing it very well and there were moments when we were opening bigger gaps in the line. But overall it was much better than the first time on the bike path. We had more riders this time and Clay and Mike were very helpful with tips, hints and being a perfect example. We turned back on Waukegan Road and continued the double rotating paceline back to Old Elm. There were couple of brisk sprints that broke the paceline at the end. At that point the sky turned darker and we decided to head back home instead of doing another loop on Waukegan road. We took the Old Elm Road, and did the usual return via Fort Sheridan, St. John, Lake Cook, Green Bay, Forrest Way roads. Just north of Tower Road it started raining. It rained almost all the way to home. Overall a very good ride, and promising paceline training.
P.S.
This was the first EBC ride with no food stop!!!

Servizio Corse Opera Rosa - Chapter II

Check out this behind the scenes video from the 2011 Giro d'Italia from the Vittoria's car perspective. Very interesting.

This is what happens when you have some free time and not riding...

Enjoy

Hugo

Saturday 6/18/11 Ride

This suggests a route for Saturday's ride that would include the 3 little sisters on St. Mary's, the little hills just south of Libertyville. If we want to save our legs for the ride Felix is leading on Sunday, (which may be grueling  if it is at the pace of the 80 mile ride he led last weekend) we can cut east at Atkinson Road and head for a mid-ride stop at Panera Bread in Lake Bluff (about a 50 mile round trip ride). If the group is feeling strong, we can head for the rolling terrain on River Road, which would extend it to about a 65 mile ride. Regardless of whether we follow this route or someone else comes up with a better one, I'll see you at Panera Bread at 7:00 am on Saturday

Sunday 6/19/2011 Ride

Dear All,

I will lead a Very Fast (20+mph) ride this Sunday, June 19th, 2011 at 07:00 AM from Panera Bread in Wilmette.

The total distance will be between 60 and 80 miles, there will be one food stop in the middle or between the second and the last thirds of the ride. We will try to practice rotating double paceline on wider, not so busy roads for a part of the ride.

If the weather is bad, I will post a cancellation on the listserve by 06:00 AM on the day of the ride.

If you have any questions, send me an email at vikfel@yahoo.com.

6/12 Ride Recap - Panera to Panera

We had a nice 40 mile ride today taking advantage of lovely weather. Our group included 7 riders for a Panera Bread in Wilmette to a Panera Bread in Lake Bluff ride. This was the first one on which our group  practiced a rotating paceline. Not unexpectedly, the rotating paceline was a bit ragged, but improved over the course of the ride.

We took the Skokie Valley Bikeway up to 176. When Felix threw out the suggestion that we consider adding an extra 10 mile loop to the ride, it was met with very meager enthusiasm. After yesterday's long hard ride, it did not take much discussion before the group reached a consensus that a 40 mile ride would be just fine. We  had a nice relaxing stop at a Panera and a discussion that included lots of anecdotes about past Evanston Bike Club rides.

With the wind at our backs on the way home, we returned back down the Skokie Valley Bikeway at a really brisk pace. Weather.com reports that the wind is from the ENE, but I'm going to believe my own eyes and the flag that I saw blowing true south. It's always pleasant to have the wind directly at your back on the way  home.

6/11/11 Cuba Road Ride Recap

Sort of  smallish group today for an 80 mile ride to the rollers on Cuba Road and Barrington Hills. A competing  ride to the Waterford Precision Bicycle Factory drew off some riders and mediocre weather held back others. It was damp and foggy at the start and frankly, about the middle of the ride, when a drizzling rain started fogging up my glasses and the temperature dropped back into the low '50's, we weren't having a ton of fun and thought that those that had passed on today's ride were not so foolish after all. However, the rain soon stopped and the day got warmer and we got back to enjoying a very scenic route.

We started with 7 riders, but 3 of them dropped off early as planned, including Martin, his friend Joe, and Bill Rizek. Thus, for the majority of the ride it was Felix, Paul, Charles, and me. Felix navigated the dozens of turns on our route flawlessly, and took the lion's share of the pulls.

A highlight of the ride was rescuing a damsel in distress. Well, "rescuing" might be a bit of an overstatement, but Felix saved her from a long 10 mile walk home pushing her bicycle by changing her tire. A lowlight of the ride was Charles losing the head to his new power meter. He is not sure whether it fell off or was taken in that den of thieves called Barrington. Somehow after looking around at the other patrons at our mid ride stop at Einstein Bagels in Barrington, it seems an unlikely spot for a thief. The loss remains a bit of a mystery.

