Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Ride Recap - Century Training in Hampshire on 7/29
Twelve EBC'ers went out to Hampshire today to go for a training ride on the Sub 5 Century Challenge route. We met up with nearly 40 other cyclists that were also on the ride.
The EBC group included:
Brian
Cliff
Dave
Felix
Gary
George
Heidi
Herb
John C.
Martin
Mike
Randy
Due to time constraints. only five members of the group were able to head out for a the third circuit of the 33.3 mile course. Martin, Mike, Heidi, Felix, Herb and I completed the 100 mile route in 5 hours of riding time. Martin and Mike got in a lot more than 100 miles, because they would pull ahead of the rest of the group, and then have to circle back to check on the directions. Even with all their extra miles, they still finished way ahead of the rest of us. Heidi also came in with a time of under 5 hours of riding time. She finished with a flourish with a sprint to the finish and came in well ahead of other riders in the group.
This was the fifth time our group has done 3 circuits of the route, although the first time this year. For some reason, today seemed to be the most difficult of the 5 attempts. Although individually, the wind, heat, and humidity were not oppressive, all three combined to make it a hard ride. Most of us limped into the finish on the course which saves its uphill climbs for the last 25% of the route. The small hills which are easily negotiated on the first circuit seem to become significant barriers toward the end of the third circuit.
The large size of the peleton starting out (close to 50 riders) made things a bit ungainly on the first circuit. A rider from another club lost his water bottle directly in Martin's path. It caused Martin to take a spill into a gully. Fortunately, there was no damage to either rider or bicycle. However, there was no communication to the front of the group that Martin had taken a fall, and the front of the pack did not stop.
Fortunately, the next biggest issue was a wrong turn that a number of us made on the second circuit due to a street with no marking sign. This led to a bunch of us getting in an extra bonus mile before we figured out our mistake..
It ended up being a good ride and provided great conditioning, but was not very successful in regard to our EBC team getting practice at riding together as a group
For detailed stats on the ride, check out Felix's Garmin data
http://connect.garmin.com/
The EBC group included:
Brian
Cliff
Dave
Felix
Gary
George
Heidi
Herb
John C.
Martin
Mike
Randy
Due to time constraints. only five members of the group were able to head out for a the third circuit of the 33.3 mile course. Martin, Mike, Heidi, Felix, Herb and I completed the 100 mile route in 5 hours of riding time. Martin and Mike got in a lot more than 100 miles, because they would pull ahead of the rest of the group, and then have to circle back to check on the directions. Even with all their extra miles, they still finished way ahead of the rest of us. Heidi also came in with a time of under 5 hours of riding time. She finished with a flourish with a sprint to the finish and came in well ahead of other riders in the group.
This was the fifth time our group has done 3 circuits of the route, although the first time this year. For some reason, today seemed to be the most difficult of the 5 attempts. Although individually, the wind, heat, and humidity were not oppressive, all three combined to make it a hard ride. Most of us limped into the finish on the course which saves its uphill climbs for the last 25% of the route. The small hills which are easily negotiated on the first circuit seem to become significant barriers toward the end of the third circuit.
The large size of the peleton starting out (close to 50 riders) made things a bit ungainly on the first circuit. A rider from another club lost his water bottle directly in Martin's path. It caused Martin to take a spill into a gully. Fortunately, there was no damage to either rider or bicycle. However, there was no communication to the front of the group that Martin had taken a fall, and the front of the pack did not stop.
Fortunately, the next biggest issue was a wrong turn that a number of us made on the second circuit due to a street with no marking sign. This led to a bunch of us getting in an extra bonus mile before we figured out our mistake..
It ended up being a good ride and provided great conditioning, but was not very successful in regard to our EBC team getting practice at riding together as a group
For detailed stats on the ride, check out Felix's Garmin data
http://connect.garmin.com/
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Rides for 7/28 and 7/29/2012
On Saturday 7/28/2012 we will start from Panera in Wilmette at 08:00 AM and will ride to Lake Bluff. Total distance around 40-50 miles. There will be a food stop at the end of the ride at Panera in Wilmette.
On Sunday 7/29/2012 we will do a practice ride on the Sub-5 Hour Century Course. The ride starts from the Hampshire, IL High School parking lot at 07:30 AM SHARP. We are planning to make three loops for a total of 100 miles. There will be minimal stops (2) between the laps for a quick bathroom break and snack/hydration. Bring your favorite food for eating on the bike. We will have a cooler with ice where you can store a limited amount of drinks/food. The drive to the starting point from Wilmette is around 75 minutes. Plan to arrive early enough so you can be ready to ride at 07:30 AM. If you are planning to go and you have not let me know yet, send me an email so I can keep you updated on the travel arrangements.
