OT sort of

[DrBee]

It does decrease the time with your DH, but if you rode in the afternoon you would still lose that time with DH AND kids and you'd melt in the heat. I get up at 5 and ride, so I totally understand. I see lots of people walking mainly. But - people are generally much friendlier in the AM. You just need to to watch for the cars pulling out of driveways.

[Lise]

Hey Lise,

Are you an OB-Gyne? Where do you work? And have you been riding by the lake recently?

Hi, Fuji--

I'm a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM). I do deliveries at IL Masonic, and most of my clinic days are spent at the Board of Health clinic in Uptown. It's the Refugee Health Center for the city, so I see women from all over the world for prenatal and gyne care. This week I saw women from Mongolia, Albania, Morocco, Guinea (W. Africa), Somalia, Guatemala, Ecuador, and, of course, Mexico. Also a couple of Americans.

Yesterday was a short day at the clinic, so I was home by 3 PM, and out on the bike. In my unending quest to ride the lakefront path without having to run over a rollerblader on a cell phone, I rode Damen->Elston->Milwaukee->Des Plaines->Washington->picking up my bike and carrying it across Millenium Park. That last part stunk.

Next time I'm going to ride down Des Plaines to Roosevelt and take that over to the lake. Once south of the museums, it's like walking out of tornado-wracked Kansas into Oz. Beautiful, empty, wide paths with gorgeous views of lake and city. I stopped when I hit 10 miles, ate my Cocoa Mole Lara bar, gazed out at the lake for awhile, and rode home. 21 miles in all, cuz I got a bit lost coming home! Not loooost exactly, but more of a "where the heck is Elston?" Rode too far N on Milwaukee--yikes. Wacky. Got off there and took side streets over to Damen and home.

How about you? Are you riding much? I'll pass a cool looking woman on a bike and think, that could be Fuji or Beta! L.

[betagirl]

I rode the path south on tuesday from navy pier to 79th and back up, I think it was in the mid afternoon around 3-ish. I keep my eye out for the pretty bianchi when I ride

I'd be the cool woman on a blue lemond zurich. This weekend is supposed to be so nice, I think I'll be heading out later today. The Diversey route to the city is working out really well.

[Blueberry]

CA- It's really hard at first, but from now until october I ride 25-30 miles at 4:45am most tues, wed and thurs. Then I do my usual weekend training. I do it part because of the blistering heat in the daytime, and part because the guys I ride with all have 9-5 type jobs. I'm home by 6:45 or earlier so I can get the kids up and ready for school. It really works! I must admit bedtime becomes an issue. I'm often in bed at the same time as the kids (9 or sometimes 8pm )

Once you can stand getting up at 4:30 it is wonderful. Totally quiet, peaceful, and serene. Plus its really neat to see how many joggers and other cyclists are up at that time. It does decrease your evening time with your DH but...

Doc-

This is sort of what I was thinking of doing - although I don't have a group to ride with, so I'd be solo. I assume you guys just ride with good head lights and lots of little red lights until the sun comes up? Had many problems with cars? Guess all the drunk drivers are probably home passed out by then...

You did BSG last year didn't you? That's the main one I'm worried about training for - I figure Hilly Hellacious Hundred will seem like a piece of cake after 13k of climbing... Was that the weekday training you used??

Thanks for all of the suggestions everybody - it's reassuring to know that my riding life won't be over

[Lise]

I rode the path south on tuesday from navy pier to 79th and back up, I think it was in the mid afternoon around 3-ish. I keep my eye out for the pretty bianchi when I ride

I'd be the cool woman on a blue lemond zurich. This weekend is supposed to be so nice, I think I'll be heading out later today. The Diversey route to the city is working out really well.

Hmmm. Blue Lemond Zurich. I'll keep an eye out! I am so glad to hear that the Diversey route's working out. I'll try taking it out to my sister's.

So did you ride from OP to Chgo and then ride Navy Pier to 79th? That's a bit of mileage! Congrats! I've never gone all the way to 79th.

[betagirl]

I did ride in then down to 79th and back up to my friend's house on oakdale. It was a total of about 44 miles. If I'd ridden back home it would have been about 60. Considering I'm doing a 200k brevet in a week, I need to ride further. I had a stop in between where we went to lunch. Then rewarded myself with crab legs at Half Shell. Have you been? If not, total hole in the wall with great (and relatively cheap) king crab legs. AND they serve Fat Tire beer

Sorry for the thread tangent

[Lise]

I did ride in then down to 79th and back up to my friend's house on oakdale. It was a total of about 44 miles. If I'd ridden back home it would have been about 60. Considering I'm doing a 200k brevet in a week, I need to ride further. I had a stop in between where we went to lunch. Then rewarded myself with crab legs at Half Shell. Have you been? If not, total hole in the wall with great (and relatively cheap) king crab legs. AND they serve Fat Tire beer

Sorry for the thread tangent

Well, cool! I forgot, you're a distance girl. I want to go for a ride today, but think a run is what I'm due for. Looks like the weather's going to be decent tomorrow, so I'll probably ride around some then. Where is Half Shell? I've never heard of it. L.

[betagirl]

I'm heading out for a long ride today. My goal is to do 80 miles if I can. I'll probably end up doing a couple of "laps" between navy pier and 79th. Each round trip is 22 miles. There's no way I'm going to the north part of the path on a sunday!

Maybe I'll see you out there. I'll be wearing my snazzy google jersey.

From metromix:

Half Shell Restaurant

676 W. Diversey Pkwy
773-549-1773

The Half Shell is as basic as it gets: a short menu consisting primarily of seafood, no reservations, and cash only. But the food served in this small, dark, cozy restaurant explains why it's been around for more than 30 years.

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-10:30 p.m. Sunday.

[Lise]

I'm heading out for a long ride today. My goal is to do 80 miles if I can. I'll probably end up doing a couple of "laps" between navy pier and 79th. Each round trip is 22 miles. There's no way I'm going to the north part of the path on a sunday!

Maybe I'll see you out there. I'll be wearing my snazzy google jersey.

Have a great ride today. I start a 24 hr call shift tonight, so I need to remember to get in a nap at some point during the day. They were talking about rain, but it looks so gorgeous out that I'm taking off on my bike this morning. I won't put in anywhere near your distance, but then, I don't have anywhere near your goals!
Thanks for the Half Shell info--I've thrown myself back into the dating mix, and this'll be a little gem to pull out when I like a guy...

It would be death on a platter for somebody to attempt to ride the north part of the path today, that's for sure! Probably several somebodies. Have a great ride. Everybody! L.