All things considered, it ended up being a pretty good ride. Good company. some great scenery, and riding through rolling terrain at a fast pace, in weather that was just fine during the last quarter of the ride.

Rides for June 11th & 12th

Dear All,
I will lead two Very Fast (20+ mph) rides on Saturday 6/11/2011 and Sunday 6/12/2011. Both rides will start at 07:00 from Panera Bread in Wilmette.

On Saturday we can do 60-80 mile ride going west on Cuba Road. There will be a food stop in the middle.

On Sunday we can do the usual 45-60 mile trip to Lake Bluff or Gurnee. There will be a food stop at Panera Bread in Lake Bluff.

If the weather is bad I will post a cancellation on the listserve before 06:00 on the day of the ride.

If you have any questions send me an email at vikfel at yahoo.com

Paceline Choices

From Left to Right: Single Paceline Double Paceline Rotating Paceline Echelon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S129pCsN-YU For our group (small size) we should do the Rotating Paceline if we are 6 or more, or Single Paceline for 5 or less. If there is a strong side wind Echelon is a good option. The Double Paceline works better for larger groups (12 or more). Just my opinion. We can expirement and see what works for us.

June 5th Ride Recap

It started as a much cooler day than yesterday and stayed like that for the entire ride. 6 of us took the usual route to Panera in Lake Bluff. The usual pace line on the Skokie Valley Bicycle Path. Nice snack and conversation at Panera Bread. Brisk pace line back on the path. Made it home earlier than usual (I hope the wives appreciated it).

Just few seconds before...

Hi there,

I hope you are all ok and having a great time riding your bikes. It seems like you are truly enjoying the rides, since I have been reading the blog. I wish I was there riding along. Anyway, my pelvic bone fracture is healing ok (I saw the specialist on Thursday) and I should be able to ride again in about a month.

I was reviewing my power file on the day of my accident and it is interesting what my computer recorded a few seconds before the crash. The file shows that I was going at 22.8 miles an hour, with a heart rate of 162 bpm, power was 407 watts, 104 rpm cadence, with a 3% of slope. There is more info on the upper left corner and at the bottom.

Little did my computer know what was about to happen...

Take care and have a nice ride.

Hugo

June 4th Recap

Another +90F ride today. The difference this time, was one of those rare rides where you have a tail wind on both halves of the ride. The type of ride where you feel you can compete professionally until you realize it was the gentle hand of God pushing you along.

The roads were filled with MAMILs (Middle Aged Men in Lycra) just like us. Seeing this community of riders along the way made me feel good inside. I felt part of something larger, a club that wears clothes that are way too tight. When you ride, it's close to impossible to tell how old another rider is. I think it's more than just the clothes. Riding brings you back to a time when bikes were the way you and your friends got around. On the way home, if I squinted just a little bit, and looked at the shadow everyone castes, we were kids again. Try it.


The 80 miles we rode is now taking it's toll on me. Can't wait to meet my friends on bikes and ride again tomorrow

Saturday & Sunday June 4th & 5th, 2011 Rides

Dear All,
I will lead VF (20+ mph) rides on both Saturday 6/4/2011 and Sunday 6/5/2011. Both rides will start from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 07:00 AM.

On Saturday we can do a ride on Cuba road. The distance will be around 80 miles. We can stop for food at the Subway in Lake Zurich or at the Apple Haus in Long Grove.

On Sunday we can do the usual St. Mary /Cemetery loop. Total distance around 55-60 miles. Food stop at Panera Bread on Route 176/Waukegan Road in Lake Bluff.

If the weather is bad I will post a cancellation by 06:00 AM on the day of ride.

If you have any questions, send me an email at: vikfel @ yahoo.com
Felix

Butter Burger Century

Courtesy of Cliff Hoffman

Memorial Day Ride Recap - 100 miles for a Butter Burger

Our group had a good ride to Pleasant Prairie WI, and we survived the ride home in the first 90 degree day of the year fighting against a stiff breeze out the SSW (Weather.com is reporting it got up to 19 mph by the end of the ride). We only missed one turn and only had one flat.