If the weather is bad for cycling i will post a cancellation by 07:00 AM on Saturday and by 5:45 AM on Sunday.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
7/21 Ride Recap - 60 Miles to Viking Park
When I showed up for the ride and saw the group that was assembling, it occurred to me that the planned pace of 22 mph that Herb had posted might end up being surpassed. And my surmise came to pass, as the pace was 23 to 26 mph far more than it was 22 mph. Clay led us on a number of fast pulls heading north, and Big Mike practically pulled all the way home. The rest of the group was all a bit weary from yesterday's ride, but performed well when it came to be their turn to pull, and did extremely at hanging on to Big Mike's back wheel on the fast return trip home.
The group included:
Brian
Dave
Clay
Gary
Herb
Mike
Randy
The group included:
Brian
Dave
Clay
Gary
Herb
Mike
Randy
Saturday, July 21, 2012
7/21 Ride Recap - 80 Mile Wisconsin Border Ride
The day started out with perfect weather for a bike ride. While the morning heated up enough to turn it into a six water bottle ride before the we were through, we finished the ride well before the arrival of the hottest mid-day temperatures.
The group included:
Brian
Dave
Gary
Heidi
Herb
Martin
Randy P.
Both our ride and the 110 mile Bull Valley rides started from Panera Bread at 7:00 am. The Bull Valley group defined our ride as the short one. Thus, as new riders arrived, they were asked if they were going "long" (the Bull Valley Ride) or "short" (the Wisconsin border ride).
The mild teasing from the Bull Valley group might have served as a motivator to push the pace of our ride. We made it to Kenosha County with an average computer speed of 20.1 mph, even with the Three Sisters on St. Mary's Road and the rolling terrain on River Road slowing us up a bit.
We took River Road to Belvidere Road to Hunt Club Road to the border. Despite there being quite a bit of traffic on Belvidere Road and the south section of Hunt Club Road, the route worked out fairly well as the pavement was in good shape, and River Road and the west section of Hunt Club Road are both quite scenic.
At the beginning of the ride, Heidi requested that we take it easy on her. Turned out there was absolutely no need to do so. I think it may have been a couple of the other riders that were suffering a bit during a 25 mph pull Heidi led down Green Bay Road about 70 miles into the ride.
It turned out to be a very successful ride.
The group included:
Brian
Dave
Gary
Heidi
Herb
Martin
Randy P.
Both our ride and the 110 mile Bull Valley rides started from Panera Bread at 7:00 am. The Bull Valley group defined our ride as the short one. Thus, as new riders arrived, they were asked if they were going "long" (the Bull Valley Ride) or "short" (the Wisconsin border ride).
The mild teasing from the Bull Valley group might have served as a motivator to push the pace of our ride. We made it to Kenosha County with an average computer speed of 20.1 mph, even with the Three Sisters on St. Mary's Road and the rolling terrain on River Road slowing us up a bit.
We took River Road to Belvidere Road to Hunt Club Road to the border. Despite there being quite a bit of traffic on Belvidere Road and the south section of Hunt Club Road, the route worked out fairly well as the pavement was in good shape, and River Road and the west section of Hunt Club Road are both quite scenic.
At the beginning of the ride, Heidi requested that we take it easy on her. Turned out there was absolutely no need to do so. I think it may have been a couple of the other riders that were suffering a bit during a 25 mph pull Heidi led down Green Bay Road about 70 miles into the ride.
It turned out to be a very successful ride.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Sunday, July 22nd ride
On Sunday, July 22nd, we will ride from Panera Bread, Wilmette, at 7:00 a.m.
Depending on the size of the group, we will practice paceline riding, choosing 4-lane roads that allow us to take an entire lane for a double paceline. Pace will be ~22mph, depending on wind direction and grade. Distance will be about 75 miles. We will keep stops short, only for bathroom breaks and hydration. Bring your favorite endurance food & drink mix. We'll stop at Panera in Wilmette after the ride.
