Time for a biking update. No outside riding lately. Combining riding on my trainer in the basement and the stationary bike at the rec center. In my basement, I ride for an hour and a half. At the rec center I include lifting with the stationary bike for a total of two hours. These workouts allow me to eat and drink virtually anything I choose without adding pounds. On another note, oddly enough, I'm still getting requests to present my cross country trip to various organizations. I just had a request from the NHS of O'Fallon High School, near St. Louis, to present at their banquet. They asked how much I charge to do this. I told them a million dollars or nothing; their choice. Guess what they choose. While many of these organizations have offered to pay me for my presentations I would feel uncomfortable charging a monetary fee to do this.
On another note, I am real close to deciding to bike with the Cross Roads people at the reunion ride from Maine to Florida. That will put the Kabash on my Great Alaskan Highway ride but I may decide to do both. As I stated previously, time and finances will determine much of my decision. More later

Unbelievable, here it is in the middle of November and I'm still riding outside. This is central Illinois not Florida but I'm loving it!! 70 degree temps with a 5-10 mph wind. Love this "global warming". Harry called yesterday and is planning a trip to the states when Barbie rides from Champaign to Boston in June. He indicated he might do the entire ride with Barbie starting in Champaign. I am definitely going to meet with them and perhaps ride to Crawsfordville IN. with them. Haven't decided yet but looking forward to meeting them in Champaign. I know all the women at Hubers will be looking forward to seeing Harry. Even though they couldn't understand a word he said they loved the British accent. If any of you other 09er"s have nothing better to do join us. It would make a great reunion. More later as I'm looking forward to avoiding my work schedule and doing my bike route the rest of the week. The temps are supposed to stay in the 60-70 degree range until the weekend with relatively light winds.

Looks like today may be the last day of biking outdoors. I finished a 40 mile ride yesterday with the temp at 48 degrees. However, the wind was from the east at 12-15 mph so it seemed much cooler. Today the wind is supposed to gust into the 20's so unless I want to do a repeated Delhart ride I will use the stationary one at the local gym. Starting to get a bit of wanderlust so I have finished my plans to ride the Al-Can highway. Ronni, the lovely one, is still a bit reluctant but I can tell she is weakening. Otherwise, I have hatched a solo plan with a reasonable chance of success. But, the starting date is next Spring, however, as we all know plans can change.
On another note, a touring semi-tractor trailer promoting the Library of Congress made a stop here in Washington. It is travelling across the U.S. with an exhibit containing Library of Congress information. Oddly enough, while talking to the library director, a comment was made about going across the country and it was mentioned a member of the Washington community, me, had bicycled across the country. The VanGelders, who are in charge of the exhibit, mentioned they followed my blog as I biked across the country. They asked if I were available to meet with them. Of course I found it in my schedule to do so. We all went out for dinner and enjoyed a pleasant evening of dining and conversation. I often wondered about all the people who followed my blog as many did not sign up as followers. Often I had over 300 hits per day so this gave me some insight as to why that number was what it was. I now know that for some reason people from across the country seem to be interested in these types of activities. Following is the VanGelders website and the October 25th post relates to our visit.
http://thevangelders.com/ More later

Still riding outside and its October 19th. I suspect outdoor riding will be done shortly as winter sets in. But until it happens the weather is perfect for biking. In fact, I just finished a 55 miler to LeRoy. And, as usual, Doris, who owns my destination establishment was waiting with vital refreshment liquids. While she hasn't revealed her age, and without insulting her, she is in her mid to late 70's. She does a great job running the place without much help.
Last week I took a group of bicyclist to Goodfield. It was the second in the series of rides sponsored by the Washington Park District. While it was only 30 miles, the people who joined had a good time. It was an absolute perfect day to bike. The weather was in the low 70's with very little wind. In fact, I broke my rule on rides and actually ate lunch. I normally will only indulge in liquids until after the trip but it was such an easy ride I felt it wouldn't interfere with my ability to ride. I'm still trying to convince my wife, the lovely Veronica, to drive an RV and accompany me to ride the Great Alaskan highway. As late as it is for this season, it looks like Spring will be the earliest I can do this trip. I have most of it plotted and now the only obstacle is to convince my wife to join me. I would enjoy her company on the trip but I am not opposed to doing it solo.
On another note, my good friend Teddy Herrera is in Savannah Georgia in his attempt to traverse the country supporting the need to address Childhood Obesity in this country. From earlier posts, Teddy has ridden from Sacramento to Boston. He is headed to Miami Florida and will complete his trip in March by riding back to Sacramento: 11,000 miles. As I have stated previously, this makes my cross country ride pale in comparison. I wish him all the luck in the world.

