August 20 & 21 rides

[nscrbug]

pll...We got caught up in those storms, too! We headed out a little after 6am, and got lucky for about the first 4 hours (rode out to the Plainfield/Bolingbrook area). At around 10am, we were in Woodridge making our way back and the sky was black and ominous to the north, with just a few drops of rain here and there. By the time we hit Western Springs, it was a steady but light rain. I was pretty much soaked by this time. When we got to Brookfield, it started to really come down. I felt bad for my riding buddy, as he lives in Oak Park...but I'm in Riverside so I was nearly home. The lightning is what scared me...a few of those lightning strikes seemed like they were right on top of us. Plus it was just SO eerily dark out. Shortly after I got home, it was a steady downpour. I'm sure my riding buddy was cussing the whole way home. All things considered, I got 75 miles in.

What train station was that?

Linda

[trbl_mkr]

century ride, club preview for the organized ride next weekend. Average for first 60 miles was way too fast (for me!) at about 17 mph... Then split off with two other riders to finish at a more leisurely pace (avg 15). I went out intending to only do the metric, but decided to go whole hog... will pay for it tomorrow, but feeling pretty good about my first century of the year! Weather was great, high of 85, no real wind, overcast.

[pll]

Linda: That was the Metra station at downtown Highland Park.

[nscrbug]

Linda: That was the Metra station at downtown Highland Park.

Ahhh, yes...the skies did look much darker up north. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and pleasant, so I'm looking forward to not getting wet.

[pll]

Ahhh, yes...the skies did look much darker up north. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and pleasant, so I'm looking forward to not getting wet.

Ditto.

I nearly didn't stop at the station, but one more close thunder "suggested" I should seek shelter. Within a couple of minutes, it got so dark the street lights turned themselves on, and it got very windy.

[Roadtrip]

Ended up doing 14 miles at the local trail. I won't get into the details as I've already posted in the newbie area, but had a "challanging" ride that ended in some road rash and bruses. Will have to see how much stiffness I have tomorrow.

Shannon

[Crankin]

Did about 20 miles in the later afternoon, when it was already hot and humid. I had my peer consultation group at the house from 10:30-1:30, then had to clean up. A nothing special ride; we did our Westford/Chelmsford/Carlisle route. It has a couple of hills, is mostly shady, and one of the roads is a designated scenic bike route. We went back a slightly different way, which I think made the ride a mile shorter.
Wednesday I rode 47.5 miles with the male half of our cycling friends, who is taking the month of August off. Well, I rode with keeping him in sight... I rode to their house (4 miles) and then we went up Oak Hill, up to the Fruitlands, and up Bolton Rd. in Harvard, to a rest stop in Bolton. I know I can't keep up with him, but I was trying a little harder than usual. After the rest stop, we were on flat roads for quite awhile and we were going along at 21-24, staying together. I was determined to keep up. I was so tired, I made the decision to go home a different way, that required less climbing, but added about 6 extra miles. I was shocked when I got home to see that my average was about 2 mph faster than usual for this very hilly kind of ride. I was absolutely dead for the rest of the day and took Thursday off. Friday, I rode 10 whole miles at 5:30 AM.

[indysteel]

I got nothin'. Yesterday was a work day at the ol' homestead. We had our drivewau repaved two weeks ago. To get the work done, DH had to move some of our landscaping pavers, as well as a mound of dirt. It was time to put all of that back. In the middle of that work, something went wonky with our overhead garage door, so we had a repairman come out for that. I mostly stayed inside and cleaned. Good times.

DH is making some changes today to my mountain bike and we'd like to hit the trails later today. He's kind of spent from yesterday though, so we'll see. When you own a home that needs some TLC, riding sometimes takes a backseat.