Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Deet 4.5mi on April 14, 2013 at 4:22am

All in we avg, 13.8 mph, not bad being we were at 10-12mph for better than half the ride,  we then got it up to 16-17 mph avg on the second half, and that raised our spirits.  The second half made it, when we got to ottawa, we were nearly broken, but we pushed through it. All in it was 133.25 miles, 9.75 hours. Eric the course is great, the roads were in good condition all day.  It was a great challange, the only annoyance was the train issue, compounded by the ass like nature of the conductor, but with metra that is to be expected. So.... Thankfull of my lady for offering to drive down and pick us up. I will be doing this route again later in the summer, for sure.
 
Yao X Lin said:

Joe and I finished at 8on. Tried to grab the 8:33 but train was full of other riders from Aurora.

Permalink Reply by Deet 4.5mi on April 14, 2013 at 4:23am

Eric, the card will be sent off monday, i am assuming i just need to sign it and add the time. Please confirm and again thanks.
 
Deet 4.5mi said:

All in we avg, 13.8 mph, not bad being we were at 10-12mph for better than half the ride,  we then got it up to 16-17 mph avg on the second half, and that raised our spirits.  The second half made it, when we got to ottawa, we were nearly broken, but we pushed through it. All in it was 133.25 miles, 9.75 hours. Eric the course is great, the roads were in good condition all day.  It was a great challange, the only annoyance was the train issue, compounded by the ass like nature of the conductor, but with metra that is to be expected. So.... Thankfull of my lady for offering to drive down and pick us up. I will be doing this route again later in the summer, for sure.
 
Yao X Lin said:

Joe and I finished at 8on. Tried to grab the 8:33 but train was full of other riders from Aurora.

Permalink Reply by Eric Peterson on April 14, 2013 at 7:28am

Joe and Yao,

Congratulations on completing the ride!  It is more challenging than it appears, especially when the weather adds to the challenge.

I am glad to hear that you liked the route.  Once you get to Ottawa you are at 70 miles and a little more than halfway, with a good chance of a tailwind some of the way back.

The BNSF allows only 10 bikes per train (used to be 8 I think), which is the lowest in the system. Other trains allow up to 15 or even 20. It all depends on the number of handicapped cars. Perhaps sending comments to METRA would help them increase the number of those cars on their trains. However I would tend to doubt it, because I think those cars can accommodate fewer passengers, and BNSF trains are always packed during weekday rush hours. I doubt that they would create different train consists for the weekend, although anything is possible. In a pinch there is METRA service in Wheaton that allows more bikes but that would add another 8 miles to the ride.

Eric

Deet 4.5mi said:

All in we avg, 13.8 mph, not bad being we were at 10-12mph for better than half the ride,  we then got it up to 16-17 mph avg on the second half, and that raised our spirits.  The second half made it, when we got to ottawa, we were nearly broken, but we pushed through it. All in it was 133.25 miles, 9.75 hours. Eric the course is great, the roads were in good condition all day.  It was a great challange, the only annoyance was the train issue, compounded by the ass like nature of the conductor, but with metra that is to be expected. So.... Thankfull of my lady for offering to drive down and pick us up. I will be doing this route again later in the summer, for sure.
 
Yao X Lin said:

Joe and I finished at 8on. Tried to grab the 8:33 but train was full of other riders from Aurora.

Permalink Reply by Eric Peterson on April 14, 2013 at 9:07am

Joe,

All you need to do is sign the card and send it back!

Eric

Deet 4.5mi said:

Eric, the card will be sent off monday, i am assuming i just need to sign it and add the time. Please confirm and again thanks.
 
Deet 4.5mi said:

All in we avg, 13.8 mph, not bad being we were at 10-12mph for better than half the ride,  we then got it up to 16-17 mph avg on the second half, and that raised our spirits.  The second half made it, when we got to ottawa, we were nearly broken, but we pushed through it. All in it was 133.25 miles, 9.75 hours. Eric the course is great, the roads were in good condition all day.  It was a great challange, the only annoyance was the train issue, compounded by the ass like nature of the conductor, but with metra that is to be expected. So.... Thankfull of my lady for offering to drive down and pick us up. I will be doing this route again later in the summer, for sure.
 
