Dry, Dry, Dry.  Biking in ultra dry conditions often involves traversing "dust outs" where visibility is severely limited.  As the farmers are harvesting their crops and preparing the land for the next planting season, extremely dry weather causes these conditions.  But, the good news is they don't last long and riding a bike on days like these is quite enjoyable.  Last week, a high school friend was in the area and contacted me.  We met for lunch and during the course of conversation he inquired if I ever road route 89 north.  I informed him I ride that route often, especially if it is quite windy from the SW.  Don indicated that his early ancestors grew up in Magnolia, has a family Roberts cemetery with a house built in the early 1800's and asked if I knew the area.  Of course, I am quite familiar with this small berg.  It is actually 35 miles from my front door resplendent with long flat areas combined with very hilly terrain. That doesn't even take in the number of semis that have numbered as high as 30 total.   All in all a fun and diverse ride.  After lunch we said our goodbyes so he and his girlfriend returned to the home.  The next day, as fate would have it, the temperature was to be in the high 70's with a SW wind of 20+ mph.  Yep, I road to Magnolia, (should have continued to Spring Valley for a 59 miler).   I thought how ironic the day after my interaction with Don I would be biking through the area of his ancestors as we discussed.  Sent him the above picture and once again another exciting adventure biking in central Illinois.

                      My new biking buddy.  He couldn't ride today as he had to keep an eye on the worms
 

Busy, busy, busy.  In addition to the grand parenting duties in Glen Ellyn and sons birthday in Carbondale, my outside rides have been drastically reduced.  Also, it was a windy week so the bulk of my rides were inside.  The good news is that today was a perfect biking day.  Temperature ranged in the mid 70's with a little wind at 10 miles per hour.  Eureka lake was my destination as the lovely Veronica suggested we dine on sandwiches and drink.  As is the nature of things, after a photo op from the above pic, I began my trek back to Washington.  At the east end of the lake is a sharp but short climb.  I usually get up to  speed to traverse the climb.   Everything was going to according to plan but I spied our van stopped at the corner before the climb.  I was wondering why  Veronica stopped so I attempted to pass her.  Just as I began to pass, she began making a right turn into my path.  Wouldn't it be interesting to have my third hit by vehicle be from my own wife.  Luckily she heard me yell and stopped the turn.  Asked why she was there she said she wondered what was taking me so long to catch up.  How ironic that if she hits me, our friends would contend she did it intentionally and they would have no problem with that.  Ha, Ha.  The house that has the worm sales were having a family gathering in their driveway and I had a quick conversation about the worm business with the wife which is why I was delayed.  She asked if I would post the above pic on their website so I did.  Anyway, another great day to ride bike in central Illinois.

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting ride of 55 miles yesterday.  Wind was favorable, temperature low 70's and a beautiful day for biking in central Illinois.  As usual, with a NNW wind of 15-20 mph and I want to do an outside ride, I decided, on the spur of the moment, to ride to LeRoy.  I use route 150 which includes several climbs and a 45 mph downhill known as "Freddies Hill".  Things were going well until I passed Downs.  A wide load semi began passing me.  I'm on the far right shoulder as far to the outside as is safe, and, as the vehicle passes I see it is taking the entire roadway including on-coming lanes.  As it passes, and unfortunately I had not turned on my camera, it misses me by less that a foot and, to make matters worse, blared its horn as it went by.  Of course, I gave the driver the "one fingered salute".  My thinking was, where was I supposed to go to avoid this jerk.  Maybe, he thought I should ride into the corn field near the road.  Continuing along the highway, it wasn't long before his buddy in another "wide load" taking up the entire road passed. It too came as close as it could and barely missed hitting me. The trailing vehicle blared it's horn as it passed.  Again, I indicated my displeasure by giving him the finger.  Afterward, I thought if I really wanted to piss them off, I could have taken the entire half of the highway which is my legal right. In addition, they are required, by law, to pass me by three feet.  My many, many miles riding the highways and byways of this country were fraught with near misses and twice actually being hit by motor vehicles. While I rant about this I do recognize this is part of biking and there is nothing I can do about it unless I stop biking.  Of course, I won't do that and hope my demise will not be by some ignorant motorist who is a hater.  Enough and stay tuned.