The ride up to the Culver's in Pleasant Prairie was really pleasant. The temperature was moderate and we had the wind pushing us. Felix pulled the group most of the way at a good pace. However, we're still trying to figure out how it could be that Cliff Hoffman, who was ahead of us, was better at navigating his way to Pleasant Prairie by himself than the combined wisdom of the nine other members of our group. He correctly made the turn we missed. Sadly, it does not speak well for the combined wisdom of our group.

The wind picked up over the course of the day. Between fighting the wind and the heat, the ride home was challenging. Cons measured the heat bouncing off the roads we were riding on at 96 degrees. We even made an extra stop at Panera Bread in Lake Bluff in order to cool down and re-hydrate

In regard to the ongoing battle between Cons and Martin to lower the weights of their bikes, Cons may be becoming a bit paranoid. He is convinced that Martin was not on the ride today because he was too busy scheming and planning how to get the weight of his bike lower than that of Cons bicycle.

When It Rains It Pours

First Will got 4 flats, then it started raining. But, it still was a nice ride, with nice company!

5/29 Ride Recap - A Ride Filled With Lots of Laughs

Today's ride started out rather inauspiciously due to the heavy fog. The fog was so heavy that I almost turned back for home, before I realized that it wasn't quite so thick once I wiped off my glasses. The weather kept our numbers down, and since only Trish and Will had shown up for a different EBC ride they decided to join us. This got our total up to 6 riders (including Felix, Martin, John, and me). However, the six of us turned out to be a particularly compatible group. We had a nice leisurely ride up to Panera Bread in Lake Buff. My favorite line from the stop at Panera was John Chisholm's response to Trish's comment that Double Stuff Oreos are nutritionally void, "that's why I eat the whole box" (OK, you might have to of heard John's droll delivery of this line for it to seen as funny as it did in person).

Coming back home down the bunny trail (the Skokie Valley Bikeway), Will suffered two flats within a mile of each other. Now, typically hanging around while someone is fixing a flat everyone is antsy. However, for some reason our group found these stops to be a great opportunity for humor. Lot's of witty comments from the group, only a few of which were at Will's expense. The second flat could almost be classified as a third flat, as a new tube that was put on turned out to have a hole in it, so it actually turned out to be a three tube operation.

I'm not sure if the rest of the group got rained on at the tail end of the ride, because I broke off early to head home. However, I got caught in the rain less than a mile from home. With all the rain this Spring, this is the fourth time I have made it to within a mile of home prior to getting caught in the rain. My timing must be just a smidge off.

A report from Hugo contained good news. He indicates that his doctor thinks he'll be back on his bike in about 5 weeks. Here's hoping he heals even faster.

Ride Recap - 5/28 80 Mile Ride to Kenosha

George Ammerman led us on an interesting 80 mile route to Kenosha and back. It was a nice ride, particularly the section along Lake Michigan north of the Wisconsin state line. The wind was our friend for much of the day. It pushed us north and then died down once we got back to Green Bay Road on the north shore. .We stopped for an early lunch in Zion at It's All Good, which seems to be a popular spot among cyclists.

It seems a bit ironic that John and Felix really picked up the pace after Martin had left the ride to head home to Deerfield.

A long time EBC member, Heidi, joined us for the part of the ride and was well prepared for our pace. A highlight for the ride for me was riding by my wife, who was part of a triathlon training group that was running and biking around Fort Sheridan.

There were some mild complaints that the weather forecast was for a really nice day, and instead we got a gray chilly day. However, the superstitious among us careful not to complain too much about the weather being chillier than predicted, because that would probably be a nice thing if it happens on Monday. Let's hope the forecast I saw for Monday that predicted 90 degrees is also off. Also, despite threatening skies for much of the ride, the rain held off until after we were home. It says something about our weather this spring that a ride in which we did not get rained upon is notable.

Kenosha 5/28/2011

It started with wet roads, but we remained dry for the entire ride. Nice group and nice ride.

10 signs that cycling has taken over your life

I saw something interesting at:
http://chasingwheels.blogspot.com/2010/12/10-signs-that-cycling-has-taken-over.html

1. Distances are measured by how long it would take you to cover it on a bike. New York to Los Angeles is 208.34 hours. 197.59 hours if you use your aero wheels.

2. You mutter "car back" while driving when you see headlights behind you. (+1 if your significant other actually understands why you do this.)

