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Permalink Reply by terryg on January 13, 2009 at 7:40am

I had an excellent ride, and as far as I can tell so did the 20/30-or-so others that made it out.

The roads were snow/slush the entire way, with a pretty steady snowfall all the way down. The long haul down Hohman & Calumet through Whiting, Hammond, into Munster wasn't bad at all (2 lanes, each direction...big main streets). To me it seemed like people were generally rather courteous toward us. Our group generally used the entire right-most lane, usually riding two abreast.

There were two major destinations after FFF, one being "Chicago" and the other being Flossmoor Station. Yes, it could be a copout, but there is another brewpub right there at the station. I went there and conveniently missed a couple trains.

Good times, good people all around. Thanks to T.C. for organizing!

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Permalink Reply by o0_dan_0o on January 13, 2009 at 7:45am

i was at wolf lake(on the illinois side) around 1pm waiting for cyclists to go by, didnt see any. i guess i had bad route info or something.

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Permalink Reply by terryg on January 13, 2009 at 10:58am

That sucks! I recall that last-minute route adjustments (away from what the PDF map had) were necessary due to the paths being impassible - this is probably where you and the group were like two ships passing in the night. We went down Indianapolis to Calumet, skipping the Burnham Greenway entirely. We saw the east side of Wolf Lake.

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Permalink Reply by justJason on January 13, 2009 at 11:02am

I'm so pissed that I had to miss this. My sprained ankle was still a bit wonky, so I opted out. And this would be the THIRD one I've missed since learning about it. But I'm definitely glad that everyone had a blast.

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Permalink Reply by terryg on January 13, 2009 at 7:21pm

Well... I'm sort of a map geek I guess. I think this is the route we took to get there. Perhaps you might find some vicarious enjoyment or something (edit here for "ha ha") - I really don't mean any insult!

gmap pedometer, Daley to FFF

[Sucks about your ankle still bothering you.]

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Permalink Reply by o0_dan_0o on January 13, 2009 at 7:26pm

two ships in the night, and the thought crossed my mind that you guys might have been on the other side of the lake.

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Permalink Reply by terryg on January 13, 2009 at 7:28pm

The pannier looks like quite a capable growler-hauler, too. What a pity. Good beardcicle, though!

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Permalink Reply by payton on January 13, 2009 at 8:32pm

Dang, Dan, sorry about that! I was part of a trio hanging out at the Point for 30-40 minutes, but TC did come by and pick us up. (The Daley Plaza group took streets, not the path.) Only when I got back did I see the email about a group meeting at Valois instead.

The ride went fine; I stayed remarkably dry. The slush really makes the miles add up -- and the grind down the highway, while direct, got a little dreary. Too bad none of us headed back to Chicago had a copy of the actual map.

Turns out a growler fits inside a standard rack trunk. Who knew?

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