 The seasons "they are a changin'".  Ninety degrees most of last week allowed many miles outside on the bike.  This week looks much cooler but rainy.  Going to bike as long as the joints, other body parts allow and the weather allows.  Long distance rides (50+) probably are finished until next spring.  But we will see.  On another note, and of a political nature, this is going to be a very interesting election.  Hopefully, the result will not affect my ability to ride a bicycle.  But, who knows.  More later.

 

 Here we go again.  After a weekend without any time on the bike as a result of how busy I was during my birthday celebration, I rode outside the last two days.  But, it looks like the next two days are going to be a repeat of last years fires in Canada.  The air quality then was so bad I could actually taste the air so I had to resort to biking on my trainer in the basement.  Predictions for the coming days are level 2 as a result of the fires in California smoking up every thing to the east.   While that is not the worst level, it can become problematic for older people that exercise outdoors.  That's me.  Can't do anything about it so it's back to the basement.  When there is extended good weather, often, I will take a shorter ride to Eureka lake and do lunch with the lovely Veronica.  Hopefully it all clears up soon so I can get back to my regular rides.  Later

 

Busy, busy, busy.  Three straight days off the bike.  Birthday celebrations, football games and various travel considerations have left me high and dry.  But the good news is, for the foreseeable future the weather and social schedule seem to be in my favor.  Russells Cycle tuned up my ride and, as usual, it is again running like a top.  Even though I feel I do proper maintenance, it always rides smoother and cleaner after my annual tune-up by the professionals. On another note, the granddaughter has not ridden her bike without trainers but I'm sure it will be soon.  Before all is said and done, I would like to have at least one ride on their bike trail with her and her family.  Stay tuned!!  

 

 FINALLY!!! Today with perfect weather conditions...wind WNW at 10 to 15 mph.....temperature mid to upper 70's I rode my bicycle from Washington Il to Champaign Il 100+ miles for my first century in over two years.  While my speed was somewhat slower than previous rides 16-17 mph I still covered the distance in under 7 hours. I did take an extra rest stop in LeRoy. I felt it is quite an a feat in that I had doubts whether I could accomplish this as it had been quite a while since my last ride of that distance.   Road conditions haven't changed much as Mansfield to Mahomet still resembled riding across railroad ties. That aside, it was a a great day for biking across central Illinois.  On a more interesting note, I had forgotten the amount of Chamois Butter to apply for long distance treks.  In addition to the "regular" areas, ample amounts must be applied to each "cheek".  This resulted in a rash on one cheek that is very uncomfortable.  A very valuable lesson that shall not be repeated!  More later

 

 

Another great week of weather for a cyclist.  Even though it rained two days, I rode a total of about 200miles.  I even took my bike in for its annual tune-up.  High school friend Brian and his wife Susan, who currently lives in England came back to Champaign for a visit.  He hasn't been back for about two years.  We continued the tradition of meeting at Hubers for a couple of pints.  After that we joined the women at the Esquire restaurant for dinner.  It is not my favorite spot as there are many better places I would have chosen, but it was their choice so I went along with it.  The food there is mediocre at best and their beer selection is limited. But who am I to complain.  While at Hubers, we called another high school friend, David Johnson. It was a great conversation as he updated us on what keeps him busy and his family activities.  Conversation topics included health, sports, family and other non-controversial topics.  Excluded were politics and religion as these may result in disagreements and hurt feelings.  Brian did relate to me that when asked if he had to choose between living in England or U.S. he indicated he would stay in England.  Reasons for that included but not limited to the high cost of living here and the current political climate.  A fine visit with the Olsons and look forward to many more. On another note, son Eric is home for a week to play in the largest disc golf tournament in the world...Ledgestone.  Pros and amateurs from around the world compete on 20 disc golf courses around the Peoria area with over 2,500 participants competing.    He is very competitive and usually does well.  Back to the bike. As mentioned earlier my annual tune-up occurred while I visited Brian.  Have ridden twice and am always amazed how different a nicely tuned up cycle differs from one that is worn down since the last one.  And, I'm still looking for that opportunity to do my first century.  Stay tuned