3. You start drafting behind people on the sidewalk.

4. You read articles about cycling and impotence, shrug your shoulders, and go for a 50 mile ride.

5. You try to lift your butt off the car seat when you drive over a bump.

6. You shave your legs more than your wife or girlfriend. She borrows your Nair.

7. You have quads like a horse. And biceps like vermicelli. And you think this looks good. (Urkel wants his arms back.)

8. You calculate the cost of your last carbon fiber purchase in $/gram. And discover that cocaine is actually cheaper.

9. You traded in your perfectly good car to buy a new one with paddle shifters... because they just make more sense.

10. Someone tries to schedule a meeting at 12:25 and you hear something about cassettes.

Ride Schedule for the Memorial Day Weekend 5/28-5/29-5/30

Dear All,
On Saturday 5/28 we will do a Very Fast (20+mph) ride to Kenosha. George Ammerman will take us on his usual route. We will start from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 07:00. Total distance will be around 85 miles. We can brake George's tradition of making this ride non-stop, and make one food stop on the way back at It’s All Good Café in Zion. Bring some pocket food since it will be about 60 miles into the ride.

On Sunday 5/29 we can do a easy (18 mph recovery ride) Panera to Panera. We will start at 07:00 from Panera Bread in Wilmette. Total distance around 40 miles.

On Monday 5/30 we will do a faster (20 mph+) version of Ken's Butter Burger Century. We will start at 07:00 from Panera Bread in Wilmette. Food stop at Culver's in Pleasant Prairie in Wisconsin. Total distance just a little over than 100 miles.

If the weather is bad, I will post a cancellation on the listserve by 06:00 on the day of the ride.
http://evanstonbikeclub.org/  (click on Listserve-Rides link on the top)

If you have any questions about the rides, send me an email at vikfel at yahoo.com

Sunday 5/22/2011 Ride Recap

This was the first really nice day for biking for the year. We started with the temperature in the 60s and finished with the temperature in the 70s. It was sunny most of the time. There was wind from the SW. It did help us make a very good time going north. After short discussion (and few arm twists) we decided to extend the usual Panera to Panera ride with the look around the cemetery at the end of St. Mary Road.
Certain "lazy" rider with a power meter in the bottom bracket (no names mentioned) made many not so lazy sprints (mostly uphills). The rest of the group was going steady in a pace line. We had the usual stop at the Panera in Lake Bluff. The wind was in our face on the way home, but other than slowing us down a little, could not spoil the beautiful day. Everybody made it home in good spirits. Hopefully the good weather is here to stay. Stay tuned for a busy ride schedule on the Memorial Day weekend.
P.S.
Cons pulled a fast one on Martin. Not only he had his new, light saddle on, but he somehow convinced Martin to use his old and "heavy" saddle. I bet now the weight difference is at least 0.03 pounds.

The Great Bicycle Weigh-in

True to form for two 5-year-olds, Cons and I decided to go to Higher Gear to weigh our bikes. We stopped by Cons's house to replace his seat with a new, lighter one, as he has had the seat since Christmas and had meant to install it. Rich also came to be the witness and we installed the seat. Cons removed one of the two water-bottle cages because Ionly have one, but I made sure he put the bolts back in the frame as I have all 4 bolts.

When Cons, Rich and I got to HG Wilmette, Fred, the chief mechanic, was out to lunch. The lady behind the countrer sensed this was something so silly that Fred should probably not miss it, so she called him, and Fred showed up within minutes. The verdict? First the scale showed Cons's bike to be 13.15 pounds, but it also showed my bike to be 13.15 pounds on Thursday...it seems to be a zero-ing issue with that particular Park digital scale. We reset it and started making measurements that made sense. Cons's bike was 14 pounds even; mine was 14.02 pounds. The difference was 0.02 pounds, about 10 grams, or the weight of three pennies. (Interestingly, my bike weighed 14 pounds two days ago on the same scale...it must have gotten dirty.) So my bike is officially heavier than Cons's bike, but only after the seat-change.

Obviously we are not taking ourselves seriously, and nobody wants to start drilling holes in his bike just to make it lighter. It is great to have a light bike only if it is strong as well. That said, do we REALLY need both wheels and brakes?

