Memorial Day: The Butter Burger Century

You will see Randy's mention of being wimpy by only riding to Gurnee on the hottest Memorial Day in Chicago history.  He is correct about the wimp status.   One of the EBC20mph members (myself) joined the EBC Butter Burger Century (to Pleasant Prairie) to get in some longer miles, and it turned out to be an epic ride. Almost no wrong turns.  It was a good group with no slackers, and the ride up was very quick (20+) with a decent tailwind. Culver's was glorious as usual.  Enjoyed the blackberry sundae with hot fudge on the side.  But then the heat and headwind came down like a hammer on the way home. It was almost laughable.

At Culver's the ineffable Jim Springer joined us and regaled us with his usual bon mots.  His tires are minimum 3" wide, his bike weighs 47 pounds, and his lights probably add another 10.  He had started riding at 3 am and already had completed 140 miles prior to joining us.  Between he and John Chisholm and the pulsingly hot pavement it was quite something.

 

Trish (Lambrecht) was the drug lady, handing out electrolyte pills like candy, and one after another were dropping from the heat….we stopped several times on the way home for more water, root beer, whatever liquid was available.    Everyone hung in there however, and even those who had some trouble lived to tell the tale.  It was a good group that showed no lack of resolve.  I am sorry or glad to say that i don't know the final mph but it was not slow.  There are times when not having a garmin is a good thing.

I love these neverending worlds of pain rides.  Sounds crazy but is true. 

On the ride from the 20 mph group:

Heidi

On the ride from EBC
John (ride leader)

Cliff

Karen

Trish

Jim Heller

Julianne

Dale

Ed Barker

 

 

Rides for Thursday 5/31, Saturday 6/2 and Sunday 6/3/2012

On Thursday 5/31/2012 we are going to join the Higher Gear Bicycle Store in Wilmette ride. It starts at 17:30 SHARP from their store in Plaza del Lago. The ride goes to Fort Sheridan and back with no stops. The pace is fast - the average speed with all stop signs and traffic lights is over 20 mph. There are sprints at well over 30 mph. There is plenty of free parking in front of the store if you come driving.

On Saturday 6/2/2012 we will do the usual ride on St. Mary Road with a loop around the cemetery. The ride starts from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 07:00 AM. The total distance will be around 50-55 miles. There will be no food stop during the ride, so bring snacks to eat on the bike. We will make a quick bathroom break somewhere during the ride. We will stop for food at the end of the ride at Panera Bread in Wilmette.

On Sunday 6/3/2012 we will do the Udder Century. We are going to do the 100 mile route. We are going to meet at the start location at 06:45 and be on the road at 07:00 SHARP. Consider pre-registering on-line or getting there with enough time for registration. If you are planning to join us, let me know so I can look for you. Here are details from their web site:

TIME: Registration and start from 6:30am to 10:00am 100-milers must be on the road by 8:00am!	START LOCATIONDonley's Wild West Town, 8512 South Union Road, Union Ill.MAP to Donley’s Wild West Town
RIDES: 32, 50, 62, 75 and 100-miles WHAT'S INCLUDED: * Marked routes * Map and cue sheets * Emergency Sag services * Food and drink rest stops * A heifer-ty pasta dinner served from 11 AM to 5:30 PM * Free Pass to Donley's WildWestTown! (with cow wrist band) * Free Starbucks Coffee at Registration!	FEES: On Line $22.00 by June 1st By Mail $27.00 by June 1st Day of Event $30.00 Kids 6-12:$10.00 Kids under 6:$ Free! Pre-registration closes 12:00am June 1, 2012

I will post a cancellation on the listserve an hour before the rides (two hours for the Udder Century) in case the weather is bad.

