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Bicycle Trails, Bike Stories, Cycling Articles, Bike Blog - Archive 2


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About Bicycles > Bike Trail Articles > Bike Trail Blog II

Bike Trails, Bike Stories and Articles - Archive 2
5/24/2004 - 10/3/2004

This page is dedicated to bike trail information, cycling articles and casual bike stories, comments and articles...

10/3/2004 - Out of the Woods

Wow, I forgot how nice it was on the back trails in Deer Grove! I just did a 22 mile ride today with 5 miles in the woods! I've decided that I need to do an update to my Deer Grove bike trail pages and add the off the main trail info and pictures... I am hoping for another good weekend to take the camcorder out there and get some photos! I might just update some of the text tonight... (if I have the time and inspiration...) I also decided that I really need to do more of this bike stuff in a blog on my regular bike site... I'll let ya all know if I do that... and link to it...

9/26/2004 - Almost Spiritual

It was just one of those days... Perfect, sunny, dry fall weather, nice day for a ride and I was out there riding through the woods... There were lots of people out yesterday, but no one in my space (a lot of the time) while riding through the woods... I was well rested and my mind was clear... It was ...almost spiritual.... I guess you could call it a "nice ride" :-)... Problems?... yea, still got em (who doesn't?), but left them behind for that moment...

Another thing that I did a little later, and that I remembered that I liked a lot, was a little "off the road" (off the paved path really) riding in the woods in Deer Grove...Riding on rough hiking (and/or mountain bike) paths with roots, ravines, branches, occasional downed trees in the path... It was really cool... AND one of the things that my new (hybrid) bike handles very well... Actually, I have been thinking that I may really be a "road bike" kind of rider, and may go back to a regular road bike again (skinny tires and wrap down handlebars and all)... but I also like a little off the road stuff once in a while... The jury is still out on that one for now...

9/12/2004 -Des Plains Trail Pics

Wow, September already!  I just did the northern end of the DPR (Des Plains River) Trail, from Libertyville to Wisconsin (40 miles both ways). That was a real nice ride and I just now got the photos uploaded to my bike page HERE I also put up some of the personal pictures (not on the actual trail page... Mostly my friend Dale (and one bad photo of me)) HERE. I was a little hungry by the time we got just about to the Wisconsin border, so I grabbed some corn growing along side the path on the way... It was really good! (of course I like that kind of thing and don't really have to have it cooked (I think it was actually sweet corn)).

8/29/2004 - Bike Ride Adventures.

What a beautiful day today here in Chicagoland!... I just did 19 miles on my bike. I just thought I would write a little about my adventures... I headed out towards Deer Grove 1'st... Some kids were selling lemonade along the bike path and called out if I wanted some.. I told them I might get some on my way back... So I did the loop around Deer Grove and on the way back they were still there... It was $.10 per glass... I ended up dropping $.75 at the stand! Sheesh, those tips really add up! :-) I remembered how excited my gets got when they did a stand and "made a sale"... (or maybe I could just relate to them when I make sales now... I guess it's and entrepreneurial thing! :-)

I am getting used to the new bike quite a bit now and it is very nice... I am focusing on what I think they call "cadence" now... Anyway, I try to keep the time the pedals go around to about 1 second each revolution... In other words... change the gears so the pedals are always going about the same speed regardless of the speed that I am doing... OK, that's it for the bike stuff for now...

8/21/2004 - New Bike, Recovering from Crash

My New Bike finally came in and I have it now! I've done a few miles on it now (not a lot, but some). I am having a little difficult time adjusting to the new style of bike, where you sit higher and the handle bars are straight across. Hey, after 30 or so years riding standard 10 speed road bikes, it takes some adjusting... It is actually a fantastic bike and there are plenty of things that I really like about it... but I need to adjust to it a little. It was a beautiful day today and I took the bike off the road on the walking paths at Deer Grove! Those lower gears and slightly wider tires are fantastic when you are off the road... More on that later (for sure...)

OK, it's been almost a month since my oral surgery and my bike crash... My mouth has healed pretty fast and that was not much of a problem, but the bike crash was really pretty bad and has it has been taking me quite a while to recover... It was good that I was already on pain killers when I crashed, because I think that it would have hurt even more... (I have been taking the corners on my bike very s-l-o-w-l-y and not leaning into them much since then... :-) ) Anyway, I also re-injured my side/hip again in the exact same place (falling on pavement, horsing around playing basketball in Wisc) OOOuch! So it has been taking even longer... well I am Recovering now...

OK, enough blogging (as the new popular term for this kid of page goes) for now... I gotta go... later...

7/28/2004 - Lots of Blood... Surgery, Pain Killers, Crash!