Ride Recap - 5/21 Ride - Martin Decided to Wreck Cons Day

The ride got off due a somewhat belated start due to Martin's arrival with a hand held scale. After weighing Cons' bike, Martin gleefully announced that his bike was 0.2 pounds lighter. Of course, that led to Cons disputing the accuracy of the scale. Much discussion ensued. Finally, Cons seemed to accept the fact that Martin's bike might be lighter, but mentioned that he still had tricks left to pull. The battle is joined.

Shortly into the ride, Tom received a distressing call from his wife that one of their sons had taken a nose dive off of a coffee table and that she was off to the Emergency Room. He quickly departed. Hopefully, nothing serious.

Fortunately, the rest of the ride to the Cuba Marsh was uneventful. We made good time, particularly on the Cuba Road rollers. On the way back, we stopped in Long Grove at the Apple Haus. I don't recall anyone in the group taking a pass on their pastries. The Apple Fritter I ordered did not last long. Highly recommended as a good destination for a bike group.

The ride ended up being just short of 70 miles. I think we all enjoyed being out on a nice day that did not require pulling on the tights.

I Have Such A Deal For Anyone That Still Believes Lance Armstrong Was Drug Free

It is sad that iconic figure Lance Armstrong is getting dragged into the drug sewer. He was a hero to a lot of people and raised large sums for good causes. However, it is almost impossible to believe that anyone could possibly have performed at the near super human level that Lance did without performance enhancing drugs.

My own experience riding a Century two days after oral surgery while still taking pain killers and steroids has convinced me that the benefits of the drugs upon my performance was so great, that if most of the peleton was using drugs, it would have been nearly impossible to compete without using them. I got off my bike pain free after a long, hard ride. I guess its a good thing I did not ask my oral surgeon if I should ride in the Century so soon after the procedure, because I found out afterwards that he would have vehemently discouraged it. However, prior to my next Century, I wished I had saved some of the painkillers so I could have used them for another pain free ride.

So here is an instance where I had zero financial reward for enhancing my performance by taking drugs, but I would have done so if they had been readily available. No one can possibly convince me that if my livelihood was dependent upon performing well, and my competitors were doing so that I would have been drug free. Sorry, Lance but your claims of being drug free just are not credible.

Saturday & Sunday May 21st & 22nd, 2011 Rides

Dear All,
I will lead two Very Fast (20mph+) rides this weekend.
Both rides will start from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 07:00.

On Saturday we can do a slightly faster version of Cliff's ride to Volo Bog. Distance around 90 miles. Food Stop in the middle.

On Sunday we can do the usual St Mary/Libertyville loop (50-60 miles) or Panera to Panera (40-45 miles) with one food stop in the middle (Panera Bread in Lake Bluff on Rt. 176).

If you have any questions send me an email at: vikfel at yahoo.com

Felix Angelov

Thursday May 19th, 2011 After Work Ride

Dear All,
I will lead a Very Fast (20+ mph) ride on Thursday at 17:30. The ride will start from Panera Bread in Wilmette. Destination is Fort Sheridan. Distance around 35 miles. No food stop, bathroom stop as needed at a train station.
If you are planning to join me, please reply directly to me via email vikfel at yahoo.com
Felix Angelov

Weighing bikes

According to Fred of Higher Gear, Cons's bike is 13.1 pounds on their scale including pedals. This is about one pound lighter than my bike, which is a huge difference in this weight range.

Most of the difference may be contributed to wheels (at least 200g), and maybe the frame (about 100g). Other components should be comparable as a whole but I might have overlooked something.

I will go over to HG one day and weigh my bike on the same scale as well...before I go, I will visit Fermilab and fill the tires with helium first. I expect to meet Cons there getting his helium from his cousin, who works there.

After Work Ride on Thursday 5/12/2011

Dear All,
I will lead a VF (20+mph) ride on Thursday 5/12/2011. The ride will start at 17:30 from Panera Bread in Wilmette. Destination Fort Sheridan, distance around 30-35 miles.
I will post cancellation on the listserve by 16:00 on the day of the ride if the weather looks bad.
If you are planning to join, please send me an email at vikfel @ yahoo.com
Felix Angelov