Memorial Day Weekend Ride Recap

Saturday - We basically got rained out on Saturday. Given the threatening weather and early start time, I was the only rider to show up at 5:55 am at Panera Bread. I rode up to Highland Park to join George Ammerman's ride. I stayed dry on the ride up to Highland Park, but as I got farther north, the sky got ever darker with lots of lighting just a few miles in front of me. The skies opened up and started pouring just as I pulled up to Once Upon A Bagel. George, his friend Mike, and I drank coffee for 45 minutes waiting for the skies to clear. They didn't. The skies were darker to the north, so at 7:15 am, we decided to throw in the towel on the idea of riding to Kenosha and rode back to Evanston,
.
The planned 8:00 am ride was moved back to 10:00 am due to the weather. A group of us met at Panera Bread for this ride. However, just as we were about to start, more bad weather rolled in. Thus, there was another round of coffee drinking. After a couple of cups of coffee, with the roads in Wilmette starting to puddle up, we gave up on this ride. However, we probably gave up a bit to early. George and Mike had a good ride up to Fort Sheridan, and Felix (who got a ride home in Hugo's car) and I discovered that once we got back to Skokie and Glenview that the roads in our home towns were dry.

Sunday - The 52 mile Sunday ride had the largest number of cyclists to date for a 20+ MPH group ride. We had 14 riders in the group, and picked up a couple more at our stop at Panera Bread for a total of 16 of us on the way home.

On the trek north to Libertyville, Felix was successful in keeping the group together in a reasonably tight paceline traveling at a steady 22 mph. Aside from a couple of planned sprints, we probably held together about as well as on any previous ride. And even on a 28 mph sprint Martin led down Waukegan Road, we held together surprisingly well.

The ride south was just the opposite in terms of sticking together as a group. We were holding together fairly well on Green Bay Road until a couple of riders from the Pony Shop that we had passed decided to speed up and pass our group. Well, this provocation undid the discipline of the the group. Of course these two riders had to be chased down. The ride from Glencoe to Wilmette basically turned into an all our sprint, with the group getting widely spread out. But importantly, Mike and Martin succeeded in chasing down the Pony Shop riders, and a bunch of us were also on the verge of doing so until they veered east on Scott Street.

The numerous long sprints on this ride ended up leading to the average computer speed of the ride (including stops) being 20.15 mph. Thus, despite the disciplined pace going north, it still ended up being as fast a ride as we have taken all year.

The group included:


Cons
David K.
Felix
Gary
George
Heidi
Herb
Hugo
Joe
Martin
Mike
Randy P.
Rich
Tom

Monday - We met up with a large group from the EBC at Panera for their Butter Burger Century. However, our group was either wimpier or wiser than the main EBC group. Given the 92 degree heat and the winds that were blowing out of the south at speeds that were predicted to top 20 mph, we decided to shorten up the ride. Eventually, we determined upon Viking Park in Gurnee as a destination. It ended up being about a 62 mile ride. As we headed home riding into the wind and with the day started to really heat up, I don't think there was anyone in our group that regretted our decision to "go short". We proved ourselves to not be total wimps by coming home riding against the wind at a pace that according to my bike computer was almost as fast as our pace going north with the wind.

Our group included:

Cons
Felix
Herb
Randy P

Also Heidi and Dave R, rode with us for an extended portion of the ride, but joined the main EBC group for the Butter Burger ride.

7:00 am Start Time For Sunday 5/27/12 Ride

We're going to change to start time of Sunday's ride to 7:00 am from 8:00 am in order to beat the heat. We're also going to increase the distance to 52 miles due to the limited miles today due to the rain. We'll practice both single and double pace line riding. See you at 7:00 am at Panera Bread.

Another Ride for tomorrow 5/26/2012

I will lead a VF (20+ mph) ride to Lake Bluff tomorrow. We will start at 08:00 AM from Panera Bread in Wilmette. There will be a snack/restroom stop in the middle of the ride at either Bluffington's or Panera on Rt. 176 and Waukegan Road.

If the weather is bad I will post a cancellation on the listserve by 07:00 AM tomorrow.