Depending on the size of the group, we will practice paceline riding, choosing 4-lane roads that allow us to take an entire lane for a double paceline. Pace will be ~22mph, depending on wind direction and grade. Distance will be about 75 miles. We will keep stops short, only for bathroom breaks and hydration. Bring your favorite endurance food & drink mix. We'll stop at Panera in Wilmette after the ride.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Saturday 7/21 Ride to Wisconsin Border
On Saturday, we will ride to the Wisconsin border via Hunt Club Road, It will be the first time our group has taken this route. It should probably be about an 75 mile ride. We'll leave Panera Bread at 7:00 am. This will be a training ride for the Sub 5 Century, so the pace will be energetic. Although there will be a mid ride stop, you'll want to make sure you have a couple of full water bottles and an energy bar/ shot blox.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Saturday July 14 The Circuitous Route
Well, Saturday was a chaotic ride. We met at 7 at the usual Panera with 9 riders, Cons being noticeably absent. George brought along another friend and new rider for us named Mike (last name unknown to me) -- and Ian joined us as well.
Our goal was to practice pace lines and avoid the rain by going up and down Green Bay a few times until we saw what was going to happen with the weather - after one (or two?) loops Dave suggested we ride down McCormick instead. All agreed and off we go, after which Cons called and said he arrived by mistake at 8 and was riding up to St Mary's on our usual route to find us. Hahaha the one day we do something different...(trying to avoid Emerson's "foolish consistency.. the hobgoblin of little minds...").
In a few words, we rode around in circles looking for Cons and Cons rode around in circles looking for us. Finally reunited at the top of Walker Hill, successfully climbed by Felix, Mike, Cons and overachieving Ian (who rode up twice or maybe 3x).
Our training program got put aside for the day - we didn't really bother keeping to any kind of discipline and just rode as fast as anyone felt like, including a sprint up University. . Oh, and also George had flat tire issues on his tubular which resulted in a loaner wheel from Green Bay Cycles sometime during the ride. We stopped as much as rode and ended up with 50 miles in about 4+ hours....
Footnote, when we left Walker for home I felt sluggish as if my tire was going flat, but just assumed that I was imagining excuses as usual. Got on my bike to leave Panera and my rear tire was completely flat. I took off my bike shoes and socks and walked home.
Participants:
Felix
George
John
Rich
Dave
Bob
Mike (new rider, not Big Mike)
Ian
Heidi
Cons
Our goal was to practice pace lines and avoid the rain by going up and down Green Bay a few times until we saw what was going to happen with the weather - after one (or two?) loops Dave suggested we ride down McCormick instead. All agreed and off we go, after which Cons called and said he arrived by mistake at 8 and was riding up to St Mary's on our usual route to find us. Hahaha the one day we do something different...(trying to avoid Emerson's "foolish consistency.. the hobgoblin of little minds...").
In a few words, we rode around in circles looking for Cons and Cons rode around in circles looking for us. Finally reunited at the top of Walker Hill, successfully climbed by Felix, Mike, Cons and overachieving Ian (who rode up twice or maybe 3x).
Our training program got put aside for the day - we didn't really bother keeping to any kind of discipline and just rode as fast as anyone felt like, including a sprint up University. . Oh, and also George had flat tire issues on his tubular which resulted in a loaner wheel from Green Bay Cycles sometime during the ride. We stopped as much as rode and ended up with 50 miles in about 4+ hours....
Footnote, when we left Walker for home I felt sluggish as if my tire was going flat, but just assumed that I was imagining excuses as usual. Got on my bike to leave Panera and my rear tire was completely flat. I took off my bike shoes and socks and walked home.
Participants:
Felix
George
John
Rich
Dave
Bob
Mike (new rider, not Big Mike)
Ian
Heidi
Cons
Friday, July 13, 2012
Ride Change for Saturday 7/14/2012
After the majority of the responders voted for a local ride because of the weather forecast for tomorrow, let's meet at Panera in Wilmette at 07:00 AM and do the usual loop on St. Mary with at least one extra loop (70+ miles) and some paceline practice on Waukegan road with some cornering in paceline drills at a location of choice along the way tomorrow. Bring food, we will stop briefly for water at Panera on Rt. 176. There will be the usual food stop at the end of the ride at Panera in Wilmette.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Rides for 7/12, 7/14 and 7/15/2012
On Thursday 7/12/2012 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.