Prepping for the weekend ride. Saturday I take a group to lunch at Goodfields Busy Corners Cafe. It used to actually be on the corner of Route 150 and 116. However, it has moved down the street into a new building and is no longer on the corner. Perhaps they should change their name to Down the Street Cafe. It would make more sense. Ha, I jest. They can call it whatever they want and they still serve the best rhubarb pie ever. For non-local followers they actually make a pie from rhubarb. If prepared correctly it is quite tasty. I believe it is an acquired taste. Anyway, anyone who would like to join the ride, it begins at Russells Cycle Shop. We leave at 11:00 a.m. It is about a 40 mile ride but, as I have already stated, we stop for lunch in Goodfield. Our route will be ridden exclusively on county roads so traffic will be minimal. The only thing that could present problems are the tractors, combines and grain trucks taking product to the elevators. However, they always give bikers a wide birth because they know the dangers implicit with slow moving vehicles.
All levels are welcome and we ride to accommodate the slowest biker. The ride, including lunch, will take approximately three hours and Russells is providing a mechanic in case of problems.
Looking forward to the ride this Saturday.

Confession time. In this blog, I have often lamented the ignorance and inattentiveness of the motorist when engaging a bicyclist. However, today I almost nailed a biker. Coming out of the establishment that changes my oil in the "geezermobile Buick" the street I turn onto is usually quite busy. Having checked both directions and seeing no autos, I began pulling onto the street. But, much to my astonishment and chagrin, a bicyclist ran directly into my path from the left. Yes, he was riding on the wrong side of the street but I still should have seen him. With my 60 year old cat like quickness I applied the breaks and missed hitting him by less that a foot. I absolutely did not see him. He was not in my visual arena. I have been told and have, in fact, told many people to ride a bicycle like you are invisible. The lesson here is to realize most people do not try to hit bicyclists but when they do it's because they actually do not see them. I will now resolve to have more patience with those motorists who turn my rides into adventures.
On another note, last Friday I took several bikers on a twenty mile trip to nearby Metamora, had lunch, and returned in time to drive to Champaign to watch the Fighing Illini pulverize the lowly SIU Salukies. Okay, Okay, what are they doing playing a team two divisions below them. Hey a win is a win. But, I digress. The trip is sponsored by the Washington Park District. We had a great time on the ride and the Park District is having me lead a group on October 9th to nearby Goodfield for lunch. This should be about a 40 mile trek and, with novice riders, it looks to be a lot of fun. I set a leisurely pace and anyone who would like to turn it into a race, you win. More later.

Birthday today. Several people suggested I ride my age today. I did and it is was quite a long ride. I know some of the followers of this blog will suggest I rode a century!! Very funny. Not quite. However, I did ride a century last Friday. This is my second 100 mile ride this summer. I again rode to Champaign but this time it was to attend my class reunion. And, no again, it wasn't my 100th year reunion. Do they still have those? I doubt it. Anyway, I only made one stop in Bloomington. At the grocery store/gas station, while paying for my Gatorade and powerbar, the clerk asked if I purchased gas. I was mildly amused since I still had my biking helmet, biking gloves and spandex on. My assumption was the clerk could tell I was riding my bicycle but apparently not. In his defense, I imagine that response is so ingrained in his speech pattern it was a natural thing to ask. Nevertheless, I still found it amusing. This is the first time I only stopped once during a 100 mile ride. And, with a cross/tailwind it was the fastest I had ridden this route. I averaged 20.1 mph. While that might seem average to many, I had never ridden so fast for so long. I doubt I will attempt this again, especially at my advanced age.
The picture I post with this entry is my second grade school picture. Many followers are wondering if they, in fact, had cameras back in those days. Again, very funny!!! Enough ranting for now. More later.