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.