This is in addition to the Ride Randy is doing with George Ammerman

Felix

The Bone Ride

Three EBC members - Gary Pickens, Mike Maliska and I decided to do the annual "The Bone Ride".
 It is a ride from Milwaukee, WI to Madison, WI and back. The full ride is about 158 miles (253 km). We decided to do the more sensible "Wimp" version, which starts from Pewaukee, WI and goes to Madison and back. Total distance of 130 miles (209 km). We drove to Pewaukee, parked the cars and started getting ready. I had everything set the night before - shoes, helmet, gloves, computer, water bottles, glasses, sun screen etc. As I put the helmet on, I realized that I had taken my 12 years old son's helmet. The helmet would not fit my head no matter what I tried. I started panicking. I did not want to ride without helmet for 130 miles in a big group ride, but did not want to miss the ride either. Luckily Gary had noticed a bike store down the block that was open at 08:00 AM. They did have helmets for rent. After getting one that fit my head, we were just waiting for the main group to pass by so we can join them. At that time there were easily 30-40 riders like us. The main group showed but, but just few hundred yards from where we were, there was a road block. A freight train had derailed and it was blocking the road. The whole group of close to 200 cyclist had to turn back and start looking for alternative route. After few wrong turns we got on track and started cruising along. We split into two large groups, so we can make it easier for the cars and trucks to pass us. The weather was sunny, with fairly strong and steady side wind. The groups were not as organized and disciplined as I had expected and there was constant yo-yo effect - the group would accelerate and decelerate all the time, particularly going uphill. The terrain was mostly rolling hills. The pace was all over the place, but our average was around 21 mph until we reached the outskirts of Madison. I finished my two water bottles about 30 miles into the ride and at mile 60, with 5 miles to go I was running on fumes. I decided not to try to keep up with the group on the hills, but to go on my own pace and keep them in sight. As we entered Madison the speed dropped down because of traffic lights and turns and I was able to re-join them. We went by the Capitol Hill and down a street with whole bunch of small restaurants and fast food places. Because of the train delay, instead of arriving in Madison at noon, we were about 35 minutes late and had less than an hour for rest. We quickly found a Jimmy Johns sandwich place and started eating and drinking. I was in damage control mode, knowing that it was going to be a long and hard ride home. I ate a whole sandwich and drank as much coke as I could. A 1:30 PM the whole group gathered in front of the Yellow Jersey bike store (a block away from where we ate) and we had a group picture. We started riding back home. This time I decided to go to the first group, so when I drop back there would be a group behind. Mike joined me, Gary stayed with the group behind. The wind was getting stronger and the temperature was rising. I finished my two water bottles in the first 20 miles. On one of the longer hills I decided not to go in the red zone and dropped back. There was a small group of 7-8 riders who did the same. At the top of the hill it was clear that I was not going to be able to catch the main group. The few of us started doing a rotating double pace line, picked up few more stragglers and we were able to keep the group in front of us in view. The pace line was not very smooth, we constantly kept picking the pace up, got to 26-27 miles per hour and everybody burned out. The pace went down. The second big group with Gary in it, passed us. I was  very dehydrated at that time and did not even think of jumping in the back of the group. It was all about finishing the ride at that point. About 90-95 miles into the ride I knew that without water I was not going to make it. I saw one of the SAG vans in a park on the side of the road and stopped. Mike saw me stopping and turned back. The SAG people gave us each a bottle of HEED (electrolyte drink). I think I drank the whole thing in less than 3 seconds. I felt much better. We started again and over the next 10 miles we picked few more stragglers. With about 20 miles to go, I was getting even more dehydrated. Another SAG van stopped by us as we were waiting at a highway crossing and gave each one of us one more bottle of HEED. That did the trick. We formed a group of 3-4 riders and took pulls into the wind. We made it back to Pewaukee after 130 miles and 6:40 in the saddle. Up to that point I had no worries about Gary, as he was ahead of us. To my great surprise he was not there. As I was returning the helmet, Gary called with bad news. He had dropped back from the group and had made a wrong turn with about 10 miles to go. Fortunately, he quickly realized the mistake and was a able to get directions. At the end he ended up with very little "bonus miles"
We all went to a nearby Ice Cream place and drunk as much Coke as we could.
That was the longest and the hardest ride I have done. On arrival home I ate almost half of a big water melon and went to bed early. After stepping on the scale before going to bed I realized that I had lost 15 lbs despite of drinking close to 2 gallons of fluids after the ride. I was not making any urine until the late afternoon on the day after. This was the worst case of dehydration I have ever had.
Overall it was a good experience. I cannot even imagine doing the additional 30 miles.
I am looking forward to the next club meeting with the Nutritionist. For a long ride like this, nutrition and hydration on the bike is of paramount importance.
Here is a link to the Garmin file:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/181701510#.T77TnJGbqsI.email