 

Last week a great day for biking in Central Illinois.  Temps in the mid to upper 70's with mild winds in the 5-10 mph range.  An average of 30 miles per day with one day at Eureka Park for lunch.  Another ride ended at the Tres Rojas winery and the other days were my regular route.  Nothing extra long and am still waiting for an opportunity for a century.  Maybe later this summer but we will see.  Driver's for the most part were respectful and that is the most important thing.  So for now, stay tuned.

 More great outside riding.  Another trip to Magnolia as well as picnic at Eureka and finally my usual 35 miler on my regular route.  I know, I know, it's about time for a tune up.  Keep putting it off and know full well it needs to be done before some type of breakdown.  It will be scheduled for next week.  The century is still in the future.  One another note, as I'm getting older body parts are starting to annoy me.  Screws that were im

planted years ago are bugging me but I am able to ride through the pain.  Ankle pain from riding with a clipped pedal goes away after awhile.  So, doubt enters my perspective as I contemplate my first century in two years.  It will be a challenge but as they say, if it were easy, everybody would do it.  As it goes, I will continue my biking until my body say's "stop it".  Hopefully, it won't be soon.  Furthermore, I need to help my granddaughter at some point to begin riding without her trainers.  I predict it won't be long. 

 

Heat Heat Heat.  95 plus for the last week.  Not to be defeated, I repeated my 35 mile ride to Magnolia when it was 93 degrees with a 15-20 mph wind from the SW.  Was it hot?  Yep. But I tell people I have ridden in hotter weather.  My friends reminded me that I was much younger when I rode in those conditions.  I had to remind them my Europe ride three years ago was when they were in a massive heat wave and we rode in 100+ temps.  Nevertheless, it was hot and I looked forward to the air conditioned van that picked me up.  In the interim I ride on my trainer in the basement.  I might be the Goldie Locks of bikers.  "This day, it's too cold,  this day it's too hot...this day it's too windy and on and on.  Criteria for an outside ride goes like this.....wind less than 10 mph, and temps between 60 and 85.  Those conditions prevail probably less than 50 percent of the time.  I could always change the criteria especially if I were to bike earlier in the day in the summer and later in the day in the Spring and Fall.  So there it is.  I'm still wondering when my first century in two years will happen.  Stay tuned.

 

Two days last week were perfect for my anticipated 100 mile ride.  Last Monday the temp was a nice 70 degrees with the wind from the NW at 15-29 mph.  However, other situations happened where I was unable to do the ride.  So, last Sunday conditions were similar but church and other obligations prevented it.  I accomplished 4 days of riding outside so at least that was something.  In addition, I aggravated an old hip injury but I feel that would not substantially affect my ability to complete 100 miles.  I must now wait for conditions that will enhance my chances of completing the ride.  Unfortunately, the next week the temperature will be in the 90's and I won't do long rides under those conditions.  I will continue to wait patiently for the weather to improve and feel confidently that I will be able to complete the ride sometime this summer.  Stay tuned.

