Run to the Hills, again

 

Back in Connecticut and riding to OOF again with the Lunartics!

Superdawg Gravel

 

This was my last ride in Chicago for 2022 and why not ride more gravel and visit a Chicago institution along the way. This was to be third trip to Chicago in the past two years and I still haven't ridden the greenway trails along the North Branch of the Chicago River.

Cranksgiving

I have been here nearly three weeks and I have yet to see Lake Michigan during the day so I rode south from Northbrook to the Baha'i Temple.

Macht Schnell!

Today's temperature was going to be 60 degrees at lunch time so I headed out hoping to get lunch at Schnell's Brauhaus in Palatine.

Suburban Dirty Thirty

Temperatures are starting to climb and today, after work, I headed north on the Des Plaines River Trail. My plan was to ride north on the DPRT and then cut over to the Middlefork Greenway riding south and then through a bunch of neighborhoods to get more Wandrer miles.

Des Plaines River Trail Ride

After 5 straight days on the trainer I had to get back outside and Sunday there was a break in the cold temperatures for me to take advantage of it.  Granted, it was 27 degrees when I headed out but it warmed up to 34.

Cold and Snowy week in Chicago

A big change in the weather arrived which first started with snow

Mom's Joke of the Day, revisited

I met up with the Monday night riders again in Lake Bluff because this was going to be my last outdoor ride for the next week because there was a cold front coming in where the highs weren't going to get over 25 degrees for then 6 days. After my Show and Go ride on Saturday I found a CycleOps dumb trainer on Craigslist for $25!

Suburban Gravel

 

The definition of a gravel ride in and around Chicagoland invariably means riding crushed stone paths. That is what I found when I joined this Meetup in Wheaton, IL called the Adventure Bike Club. If you want to ride real gravel, I am told that you need to head out towards Sugar Grove or head up to Wisconsin.

Wheeling Wheelmen Show and Go

Found a Meetup ride for Saturday and it was going to be a good test for the booties that I bought at REI earlier in the week. The Wheeling Wheelman have a ride that starts from Willow Stream Park in Buffalo Grove. I decided to drive to the meetup point only to find no one there. Then this couple, Dave and Eva show up and I ride with them at leisurely pace for 3 miles until Paul catches up to us and I get on his wheel for a more demanding pace.

Free lunch at Superdawg

I took a rest day on Veterans Day, Friday, and headed over to Superdawg for a free lunch. I usually don't look for freebies on Veterans Day because I like to just take the day off and go for a long ride.

The Brat Stop Revisited

Last year I rode to the Brat Stop on the recommendation from my Dermatologist and I decided to make it my big ride destination of this trip. Since Veterans Day was in the end of the week I decided I would do this ride on Friday, however, the weather boffins said Thursday had a predicted high of 75 degrees, which Friday was supposed to be 45 degrees. I switched my day off to Thursday.

Mom's Joke of the Day

Meetups are a wonderful thing. I found the Bicycling Collective of Lake County who puts on a night ride in Lake Bluff every Monday night. They meet at the Heinen's Grocery Store lot at the corner of Waukegan and Rockland. They have an A/B ride that goes out for around 18 miles and a C/D ride that does around 12 miles.

Cow Dung in Carlisle

I started following a route that I created but knew I didn't have enough time to do the whole thing. Heading away from Dickinson College I rode west on Rt 641, Newville Road, and the wind was brutal. 

Heading West

I have two bikes on the rack and enough riding kit for 10 days as I am headed first to Pennsylvania to visit my daughter at school. On Sunday, I am driving to Chicago for three weeks to dog sit, visit friends from school and have Thanksgiving with relatives.

Is Winter coming?

This weather keeps getting crazier and crazier. It's November, it's 74 degrees and we are riding in bib shorts and short sleeved jerseys.  

SOMP Big Ring Circus

Another RC Ilumenati Tuesday night ride on Thursday and it's 52 degrees on November 3rd! Since this was going to be my last group ride with these fine men we started from Archie Moores in Fairfield and the route was contained South of Merritt Parkway (SOMP).