So this part of Illinois is in a hot dry spell.  Many people lament the dryness.  Not me.  We don't need to mow, I don't water grass and it saves me money on gas and oil for my mower.  Now the good news.  Outdoor biking is great.  The wind is usually under 10 mph and at times 5 mph or less.  Perfect riding conditions.  An additional positive is that Ronni and I are able to do the Eureka Lake outdoor lunch.  I bike to the lake, Ronni buys a sandwich an the Breakers and we lunch in a serene spot on the lake.  I continue my ride like I would do after a SAG stop on my longer rides.  Also, since my older son has a new bike that fits his frame better, my original cross country bike has been returned to me.  I acutally like the 3 ring sproket on the older bike better the the double but the double is carbon whereas my older bike is aluminum. I will be riding my old one this weekend and probably leave it up north.  Thought about getting it tuned up but it had been ridden so infrequently it didn't need it.  Well, enough and I'm still looking for conditions to do the century.

Great day Sept. 8.  This weekend Christopher, Annie and my favorite 6 year old granddaughter Ruthie came to our house for my birthday.  What a great time.  As little Ruthie just learned to ride her bike without training wheels I looked forward to doing a ride with her.  Of course, her old bike was too small so, of course, someone had to purchase a new one for her.  Now let's see.  Who would that person be.  Ha, yea right.  Of course it was me.  And, to be sure, I thought we would go easy but as it turned out I actually needed to put forth effort to stay up with her.  Her average speed was over 12 mph and we actually did a five mile ride.  For most that's not much but for a beginner it was great.  Good time was had by all.  Still waiting for proper conditions to do my first century of the season but I will be patient.  Stay tuned

 ust ret

urned from Lake Tahoe. Made a short trip but had a great time at Hank's 90th birthday party.

 

Wow....been too long.  Biking outdoor weather has been really, really hot recently.  The good news is we just got a cooling breeze from the NE.  The bad news is that is brought smoke filled Canadian air making outside biking a problem.  Nevertheless, I endured with the gear in the above pic.  Had a good visit from Brian and Susan from England.  You may remember them as participants in one of my Fat Tire rides in Wisc.  On another positive note, in two weeks I will visit Hank.  He was my roommate for the Crosscountry Ride and a few others.  Believe it or not, he will turn 90 and we will be celebrating his birthday in Lake Tahoe with his family.  Really looking forward to it.  As of this posting I have not ridden my yearly century but so looking forward to it.  More later

 

Well. well, well.  Here it is the end of June.  It's been about three weeks since my last post.  Reasons are many but I'm back. Including but not exclusively my year and a half laptop is toast. Still working on a replacement.  Outdoor riding was good for awhile but now the weather has taken a turn for the worse.  90 degree + days are not the best for biking outside. In fact, yesterday as the temp cooled off to a mere 90 degrees with 87 percent humidity I decided to give it a go.  The wind was a mild 7 mph out of the south and that was a consideration.  As it turned out, maybe not the best decision.  One would think as I get older I would know my limitations.  Yea, right.  Therefore, I set out.  It would be a 35 miler as I hadn't been outside in awhile. I thought about a 35er or perhaps 40 but I settled on 35.  For about the first hour things were hot but bearable.  However, the more I pedaled the hotter it became.  By the time I finished the temp was 92 but felt like 98.  And, it took a toll as my recovery was much longer than anticipated.  Approaching age 78 rides like I would do at 68 are not particularly wise.  I have determined that in the future riding in heat like that will be in my basement with my old friend the "trainer".  On another note, Hank, my cross country biking partner, called and invited me to his birthday party.  It will be held near Lake Tahoe NV.  Late August is the time and he will be celebrating his.......90th birthday.  Wouldn't miss it for the world.  He did inform me I could do an 80 miler around the lake.  Probably not going to happen but looking forward to seeing him and his lovely wife Carol.  In addition, I am still want to do my first century of the season but it might not be until the Fall.  Stay tuned.

Just my luck. The temp was a mild 75 degrees, the wind was a bit above 10 mph from the ENE. Great day to bike outside for a leisurely 35 miler. And yet, some of the worst air quality on planet earth and here I am riding my bicycle in this mess. (I didn't say shit because I didn't want to offend anyone with vulgar language) After about 10 miles I could actually taste the nastiness. I stopped and place my bandana around my mouth and finished the ride. I guess this will become the new normal so I will need to adjust.

 It's happening again.  After a week of indoor biking, because of the poor weather conditions, I finally was able to do a ride outside.  But, as it occurred last year, Canadian fires are causing nasty weather conditions in the area.  I decided to do my normal 30 mile ride and when I was finished I had this nasty taste in my mouth.  A result of the poor air conditions.  Good weather conditions will prevail next so looking forward to future outdoor rides and ultimately a century to Champaign.