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 7/14/2012 we will ride the Sub-5 Hour Century Challenge course in Hampshire, IL. The ride will start at 07:30 AM from the Hampshire High School. We will do the entire distance - 3 laps, 100 miles with minimal breaks in between each lap. Bring water, sports drinks, snacks, food, sun screen etc. We will have a cooler with ice where we can keep some of the drinks and food. It takes a little over an hour drive from Evanston to the starting location of the ride. Plan to arive 10 minutes earlier and be ready to roll at 07:30. If you are planning to come and have not responded already, let me know so I can look for you. If you need driving directions send me an email. The address is:
1600 Big Timber Road Hampshire, IL 60140
On Sunday 7/15/2012 we will start at 08:00 AM from Panera in Wilmette and do the usual St. Mary ride with a loop around the cemetery. Short water/restroom stop at Panera on Rt. 176 and food stop at the end of the ride at Panera in Wilmette.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
7/7/12 Ride Recap - 52 Mile Cemetary Loop
After the string of 100 degree days, it turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant day for a ride. The shift in the wind to the northwest was definitely welcomed.
Phil Procida joined the ride for the first time this year. He indicated that riding with our group will help him get in shape for a 110 race in Tucson in the fall that he would like to win.
The rest of the group included
Big Bob
Cons
Gary
Tom
Felix
Martin
Joe
Dave
Heidi
Phil
John
Randy
We held together in a double pace line reasonably well during the ride.
As we were going through Highland Park, we witnessed another cyclist getting written up for a ticket. This is more evidence that the police are cracking down on bike riders.
In Glencoe, we were passed by a couple of cyclists that rode at an uneven pace after passing us. This set the group off on a fast pace in order to catch the two riders. Felix and Martin reeled them in and passed them back.
By the time we returned to Panera Bread in Wilmette, it had actually become pleasant if sitting in the shade, where we recapped an enjoyable ride.
Phil Procida joined the ride for the first time this year. He indicated that riding with our group will help him get in shape for a 110 race in Tucson in the fall that he would like to win.
The rest of the group included
Big Bob
Cons
Gary
Tom
Felix
Martin
Joe
Dave
Heidi
Phil
John
Randy
We held together in a double pace line reasonably well during the ride.
As we were going through Highland Park, we witnessed another cyclist getting written up for a ticket. This is more evidence that the police are cracking down on bike riders.
In Glencoe, we were passed by a couple of cyclists that rode at an uneven pace after passing us. This set the group off on a fast pace in order to catch the two riders. Felix and Martin reeled them in and passed them back.
By the time we returned to Panera Bread in Wilmette, it had actually become pleasant if sitting in the shade, where we recapped an enjoyable ride.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
July 4th Ride re-cap
7 of us started from Panera this morning:
Cons
Rich
Herb
George
Dave
Big Bob
Felix
Martin and a friend of his rode from Deerfield and met us on the way on Green Bay road.
The temperature was in the mid 80s at the beginning of the ride and was climbing up steadily. We did the usual loop on St. Mary and around the Ascension Cemetery. Bob continued to Lake Geneva on his own. We stopped for water at Panera on Rt. 176. On the way home the temperature topped 100 degrees and we had to ride more conservatively. We made it to Panera in Wilmette with an average speed for the 50 miles at 20 mph. Considering the heat and the stop signs and traffic lights, we were cruising at a decent pace.
Cons
Rich
Herb
George
Dave
Big Bob
Felix
Martin and a friend of his rode from Deerfield and met us on the way on Green Bay road.
The temperature was in the mid 80s at the beginning of the ride and was climbing up steadily. We did the usual loop on St. Mary and around the Ascension Cemetery. Bob continued to Lake Geneva on his own. We stopped for water at Panera on Rt. 176. On the way home the temperature topped 100 degrees and we had to ride more conservatively. We made it to Panera in Wilmette with an average speed for the 50 miles at 20 mph. Considering the heat and the stop signs and traffic lights, we were cruising at a decent pace.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Rides for the week 7/4, 7/5, 7/7 and 7/8/2012
On Wednesday 7/4/2012 we will start from Panera in Wilmette at 07:00AM and either do the usual St. Mary Loop or just ride to Bluffington's in Lake Bluff.
On Thursday 7/5/2012 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 Thursday 7/5/2012 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 7/7/2012 we will start at 07:00AM from Panera in Wilmette. We are going to do the usual ride on St. Mary Road with a loop around the Ascension Cemetery. We will add an extra loop back to Everett , St. Mary, Cemetery, Waukegan and the total will be around 70 miles. There will a water/restroom stop at Panera on Rt. 176 and food stop at the end of the ride at Panera in Wilmette.
On Sunday 7/8/2012 we will start at 08:00 AM from Panera in Wilmette and do the usual St. Mary ride with a loop around the cemetery.