Felix

Ride Schedule for Memorial Day Weekend

Saturday - We'll join George Ammerman's ride to Kenosha. Two options:
1) meet at Panara Bread in Wilmete and ride up to Once Upon A Bagel in Highland Park; or
2) drive to Highland Park and start your ride from there.

For those joining me in riding to Highland Park, we will depart at 5:55 am sharp (so plan to arrive prior to 5:55). While most of the ride to Kenosha and back will be at a pace of under 20 mph, the portion of the ride from Panera Bread to Highland Park will be at a 22-23 mph pace. Detail about the ride are provided at the bottom of the post:

Sunday - We will follow the standard Panera Bread in Wilmette to Lake Bluff route via the Skokie Valley Bikeway. Ride will depart at 8:00 am. - 45 mile ride, Revised as of 5/26. Ride will depart at 7:00 am - 52 mile ride.

Monday - We will start out on the Butter Burger route departing at 7:00 am, although we might shorten the ride up at bit if the temperature goes up to 90 degrees. As our group learned last week, even 70 miles becomes a challenging ride at a 22 mph pace when the temperature gets up around 90 degrees.

Saturday Ride Details

Remote start at Once Upon A Bagel (OUAB) in Highland Park.  Pace is fast, but less than 20 mph.  Distance from OUAB up to the southern border of Kenosha and back to Evanston is about 75 miles. I usually arrive back in Evanston before 11:30.  Eat a big breakfast and bring energy drink, energy bar, banana, etc. to eat while riding.  Only one or two very short stops for bathrooms and water if needed. 

Meet at OUAB at 6:00 am for breakfast or at 6:30 am ready to ride.  Check radar if the weather is questionable.  I will not email any cancellation, but you can email me up to 5:00 am on the day of the ride.

George Ammerman

http://www.georgeammerman.com

Ride Recap 5/19 and Arlington 500

On Saturday we did a 52 mile loop via St. Mary's to Libertyville. It was the largest group of the year for the 20 MPH+ ride. The group included:

Big Bob
Brian
Cons
Dave
Felix
Gary
George
Heidi
Hugo
Herb (met us at Lake Cook)
Martin
Mike
Rich
Randy P.

The ride was originally proposed to not have a long mid ride break, however, when George flatted within hailing distance of Panera Bread, that quickly changed, despite the fact that George was able to quickly re-inflate his tire.

A highlight of the ride was Heidi's speedy pace. She mentioned that it was her fastest ride to-date.

The low light of the ride was Hugo cracking a rim on his wheel after hitting a pot hole. Herb deserves a good Samaritan award as he volunteered to head to his house and then came back and picked Hugo up in his truck.

On Sunday, we rode in the Arlington 500 event on their 69 mile course. The 69 mile (500 furlong) route did not seem particularly ambitious when we signed up for the event. However, the combination of a hot day, lots of rolling hills, and a strong breeze made it a very long 69 miles. We were a worn out group by the end of the ride. The riders from the EBC included:

Big Bob
Cons
Dave
Felix
Mike
Gary
George
Herb
Randy P.