Rides for Saturday and Sunday 5/14 and 5/15/2011

Dear All,
I will lead Very Fast Rides (20+ mph) on both Saturday 5/14/2011 and Sunday 5/15/2011. We will start both rides from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 07:00.
Saturday we will do a faster version of the ride to Algonquin via Cuba Road. We will stop for food somewhere in the Long Grove Area. Distance is going to be around 80 miles.
Sunday we will do the usual St. Mary loop. We will stop for food at Panera Bread in Lake Bluff. Distance around 60 miles. We can make it Panera to Panera (45 miles) depending on how the group feels on that day.
I will post a cancellation if the weather is bad by 06:00 on the day of the ride.
If you have any questions, please send me an email at vikfel at yahoo.com
Felix Angelov

Mother's Day Ride Recap

We had 9 riders on today's ride who did not let their obligation to be dutiful children get in the way of a good bike ride. It was our first ride of the year to Gurnee, about a 60 mile round trip, A nice ride on a sunny day was brought to a jarring stop due to Hugo taking a terrible spill. He hit a big piece of loose asphalt, and went over the handlebars. Fortunately his Bianchi frame made it through the fall with just a few scratches to the brake hoods. Unfortunately, Hugo did not make out so well. He chipped a tooth, smashed his lip, left some blood behind, wrenched his back, ripped his pants, cracked his helmet, and had a number of nasty looking road rashes  There were only two riders behind him, and both Lauren and John were able to avoid Hugo's prone body, although John had to take a path between Hugo and his bike. Hugo, hope you heal quickly.

Cons spouse deserves our good samaritan award. She came all the way out to Gurnee in their SUV and picked up Hugo and his bike. Cons, you must have really been on your game the day you asked her to marry you.

Could not escape the rain

After cancelling the morning ride when reading the forecast and looking at the local radar image, it did not rain the whole morning. The afternoon forecast looked much more promising and the radar showed no rain in sight. We went for a short ride to Fort Sheridan with Martin. It all looked good untill on the way back (downtown Highland Park) it started raining. We stopped at Higher Gear Cycling store hoping that it would be over soon. After about half an hour we gave up and took the ride of shame (Martin's wife kept us dry by giving us a ride in her van).
Tomorrow looks like it will be dry and good for biking (if we can trust the forecast).

Rides for Saturday and Sunday 5/7 and 5/8/2011

Dear All,
I will lead Very Fast Rides (20+ mph) on both Saturday 5/7/2011 and Sunday 5/8/2011. We will start both rides from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 07:00.
Saturday we will do a faster version of the ride to Gurnee. We will stop for food at the Avalon Restaurant. Distance is going to be around 70 miles.
Sunday we will do the usual St. Mary loop. We will stop for food at Panera Bread in Lake Bluff. Distance around 60 miles. We can make it Panera to Panera (45 miles) depending on how the group feels on that day.
I will post a cancellation if the weather is bad by 06:00 on the day of the ride.
If you have any questions, please send me an email at vikfel at yahoo.com
Felix Angelov

Another good ride. The wind was not a match for us ;-)

4/30 Ride Recap -The Windiest Ride of the Season

Once again the wind was a big factor in our ride. We met up at Panera Bread in Wilmette with a huge group from the Evanston Bike Club heading to Cuba Road, our planned destination. However, with the forecast for the SSE wind to pick up from 14 mph to 24-26 mph by midday, a number of us talked Felix into changing our route so that the big wind would push us home. We made the somewhat dubious decision to ride south and take the Chicago Lakefront Bike Path. The logic of escaping the wind on the ride home by riding right into the teeth of it might have been a bit flawed. As we headed south, at times we struggled just to maintain a speed of 14 mph. However, we did make it to the the South Shore Club at the end of the path. The ride home with the wind at our back was swift. At one point, a rider who had fallen back a bit indicated "I was going 27.6 mph and you guys were becoming a dot." We had a couple of sprints that were over 30 mph on the wind aided trip home. Coming back along the Lakefront Bike Path at a wind aided speed and dodging all the other bikers, walkers, and joggers was quite the adventure.

A highlight of the ride was a stop at a French Bakery in Hyde Park that Rich led us to. Someone will have to help me out with the name of the bakery, but it must have been French because that was the only language the manager was speaking.