Last Year's Practice Rides on the Sub 5 Course - Summary
I was checking into our practice rides on the Sub 5 course from last year:
Here are the dates with links to the recaps
7/16 - 2 Circuits of the Course
http://ebc20mph.blogspot.com/2011/07/sub-5-hour-century-course-ride.html
7/31 - 2 Circuits of the Course (on a hot day)
http://ebc20mph.blogspot.com/2011/08/71-sub-5-hour-century-training-ride.html
8/6 - 3 Circuits of the Course
http://ebc20mph.blogspot.com/2011/08/8611-ride-recap-training-ride-on-sub-5.html
8/21 - 3 Circuits of the Course
No summary of this ride
8/28 - 3 Circuits of the course
http://ebc20mph.blogspot.com/2011/08/sub-5-hour-century-ride-recap-82811.html
Thus, we traveled out to Hampshire 5 times for practice rides, with the first jaunt being on 7/16. Notably, we did not step it up to 3 circuits of the course until 8/6.
Here are the dates with links to the recaps
7/16 - 2 Circuits of the Course
http://ebc20mph.blogspot.com/2011/07/sub-5-hour-century-course-ride.html
7/31 - 2 Circuits of the Course (on a hot day)
http://ebc20mph.blogspot.com/2011/08/71-sub-5-hour-century-training-ride.html
8/6 - 3 Circuits of the Course
http://ebc20mph.blogspot.com/2011/08/8611-ride-recap-training-ride-on-sub-5.html
8/21 - 3 Circuits of the Course
No summary of this ride
8/28 - 3 Circuits of the course
http://ebc20mph.blogspot.com/2011/08/sub-5-hour-century-ride-recap-82811.html
Thus, we traveled out to Hampshire 5 times for practice rides, with the first jaunt being on 7/16. Notably, we did not step it up to 3 circuits of the course until 8/6.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
7/1/2012 Ride Re-cap
Despite of posting the ride for 8AM I was convinced that it was starting at 7. When I arived at Panera and saw nobody there, I checked the posted time and I realized my error. I could have slept one more hour. Shortly after Alvin Spector showed up and we had a little chat. He did not want to wait until 8 and went to ride by himself. One by one the usual suspects started to roll in. We had a new rider -Richard, the husband of Tracy (the nutritionist who gave us the lecture at the last EBC meeting). There was another EBC Show and Go ride at 8 that was planning to ride Panera to Panera.
At 8AM we started with:
Mike
Joe
Martin
Dave
Cons
Richard
Felix
We decided to practice riding in a single paceline at 22-23 mph. We were mostly succesful. Despite of being a fairly small group, we were not particularly smooth. There was some surging after stops and corners, there were few jerky moments when the pace slowed down for road obstacles and we had to react at the last moment. Once we got to the bike path and later on St. Mary we kind of settled in the pace and were smoother. We did the usual loop around the cemetery and on the way back from on Waukegan Road from Buckley to Rt. 176 we decided to pick up the pace as usual. Mike did a hard and fast pull and then Martin took over. I was hanging for my dear life, at some point I looked at my heart rate and it was 188. We made a short stop at Panera for water. At that point it was getting hot and we decided to skip the extra loop. The other EBC group was rolling in as we were getting ready to get back on the road. They had a flat on the way.
We did the usual ride back via Waukegan Rd, Everett, Old Elm, Fort Sheridan, Sheridan Rd, St. John's, Roger Williams to Green Bay Rd. On Green Bay Rd. we picked up the speed slightly and arived at Panera as a group. Despite of the high humidity it ended up as a nice ride.
At 8AM we started with:
Mike
Joe
Martin
Dave
Cons
Richard
Felix
We decided to practice riding in a single paceline at 22-23 mph. We were mostly succesful. Despite of being a fairly small group, we were not particularly smooth. There was some surging after stops and corners, there were few jerky moments when the pace slowed down for road obstacles and we had to react at the last moment. Once we got to the bike path and later on St. Mary we kind of settled in the pace and were smoother. We did the usual loop around the cemetery and on the way back from on Waukegan Road from Buckley to Rt. 176 we decided to pick up the pace as usual. Mike did a hard and fast pull and then Martin took over. I was hanging for my dear life, at some point I looked at my heart rate and it was 188. We made a short stop at Panera for water. At that point it was getting hot and we decided to skip the extra loop. The other EBC group was rolling in as we were getting ready to get back on the road. They had a flat on the way.
We did the usual ride back via Waukegan Rd, Everett, Old Elm, Fort Sheridan, Sheridan Rd, St. John's, Roger Williams to Green Bay Rd. On Green Bay Rd. we picked up the speed slightly and arived at Panera as a group. Despite of the high humidity it ended up as a nice ride.
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