The Arlington 500 is laid out very efficiently from a need for volunteers standpoint. There is one only rest area that comes 17 miles into the course. From the rest stop, the route includes three separate loops that all return to the rest area. It was well stocked and the volunteers were friendly, making this a successful ride.

Here is the Felix's Garmin data from the Arlington 500.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/180334432#.T7lUaJCvZk4.email

Rides for Thursday 5/17, Saturday 5/19 and Sunday 5/20/2012

On Thursday 5/17/2012 we are going to join the Higher Gear Bicycle Store in Wilmette ride. It starts at 17:30 SHARP from their store in Plaza del Lago. The ride goes to Fort Sheridan and back with no stops. The pace is fast - the average speed with all stop signs and traffic lights is over 20 mph. There are sprints at well over 30 mph. There is plenty of free parking in front of the store if you come driving.

On Saturday 5/19/2012 we will do the usual ride on St. Mary Road with a loop around the cemetery. The ride starts from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 08:00 AM. The total distance will be around 50-55 miles. There will be no food stop during the ride, so bring snacks to eat on the bike. We will make a quick bathroom break somewhere during the ride. We will stop for food at the end of the ride at Panera Bread in Wilmette.

On Sunday 5/20/2012 we will do the Arlington 500 ride. We are going to do the 69 mile route. Here are details from their web site:

http://www.cyclearlington.com/events/a500_12/ah500_2012.pdf

Date: Sunday, May 20, 2012

Starting Location

Barrington High School

West Parking Lot

616 W. Main Street

Barrington, Illinois

Registration Time

Starts at 6:30 a.m. for all riders/all routes

Closes at 9:00 a.m. for 54 and 69 mile riders

Closes at 10:00 a.m. for 28 and 42 mile riders

Registration Fee

$10.00 for pre-registration mailed before

May 14, 2012. Use the form at the right.

No pre-registration after May 13th

$15.00 on day of the ride.

Terrain Mostly level with some moderate hills.

Let me know if you are planning to ride it with us so I can keep you updated about what time we plan to start and where to meet.

Felix

Ride Recap - 5/12 -13/12

On Saturday, we rode took a 55 mile ride to Naval Station Great Lakes. The ride included a detour at Fort Sheridan for a bit of hill climbing.

The group included:

Cons
Doug
Gary
Mitch
Randy

This was Mitch Dudek's first ride with the Evanston Bike Club. When we got down to the lake at the bottom of the hill at Fort Sheridan, he quickly dismissed our attempt to convince him that the first ride initiation included jumping into Lake Michigan. Aside from the fact that Mitch was not as naive as we had hoped he would be, having him on the ride was a nice addition to the group.

We took a rest break at Panera Bread in Lake Bluff and came home via the Skokie Valley Bikeway. Unlike most of the other groups riding on Saturday, we managed to avoid the rain. Some of the credit for making it home before getting rained upon was due to Cons 26 mph pull coming home down the Bunny Trail.

Sunday's ride was a 40 mile Panera to Panera ride. There was a 9-10 mph wind blowing from the NE, so the trip home was a lot easier than it was holding onto a 22 mph pace on the trip north. The group included:

Cliff
Dave
Felix
George
John C
Martin
Randy

Coming home via Green Bay Road, Martin had gotten quite a bit ahead of the group. Felix decided the we should be able to catch him if we were smart about taking short pulls. However, the stop lights on Green Bay seemingly decided to foil our attempt. Every time we got up a head of steam, we would hit another red light. At one point, we were within 300 yards of catching Martin and gaining behind a 30 mph pull by Felix, and of course Martin  made a light and we did not. Dave led one last valiant attempt to catch Martin, but once again we were held up by a light. However, we stayed close enough that due to a detour Martin made to put his bike in his car, it allowed us to make it in the door of Panera slightly before Martin did. (When you are racing against Martin, you have to take your victories where you can get them, however feeble.)