Sunday Morning Ride recap

I am back in Evanston for a few weeks on a spring break vacation (I work for a high school, so I still get to enjoy those lovely breaks!) and I am glad I carted my bike across the country in my ever breaking down car, as we had a lovely Sunday morning ride (somebody also mentioned it was Easter?). On this ride, we were tortured by a nice headwind from the north on our Panera-Panera ride, which kept the pace at around 20-21mph up the bike path. On the return trip, this played in our favor as we were able to maintain a 23-24mph pace without too much difficulty. We were also joined by a fellow New Yorker, Lauren, who kept up with the grueling pace Felix set for us.

VF Rides on 4/30 and 5/1

Dear All,

I will lead Very Fast Rides (20+ mph) on both Saturday 4/30/2011 and Sunday 5/1/2011. The rides will start from Panera Bread in Wilmette (1199 Wilmette Ave, Wilmette) at 07:00 AM.

On Saturday we can do the Cuba Road ride with an extra loop and meet Jim's Ride for the food stop in Long Grove. Total distance around 70 miles. On Sunday we can do the usual Panera to Panera ride with an optional 10 mile loop. Distance 45-55 miles.

If the weather looks bad, I will post a cancellation on the EBC listserve by 06:00 on the day of the ride. http://groups.google.com/group/ebclist/topics?gvc=1


If you have any question, send me an email at vikfel @ yahoo.com

Felix Angelov

Easter 2011 Ride Recap - 8 Riders x 45 Miles

Given that Easter, Orthodox Easter, and Passover all fell on the same day and there was another Evanston Bike Club ride departing at 9:30, participation was pretty good. In addition to the regulars, we had two guests from NYC, Lauren and Ian.

The ride ended up being a Panera (Wilmettte) to Panera (Lake Bluff) ride. Felix suggested that we push on and do another 10 mile loop, but was outvoted due to the requirement of a number of riders to get back home early from this holiday ride. Also the fact that we had to fight the wind on the way north might have been a factor in the lack of enthusiasn for the bonus miles. It definitely was more fun riding home with the wind at our backs. The motley crew in the photo includes our NYC guests standing 2nd and 3rd from the right  at the intersection of the Skokie Valley and North Shore bike paths at Hwy 176 in Lake Bluff.

I was surprised at how may cycle groups we saw durng our Easter morning ride. Someone in our group commented that the nice weather must have brought everyone out. His comment sort of indicates what a lousy spring we are having in Chicago, if a cloudy, windy 50 degree day is considered good weather.

Easter Ride - Two Good Alternatives

Our group will meet at Panera Bread at 7:00 am. There is also an Evanston Bike Club event ride meeting at 9:30 am, the annual Lake Forest College Easter Brunch Ride. The Easter Brunch at Lake Forest College is a fantastic value - highly recommended.

4/23/11 Ride Recap - 9 Riders x 55 Miles

What started out as a cold, damp day on wet roads turned into a beautiful day. The ride got off to a nasty start, with Dave Reesh breaking a spoke and getting a flat less than a mile into the ride. Fortunately, that was the only mishap of the ride.

We met up with a much larger group from the Evanston Bike Club (that included Dave's wife) at the Liberty Restaurant in Libertyville. Our group took a bonus 10 mile loop around Ascension Cemetery. As the sun came out on our ride back home, it did point out a benefit of riding in the Chicago area, when we get good weather, we really appreciate it. Ended up being a successful ride with a good belly filling brunch and a ride in the sun on the way home.

The most annoying aspect of the ride was coming across a woman with two large dogs off the leash on the Skokie Valley Trail. Fortunately, we slowed down to a crawl as we passed them, because one of the dogs wandered right into Martin's path. No damage occurred from the bump, but it could have been a really ugly event if we had not slowed down. Insanity to have dogs off the leash when walking by a bike trail.

4/17/11 Ride Recap

The wind was even more fierce than we expected it to be, while due to a bright sun being out, the wind chill was not nearly as uncomfortable as we feared it might be. Weather.com's forecast that the wind would be 20 mph out of the WNW seemed to be on target. We did a Panera to Panera ride which is mostly north-south, so it was a crosswind for much of the ride. On the way back from Panera Bread in Lake Bluff heading east, no one pushed on a pedal during the 150 yards to the bike path. The wind was at our backs, and we  coasted all the way to the bike path as the wind blew us east at a surprisingly fast pace.

While we were at Panera for the mid ride stop, we decided that we should give Hugo lessons on how to strip off apparel when overdressed if the weather warms up during a ride. We had one of the longest stops in history for a clothing adjustment.