Saturday, June 29, 2013

Finished my second century in a month. Wedding in Champaign this weekend so I decided to bike over. Another 100 miler. Good news to report is that I had NO near misses or close encounters. That makes it a successful ride. On another note, the cross country crew just finished their journey. Unfortunately, the ceremonial ride to Revere Beach was in a rain. Not a good way for the 013 crew to end the ride but I still remember what a great feeling it was regardless of the weather. Congratulation to all those who participated in the 013 adventure across America. Like those of us who accomplished this in the past, I'm sure they have many stories to share. I would like to give a shout out to Barbie. She began her cross country journey with the 09 riders and finished it two years later having done it in sections. A good plan for someone who can't take 7 weeks from their work to do something like this. The reason for the shout out is that I could not find Bob Fullers blog. You may recall he had an accident in Ohio that caused him to miss the rest of the ride to Boston. This summer he joined the group where he had the accident so he could finish what he started in 09. I knew he had a blog but couldn't find it. Knowing Barbie follows many of the cross country bloggers, I returned to her site. And, the good news is that Bob's blog was on her site. I was able to enjoy Bob's comments as he completed his adventure. So, thanks Barbie, it was greatly appreciated.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Had a great time last week with Hank and the current CrossRoads crew. This is the 4th year in a row I met the riders in Champaign. Acting as the official taxi service, I picked up Hank from Chicago and Rick from the Champaign airport. Mike Taylor joined the group. He did the same ride from Champaign to Boston with the 09 group and rode in the East Coast ride two years ago. Ronni and I also acted as the official greeters hosting a wine and cheese reception in our suite. A great time was had by all. Hank and I rode every day he was here. We started with a short 20 miler to a small lake near where I live to be sure his bike was ready. The following day we rode 35 miles and Hank showed no duress or fatigue. I knew he was ready to accompany the 013 crew. Because I am quite familiar with Champaign, we had a fine meal at Biaggis with the entire crew minus Tracy. The following evening Ronni, Jan, Hank, Mike and I discovered a new place even I hadn't known of. It was excellent and we enjoyed another fine evening of dining. Unfortunately, I was not able to enjoy the ambiance of my favorite pub, Hubers, due to time constraints. After the traditional helmet decorating following the rest day I decided to join Hank and Jan on the ride to Danville to the first sag stop. A severe cross wind greeted us but I figured it was better than a headwind so I was glad to join them. Hank is currently riding and doing the bag carrying for the crew. I can honestly state that Hank has not lost any of his riding ability. I am truly amazed. Today they have a rest day in Erie PA.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Picked Hank from the Chicago Ohare airport Monday. When we got to Washington we took a modest 20 mile ride to Eureka Lake to be sure his bike was in good working order. Today we did a 35 mile jaunt into a very stiff wind and Hank did a fine job considering he is returning from an extended biking layoff. He is accompanying the CrossRoads team from Champaign to Boston as part of the support staff. He plans on doing some of the rides along the way. From now on he is officially "SuperHanK"