 

 

Labor Day ride today was a 55 miler to LeRoy along rte 150. Yes it was breezy, 15-20 mph from the WNW so half the ride was a severe cross wind. Having made this trek many times, this was the first in over a year. After reaching my destination I figured I has enough gas for another 45 miles to Champaign.  But I will save that for later.  Four observations that some of my friends may help explain. First, Bloomington constructed a great project known as the Constitution Trial for bikers and hikers. Why not maintain it so it can be useful? There are all sorts of debris including, but not limited to, acorns, tree branches, dead animals and large cracks in the in the path that are truly a danger to cyclists. Second, what is with all the tents under the viaducts and along the right of way near one of the cemeteries? My assumption they are homeless but on my previous rides, they were not there. Third, with all the excess money the state of Illinois supposedly has, why is the road from Bloomington to LeRoy in such horrible shape? It's like riding on 15 miles of railroad track. And finally, riding through the huge wind farm NW of Bloomington, with the wind as brisk as it was, none of the windmills were turning. My assumption is they are in the IWW union. (International Windmills of the World) Since Labor Day is a federal holiday, contractually, they don't work on holidays. Hummm, just sayin! All those matters aside, it was a great day for riding a bicycle across the hills, valleys and grain fields of Central Illinois and looking forward to my first century in nearly two years.

 

Got my mojo back.  150 miles in the last five days.  Today's trek was 35 to Magnolia.  Yes, I have ridden that route before.  High today was 85 degrees, wind was from the SSW 15 to 20 mph. Rain was predicted but I only encountered a few sprinkles which were quite a pleasant refresher for the ride.  Back to the usual passage of semi's.  It was back to 11 and each passed with respect and no drama.  Horrah!! A construction zone was set up just outside Washburn.  It reduced traffic to one lane but the stop sign holder allowed me to pass on the inside of the cones.  He did warn me to stay clear of the equipment trucks.  The heads up wasn't necessary as I was bound to steer clear of anything that might impede my ride.  So, another great day of biking in central Illinois. Still looking forward to my first century in two years and I'm bound to do it this summer.   Stay tuned.

 

 Road 35 miles to Magnolia.  Great day for a ride.  Weather in the low 60's, wind from the SW at 15 mph.  Usually an average of 12-15 semi's pass me.  With little to no shoulder it sometimes becomes precarious.  However, today, only 5 semi's passed and all gave me the entire lane.  To say that is unprecedented is an understatement.  Another great day to ride a bicycle some distance.  Still looking for that perfect day to ride my first century of the year.

As of a few days ago, the current CrossRoads group has begun it's journey across America.  I enjoy reading and seeing their posts on Facebook.  It so reminds me of my journey and brings back many awesome memories.  As such, for some odd reason good friend Hank "butt dialed" me last week.  We always have great conversations about how we are doing and how our families are doing.  It's always an enormous pleasure to hear from him.  

Now for an update from my "people" who live across the pond in England.  Received a call from old friend Brian who has lived near London about 10-12 years.  He calls once about every 3-4 weeks and our conversation covers a range of topics from Health to Sports teams.  Always good to hear from him.  And, the best news yet.  Wait for it......wait for it....Good friend and bicycling buddy for many distance rides in and across America, Harry is finally getting MARRIED.   Yep, you heard it here first.  Time and location have not been disclosed but I'm looking forward to the details.   More to come later.

 

 

Hooray, after many days of nothing more than biking on a trainer in the basement, I was able to ride outside.  Nothing better than a  beautiful day with temps in the 60's and a SW wind at 15-20 mph.  A 35 miler to Magnolia was my favorite route when those wind conditions exist.  And, I only encountered two semis which is about ten less than I normally see on route 89.  No close encounters of any kind which make the journey quite enjoyable.  One of the best of this spring.  Last week I was able to ride twice on my regular route around Tazewell county.  Having both front and rear lights in full brightness mode I was pleasantly surprised when a car actually waited to pass the car ahead of them until I passed.  Planning on complementing them on social media, alas, later another jerk pulled around a car and came into my lane heading directly into my bike path.  Taking evasive action, I gave the driver an uncomplimentary hand gesture.  In addition, coming into an intersection and have no stop sign in my lane, another idiot who had to stop according to the sign,  pulled out as I was in the crossing and forced me to brake and divert.  He was barraged with vile and vitriolic language that would make a sailor blush.  He apparently took no offense as he continued down the road.  Oh well,  it is what it is.  These are the conditions bicyclist endure on their rides so we must always be on the alert.  On another note, little Ruthie has removed her training wheels and will soon be riding like the big girls!  Still waiting for proper conditions to see if I am capable of a century.  Time will tell.  Later, so stay tuned.