Well, that heading should get your attention... OK, First of all Tuesday I had surgery for a bone graft for an implant for a missing tooth (very bloody)! Wow, was that a lot of fun... That novacane stuff is great! Didn't feel a thing... until it started to wear off!... OOOWWW! So I got the heavy duty pain killer (Vicadin with some kind of codine like stuff)... Anyway that helped... Well, I missed my bike ride yesterday because of the surgery, so I decided to go today... Of course, I'm still "high" on pain killers... Well, I am whipping aroung the downhill corner real fast as usual (on Dara's bike) and wam/bam!@#!##@! the bike slides out from under me and I take a major dive into the blacktop... Wow was I bloody after that!

The car behind me stopped and had some first aid stuff (I was in Inverness, so they were probably doctors or something... :-) ) so they patched me up... Head, arm, knee... asked me if I was OK... I was a little disoriented, oh yea, somehow my glasses got smashed too... The front bike tire was flat so I had to walk home (about 2 1/2 miles, with all of the bandages on... that must have looked interesting...)... OK, so I got home and my daughter took very good care of me... :-) She is really good at patching people up too... I guess it was good that I was already taking pain killers before the crash... I wonder how much this really hurts!?! :-)

Well, now I need to fix my wifes bike and I am still waiting for my new bike (which is on order)... Maybe this is a good time for a break anyway...

7/25/2004 - The New Bike (at last!)

Well, first of all I have been managing to get in some bike miles even without a bike (of my own) these days... DMy wife, has let me use her bike and after raising the seat about 8 inches, it is rideable for me (although I feel pretty goofy  because of the way you sit on the bike...)... In the meantime... I do have my new bike (the Trek7300fx) on order!  

7/14/2004 - Transportation Blues... Breakdown

So, with such a beautiful weekend, I decided to do a little bike ride... After about a mile and a half (while crossing a busy road) my bike chain breaks! Then I discovered that the reason that it broke is because  the crank shaft is totally bent... I would have to fix both to have it road worthy again... Well, that isn't going to happen this time... (like my van... it is just too old and I am ready to move on...).

So I'm doing some unplanned bike shopping this weekend... I found the perfect bike right away... (amazing actually)... worked out a satisfactory deal (I drive a hard bargain) bought it (a Trek 7300FX), and brought the bike over to my friend Dales house for it's maiden voyage (first ride :-) ). In the process of checking it out a little further, I discovered a little problem. Because the frame was too small for me, my knee rubbed against the frame at the end of the pedal stroke (which I didn't notice when I test-rode it)... Well, that is just not acceptable if I intend to do many thousands of miles on this one too (which I do)... So I had to return it... :-( :-(

Unfortunately, they did not have the right frame size and, in the bike industry these days they are between model years (2004 and 2005). You can't order 2004s anymore and the 2005s aren't ready to order yet either! :-( I really wanted to just get a bike again so I shopped a little more (same store) and decided that I could accept another model (Trek 7200). Well, I just wasn't as excited about this replacement as I was about the "FX" so I ended up returning it in the end too!!!

(Sorry this is getting a little long...) Anyway, What I have learned is that the type of bike that I REALLY want is a high performance, or fitness hybrid bike... This is a little different than the standard hybrid/comfort bike in that it is not really a "comfort bike" (with the higher adjustable handlebars, front and rear shock absorbers, etc.) but it is also not a road bike (with the real skinny tires and wrap down handle bars...) It is somewhere between a mountain and road bike (a different style of hybrid).

So I am currently bikeless... but at least you see where my weekend went...I am still trying to find the 7300FX (or an equivalent) and still workin on the van replacement deal... (don't even get me started on the tooth implant stuff that I have scheduled for next week too)... later..

7/6/2004 - Final Freedom ride...

My friend Dale and I did a Final Freedom ride yesterday (Monday). 36 miles on the Long Prairie Bike Trail. It wasn't as much of a freedom ride for me as it was for Dale... He just got a new job after much time off (bike riding over 1100 miles this year (puts my 227 to shame... but them again, I've been working all year... so far anyway...)). Anyway it was a really nice ride, a beautiful day and a nice pace with some breaks to keep it interesting...

5/24/2004 - Sorry for the Delay - Bike Season, Slow Start...

The weather is getting nicer so I've broken out the orange bat (yes, so far I still have the same OLD bike) and I have done a little over 100 miles so far this year.. I couldn't find my mileage records from last year, but I'm sure I was way ahead of this year... Oh well, I don't know about breaking any mileage records this year...

Anyway, it feels great to get out and ride again! I am still considering a new bike, since my bike is really in bad shape... It is pretty much a 4 speed now (I can't even change the front gear...). It's funny but I was just looking at my bike site sales (on my web sites) and I have already made enough this month alone on my bike site alone for a new bike... but yet, I still haven't broken down and bought one...

 


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