Rides for Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday 5/10, 5/12 & 5/13/2012

On Thursday 5/10/2012 we are going to join the Higher Gear Bicycle Store in Wilmette ride. It starts at 17:30 SHARP from their store in Plaza del Lago. The ride goes to Fort Sheridan and back with no stops. The pace is fast - the average speed with all stop signs and traffic lights is over 20 mph. There are sprints at well over 30 mph. There is plenty of free parking in front of the store if you come driving.

On Saturday 5/12/2012, Randy will lead a ride from Panera starting at 07:00 am of about 55 miles that includes a trek up to Naval Station Great Lakes and possibly a bit of hill climbing at Fort Sheridan. We will stop for a mid ride break at Panera Bread in Lake Bluff.

On Sunday 5/13/2012 Felix will lead a Panera to Panera ride. The ride starts from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 08:00 AM. The total distance will be around 40-45 miles. We will stop for food at the end of the ride at Panera Bread in Wilmette.

Ride Recap - 5/6 and 5/7 Rides to Cuba Road and Ascension Cemetery

Saturday was the first ride of the year by our group to the rollers on Cuba Road. There was a heavy mist for the entire ride that required wiping off glasses at every stop and making the roads slick. Total ride distance was about 75 mile ride with a  pace on most of the flat section of the ride of about 21 mph. Felix did yeoman duty in taking far more than his fair share of the pulls.The group included:

Dave
Felix
Gary
George
Big Bob
Rich
Randy P.

It was easy to find a good draft to get in behind on the pace line. I was the runt of the litter among our group on this ride.

The 55 mile Sunday ride which included the Three Sisters on St. Mary's Road and a loop around Ascension Cemetery in Libertyville was at a significantly faster pace than the Saturday ride, in part due to pulls by Clay and Martin, and also due to drier, safer roads. The wind was out of the ESE, so the fact that our average bike computer time (including stops) going north was above 20 mph was not all that noteworthy. However, our average bike computer time coming home against the wind was also above 20 mph. The fastest stretch of the ride came as we were on Waukegan Road heading toward 176 and a brief stop at Panera Bread. Martin pulled us along at 26 mph clip against the wind during this stretch. I doubt that I was the only one that was just barely able to remain in the pace line hanging on by my finger nails during this part of the ride.

The group included:

Big Bob
Clay
Dave
Felix
Martin
Randy P.
and George left another ride when he saw us on St. Mary's road and joined us. Also Julianne Meurice, Nancy Berte, and her husband rode with us from Panera Bread to the Skokie Valley Bikeway

Rides for Thursday 5/3, Saturday 5/5 and Sunday 5/6/2012

On Thursday 5/3/2012 we are going to join the Higher Gear Bicycle Store in Wilmette ride. It starts at 17:30 SHARP from their store in Plaza del Lago. The ride goes to Fort Sheridan and back with no stops. The pace is fast - the average speed with all stop signs and traffic lights is over 20 mph. There are sprints at well over 30 mph. There is plenty of free parking in front of the store if you come driving.

On Saturday 5/5/2012 we will ride to the end of Cuba Road. The ride starts from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 07:00 AM. The total distance is going to be around 65-70 miles. There will be no food stop during the ride, so bring snacks to eat on the bike. We will make a quick bathroom break somewhere during the ride. We will stop for food at the end of the ride at Panera Bread in Wilmette.

On Sunday 5/6/2012 we will do the usual ride on St. Mary Road with a loop around the cemetery. The ride starts from Panera Bread in Wilmette at 08:00 AM. The total distance will be around 50-55 miles. There will be no food stop during the ride, so bring snacks to eat on the bike. We will make a quick bathroom break somewhere during the ride. We will stop for food at the end of the ride at Panera Bread in Wilmette.

If the weather is bad I will post a cancellation on the listserve no later than an hour before the start time.