 

Its going to be interesting tomorrow.  For the first time in a couple weeks the weather is going to be favorable for an outside bike ride.  My plan is to ride one of my favorite routes to Magnolis Il. It is 35 miles with many hills making it a good challenge.  Wind direction and speed are also favorable with a 10-15 mph wind from the SW.  Now, here is where it gets interesting. Tomorrow is "eclipse" day and around here there will be a 94 percent coverage.  I will try to ride before the max coverage as I'm not real interested in riding in the dark.  So, there in lies the challenge.  We will see how it goes but I'm anxious to get outside for a change. Always looking for adventure.  Check back soon to see how it went.

 Other than one or two rides outside, and none of any distance, the weather this spring has been terrible for any outdoor biking.  Day after day on the trainer in the basement is getting VERY redundant.  Looking forward to better weather and at the first opportunity I will be riding a century to Champaign. Stay tuned!!

 

 

                                                     Perhaps my next new bike.

Weather is crazy around here these days.  One day it's middle 70's next day mid teens.  So, an atypical late winter so far.  The good news is I was able to ride an outdoor 35 miler to Magnolia.  More good news.  A typical ride to that part of Illinois along route 89 and I will encounter 23-15 semi trucks.  As stated in previous posts the most was 30 and it was during harvest season.  However, my ride last week only 5, yes, 5 semis passed my and all gave due respect.  My basement on the trainer constituted the rest of my rides.  To finish my recent vacation in Key West I thought I would share some of our favorite eating spots.  As many times as we have been to Key West one would have thought we had discovered all relevant eating establishes.  Not so fast Kemosabe.  In addition to our usual visits to Pepi's and Green Parrot we actually discovered a place we had neither heard of or visited.  Lola's was the new restaurant and it was amazing.  Seating only nine table and needing a reservation at least two to three weeks in advance this fine dining eatery went well beyond our wildest expectations.  No price and no menu.  One chief prepared all meals which change daily with the fare read by the server.  Five choices from meat, seafood and a combination of each were offered.  For the first time in years I ordered the filet magnon.  It was cooked to perfection and shared with the lovely Veronica.  And, for the first time in years, I actually ordered dessert.  Pecan pie was my choice and without a doubt it was the finest taste delight I experienced in many years. The price shall remain unstated as the old saying goes "if you have to ask you can't afford it". Good thing I was on the bike the next day to work off the calories.  I know this is a deviation from my usual biking but thought I would share since it was quite an enjoyable experience.  Back to normal blog topic.

