Bah! The high today again won't touch freezing. I'm slowly losing my patience with this cycle of snow/sleet and salting of the roads. We haven't been near 40 in over 2 weeks.
Originally posted by Kaiser: Bah! The high today again won't touch freezing. I'm slowly losing my patience with this cycle of snow/sleet and salting of the roads. We haven't been near 40 in over 2 weeks.
Are you hating Chicago yet? Oops, wrong thread!
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Today's mighty oak was once just some nut who held his ground!
Hey Joe, how technical is that trail? Looks to be sweet and buttery smooth from those pics. I could deal with no rocks/granite poking out at you for 30+ miles! [img]smile.gif[/img]
Not very technical but it does have some tough climbs. The hard thing about the race is that a good part of it is on the Ouachita trail which is actually a hiking trail. That be gettin' rocky! Lots of pedal stoppers!
But the womble is nice and highly recommended for anyone who visits. We should find a lodge down there to have the retreat. Nice lake for paddling and fishing too.
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Today's mighty oak was once just some nut who held his ground!
Well, here is my usual ride in flatland Illinois. Taken during the fall.
Singletrack through some high prarie growth.... very narrow and rocky and if you catch your handlebars on the thick tall grasses on the side, you're going down. But cool to ride with only your head above the grasses in the fall (you're under in the summer).
The trail runs alongside the DesPlaines River and this view is pretty common.
Different view of the river.
Lots of deer in the forest and easier to see in the fall.
This little guy was very inquisitive about my bike.
Blah. It finally gets above normal for the first time in 14 days (normal being around 40 degrees F) yesterday - we got up to 63!! So I decided to go out for a trail ride. Bad idea. Firs tthing wrong - I grab 2 of the same hand gloves, so no gloves. Then I lose my earbud covers for my headphones for my iShuffle, so the earbuds will keep slipping out of my ears during the ride. Trails were totally muddied up, there were still a lot of snow/slush fields to try to ride through (finally wnet down on field #10 for the day), and I only got an hour of trying to ride through this ice/wet cement mixture before my legs cried 'no mas'. At one point, the muck was so thick it clogged my overarch on the front wheel and I couldn't pedal. Then, to add insult to injury, some scray perv guy tried to hit on me in the parking lot from his car when I was done. Was pretty close to slugging him - he was really creepy. To top it off, it took longer to clean my bike of all the mud and muck than I was riding on the trail (had dried mud left on from my last ride in the moutains of WV last fall).
Ugh. Next time I'll take the road bike and worry about getting a flat on the winter debris on the side of the road instead of this. Usually they say any ride is better than none, and that is true, but this ride was pretty close to being one I would have rather not taken. Oh, the next 10 days: all below normal, no highs in the 40s. I'm really sick of this below average weather.
I'd post some pics of our ride on Saturday but don't wanna piss you all off (think: along the Pacific Coast Highway between Ventura & Santa Barbara. Clear skies, mid 70's)
Ooops [img]smile.gif[/img]
Good pics Kaiser - reminds me of rides up in Wisconsin. Even ran into a black bear once - I like to think he was more afraid than I. Nearly had to change my shorts after that one.
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
ODBsgirl and I did a sweet 45 miles on the road Sunday. 68 degrees out riding through the pecan groves. It was great! Oh yeah, ODBsgirl was breakin wind at about 20 mph during the final leg of the ride. She does rock!
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Today's mighty oak was once just some nut who held his ground!
Originally posted by Kaiser: Blah. It finally gets above normal for the first time in 14 days (normal being around 40 degrees F) yesterday - we got up to 63!! So I decided to go out for a trail ride. Bad idea. Firs tthing wrong - I grab 2 of the same hand gloves, so no gloves. Then I lose my earbud covers for my headphones for my iShuffle, so the earbuds will keep slipping out of my ears during the ride. Trails were totally muddied up, there were still a lot of snow/slush fields to try to ride through (finally wnet down on field #10 for the day), and I only got an hour of trying to ride through this ice/wet cement mixture before my legs cried 'no mas'. At one point, the muck was so thick it clogged my overarch on the front wheel and I couldn't pedal. Then, to add insult to injury, some scray perv guy tried to hit on me in the parking lot from his car when I was done. Was pretty close to slugging him - he was really creepy. To top it off, it took longer to clean my bike of all the mud and muck than I was riding on the trail (had dried mud left on from my last ride in the moutains of WV last fall).
Ugh. Next time I'll take the road bike and worry about getting a flat on the winter debris on the side of the road instead of this. Usually they say any ride is better than none, and that is true, but this ride was pretty close to being one I would have rather not taken. Oh, the next 10 days: all below normal, no highs in the 40s. I'm really sick of this below average weather.
I had a surprise business trip to Chi-town. I am sitting here, looking out the window, it's white! I now feel your pain. :-(
I mean....you can't even fricken road ride. baahhh.
Tell me about it! This morning the weatherman said that it won't get anywhere near normal highs (which is only 42 degrees) for at least the next 10 days (still 10 days, which is as far out as they predict). We are one of the coldest places in the country right now. It's getting very frustrating.
Spring will come K, though I know it seems like it never will. I spent 20 years in Northern Wisconsin so I can relate brother!
On the other hand it's in the upper 70's here. Ever consider moving the fam out West? A friend is riding the Solvang Century this weekend. Nice ride up through the Santa Barbara wine country. At the feed stations they give you a merlot and a truffle
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
It snowed here this morning. We have had one (count it - 1!) day above the normal high in the last 22 or so. It should average out, but we haven't even come close. I don't know what the hell is up - we're in a perpetual 10-15 degrees below normal. It's wearing on my nerves.
Oh, the next 10 days: all below normal, no highs in the 40s. I'm really sick of this below average weather. 
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