Yao X Lin said:

Joe and I finished at 8on. Tried to grab the 8:33 but train was full of other riders from Aurora.

Permalink Reply by Kelly D. Grills on April 15, 2013 at 6:00am

That's one tough ride, congrats!

I was out in the similar wind (26 / 39 mph) yesterday for ~50 miles,

roughly half into the wind. Not sure I could have sustained that

for 70 miles with 40' temps.

Permalink Reply by spencewine on April 19, 2013 at 6:52am

So last week I didn't get a training ride in because my honey bees arrived and I had to deal with getting them hived, etc. So, the trip I had planned for last week, I will do tommorrow (Saturday 4/19):

 

I will ride mostly trails to Crown Point, IN (referred to as CP from here on out) and from there break off onto highways. I've only routed this map to CP and after that, it's a desert....all highway or county roads with very few towns between. Chicago-->Crown Point-->Chicago round-trip is 80 miles.

http://goo.gl/maps/ZPcjr

I'm planning on joining up with the CBES crew headed to Figure Eight brewing in Valpo for a portion of it and then breaking off either at Griffith or before if I'm ichin' to get movin'. The event they've posted is here: http://www.thechainlink.org/events/drink-beer-at-figure-eight-in-va...

Permalink Reply by spencewine on April 26, 2013 at 8:15am

Saturday 4/27 training ride.

Start: 6:30am sharp, meet on lake front path at Columbia yacht club (near Monroe/Lake Front Path)

End: 9:30am, somewhere in West Town.

Brunch to follow at Breakfast Club at Hubbard/Noble...I can stop by my apartment and pick-up ulocks for brunch, so no need to carry one.

Route: http://goo.gl/maps/ijIHk

Quick 40 miler on Archer-->Willow Springs Rd--->Ogden. Early enough that traffic should be light.

This will be a fast ride....16+ mph. I'm riding with a friend training for IM who rides like a bat out of hell.

Permalink Reply by Duppie on April 29, 2013 at 3:50am

Saturday May 4^th, I plan to ride 110-120 miles. Route not fixed yet, but will include Green Bay trail up to Winthrop or Kenosha, and if possible, a return trip on Des Plaines River trail, at least to Libertyville. Plan to leave my house in Andersonville/Edgewater by 6:30am.

I ride at 13 mph and plan 2-3 rest stops of 10-15 minutes each. So if you’re fast, this is not for you ;)

 

If weather turns out to be bad, I will reschedule to Sunday.

Permalink Reply by Deet 4.5mi on April 29, 2013 at 6:10am

I would like to but work is gettign in the way.

Duppie 13.5185km said:

Saturday May 4^th, I plan to ride 110-120 miles. Route not fixed yet, but will include Green Bay trail up to Winthrop or Kenosha, and if possible, a return trip on Des Plaines River trail, at least to Libertyville. Plan to leave my house in Andersonville/Edgewater by 6:30am.

I ride at 13 mph and plan 2-3 rest stops of 10-15 minutes each. So if you’re fast, this is not for you ;)

 

If weather turns out to be bad, I will reschedule to Sunday.

Permalink Reply by Deet 4.5mi on April 29, 2013 at 6:13am

Is any one going up to Delavan on Friday May 10th for the 200-300k.  I am planning on taking the 11:30 train to harvard and riding up from there. 

Permalink Reply by spencewine on April 29, 2013 at 6:36am

I have access to a car and a bike rack with room for one extra bike (2 bike rack)...I'm planning on leaving 4am from Chicago on Saturday 5/11. If anyone wants a ride, PM me....

 

Also if someone has a 3 or 4 bike rack that will fit on a Honda Civic, more could ride up.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on May 4, 2013 at 3:22am

Spence - I sent you friend request to PM you. My rack is busted and I'll likely not have a replacement in time for the brevet. I can get up to Delavan on my own volition, but without my bike. PM me back with where you're located and if we can meet the night before.

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