 Well well well.  Very frustrating.  After a lengthy description of my biking in the keys last month, I hit something that wiped out the entire post.  So, I will try again soon. Here we go again.  Obviously, the first thing I do when I get to south Florida I rent a bike from Eaton Bike shop.  My daily rides begin with a 20 miler east along route 1.  I turn around about ten miles at the Navel Air Base and each day extend it a bit further until it turns into 30 miles round trip.  What has become a tradition is my ride from Marathon to Key West....a fifty miler.  This years venture turned to be quite an adventure.  First, I encountered three bouts of rain.  Nothing severe but enough to get me wet.  I was able to outrun each but the last one caught me as I took a needed rest.  Also, on the treacherous 7 mile bridge I hit a metal bar that some idiot threw onto the small shoulder.   After temporarily losing control and fully expecting to crash, I was able to recover and continue over the bridge.  I did lose my water bottle but wasn't about to turn around as it is dangerous enough. Besides, I could get water in many places along the road.  The next obstacle was a construction area that forced me to ride on the road.  It only lasted a mile but cars passed at an uncomfortable distance....considerably less than the 3 foot required in Illinois.  Entering Key West after the 50 mile trek, I stopped to make a phone call.  As I un-clipped, I noticed my right cleat wouldn't re clip as I resumed but I was still able to pedal without clipping.  As it turned out, a screw holding the cleat was missing.   Not to worry.  I would just go to the bike shop to resolve the issue.  Unfortunately, I couldn't just replace the screw.  I needed to purchase the entire cleat set.  I returned to our cottage and thought I would do another ride.  After setting my cleat, I discovered I could not remove it.  After another brief panic, I removed my right foot and had to unsaddle with my foot still attached to the pedal.  The only way to resolve the problem was to remove my foot from the shoe.  I took the bike with shoe attached to the bike shop.  After a bit of a struggle, the mechanic was able to remove the shoe.  He tried to tell me the shoe was the problem but I knew that wasn't the case.  I only wear these in Florida and they were used not more than a dozen times.  He finally figured out the problem and case resolved.  Another exciting episode biking in the winter in Key West.   My next entry will be centered on the new and different experience in restaurants in Key West.  As many times as we have been to the area we found a couple new great restaurants. Stay tuned

 

And a big WOW.   It's been awhile since my last post but much has happened since then. The old computer where my blog is stored has finally "bellied up". Therefore, my posts have been less frequent.  But, I have fixed the problem and am back to my blogging. New Year has come and gone, January has come and gone and here it is the first part of February.  Not much has been happening on the biking front as far as outdoor riding except for my annual jaunt to Key West, Florida.  In fact, we just got back.  The good news is we avoided a huge ice storm in and around central Illinois.  The weather in Key West started out a little windy and cool.  Winds were from the ESE at between 15 mph and 25 mph which made for excellent biking and the temp began in the upper 60's but soon heated up to the 80's.  Unlike past years, I didn't post vacation information as I have been advised that to do so would invite thieves and marauders into my home to engage in thievery. As such I am doing so now in the comfort of my own home.  

For the first time since we began vacationing in South Florida we flew directly from Bloomington into Key West exchanging planes in Atlanta.  I suspect that will be my preferred method in the future.  Normally we fly into either West Palm Beach or Miami in order to spend time with our friend Sue who lives in Royal Palm Beach.  This year she had plans that would conflict with our vacation time thus the direct flight to Key West.  And, as to be expected the flight down turned out to be quite an adventure.  Leaving Washington the temp was a frosty -12 degrees.  Our flight was to leave at 6:00 a.m.  Unfortunately, our Delta flight was changed from a reasonable 2 hour layover in Atlanta to less than an hour.  But, if we left on time the layover period would have been sufficient.  Ha Ha. Not so fast buddy boy.  After boarding, we were informed their would be a 20 minute delay to "de-ice" the plane.  In addition, we had to check our carry on bags at the door since our "puddle jumper" would not accommodate carry on bags in the overhead.  Now we were on a very tight schedule.  With a half our to spare we landed in Atlanta.  But, and I'm not exaggerating, we taxied 15 minutes before we were at the gate.  Now time was really short and plan B was to see when the next flight to Key West  left Atlanta.  Finally our bag arrived and I realized we needed to get from gate F to gate B.  That required descending two flights of escalators and taking the tram.   Now, we really had to move. As luck would have it, we made the gate 3 minutes before they closed the gate.  We had to check our carry on's and could not use the overheads.  So when we arrived in Key West we had to wait at baggage claim amid a large throng of people for our luggage.  As it turned out, we would have been wise to check our bags in Bloomington saving time throughout the whole trip down.  Currently, the airport in Key West is not big enough to handle the amount of traffic it now sees.  They are expanding the facility but until it's finished the crowds in their terminal rival anything seen in Chicago's Midway or Ohare airports.  Enough for now, more on the actual vacation later.