This weekend Agatha and I set out on another good long ride to Elizabeth. Her father and uncle had spent the past week reparing flood damage to their home there, and our plan was to meet them there Friday night, get a ride back on Saturday, and celebrate Easter on Sunday. Everything worked out perfectly. I rode the Casseroll equipped with my Revelate Tangle bag, and Agatha carried a light load on a rear rack aboard her brand-spankin-new SALSA VAYA! It is an awesome bike and it performed flawlessly on it's first test. Agatha commented the large tires, disc brakes, and extra gears made the once dominating gravel hills of Jo Daviess and Carrol counties fun! So yeah, Friday we clocked about 110 miles again (following a similar route to our last trip), and having a tail wind and sunshine the ENTIRE day made the ride seem to fly by. We also both noticed a bit of mental toughness gained from our grueling Monticello adventure ("Only one hundred miles? With a tailwind? HA!"). We kinda felt like we were cheating, but we had so much fun we didn't care. Agatha and I arrived just before sun set, and enjoyed beer, food, and campfire before turning in.
Saturday brought more good riding. After a slow morning of eggs, coffee, and helping out with some of the repair work going on, Ag and I decided we would ride north to Charles' Mound, the highest point in all of Illinois!!! (Funnily enough, this location has a page on Summit Post, a mountaineering info site. Click here for the link.) We didn't get going till about 1PM. Unfortunately, while grabbing some snacks in the town of Scales Mound, we were told the mound is privately owned and only open to the public during the summer months. Oh well. The riding was good regardless, with plenty of climbing for our sore legs. Ended up with about 40 miles for the day.
All in all, it was another good weekend of riding. If you enjoy cycling the views, roads, and hills of Illinois' Northwestern unglaciated region really are not to be missed. Consistent weekend missions to that part of the state could start to become a regular thing, as I firmly believe it is the best riding destination within a reasonable distance from DeKalb.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Spring Break write up
So my original plans for spring break of heading to Arkansas for a climbing trip at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch were shot by the extreme weather that tore through the southeast this week. Instead, myself along with Agatha racked up 360+ miles and over 24 hours of riding time on our bikes. I talked about the 85 mile ride in the previous post, but the other two rides we did consisted of a 110 mile ride to her family's house outside of Elizabeth, and a punishing 155 mile ride to my home in Monticello. These two rides contrast sharply in almost every way.
The ride to Elizabeth was simply beautiful. We experienced wonderful, clear, sunny weather with zero mechanical failures and great stops/scenery along the way. The nature of the route we took was a good challenge, with the total elevation gain tripling in the last twenty miles. Neither of us minded much though, as the gravel hills of northwestern Illinois undoubtedly offer some of the best riding and views in the area. Agatha's roommates met us at her cabin later that night after we arrived, and we celebrated with a gigantic bowl of guacamole and cold beer. Afterwards we both agreed that it was the most fun ride we had ever done, and we enjoyed every second of it.
The ride to Monticello was an altogether different experience. This was going to be (by far) the longest day either of us had spent on our bikes. The beginning of the route was not so bad, heading south into Ottowa, and over the Illinois River though Marseilles. It was about at mile sixty that we started to realize what we had gotten ourselves into. This was when the winds began to really pick up, and for the rest of the ride, we fought a strong headwind coming directly out of the south. I'm sure some people will understand, but it is hard to convey how draining and discouraging it was to ride into the wind for twelve hours straight. There was never a second of relief. I have never felt so frustrated, exerting myself fully against such an unyielding force. The scenery was flat, vast, and uninspiring. The roads were straight as an arrow, with little variation. This was definitely "type two" fun. We also avoided near disaster around mile 65 when the bolt securing one of Agatha's derailleur pulley wheels un-threaded and the entire component fell out onto the road. We managed to find the pulley but not the bolt. Miraculously, one of the bolts from my stem was the right length and diameter to hold the pulley wheel in place, and it worked fine for the final ninety miles of the ride. Other than that, I have little to say about this experience. It was grueling, but it was always something I wanted to do. This was probably the first ride I've done that pushed me to my limits both mentally and physically. It was satisfying to set a new personal record, and I'm sure I'll do another big ride like this someday. Just not into a headwind.
ADDENDUM:
I would also like to add that I am coming up on the one year anniversary of owning my Salsa Casseroll. It has been a fantastic bike and I'm happy to say that I've put over 2,000 miles on it since purchasing it last April. I cannot think of a time where it has failed me in any way on a ride, not even so much as a flat tire. It's a great machine that has taken me on many adventures and made me smile.
The ride to Elizabeth was simply beautiful. We experienced wonderful, clear, sunny weather with zero mechanical failures and great stops/scenery along the way. The nature of the route we took was a good challenge, with the total elevation gain tripling in the last twenty miles. Neither of us minded much though, as the gravel hills of northwestern Illinois undoubtedly offer some of the best riding and views in the area. Agatha's roommates met us at her cabin later that night after we arrived, and we celebrated with a gigantic bowl of guacamole and cold beer. Afterwards we both agreed that it was the most fun ride we had ever done, and we enjoyed every second of it.
The ride to Monticello was an altogether different experience. This was going to be (by far) the longest day either of us had spent on our bikes. The beginning of the route was not so bad, heading south into Ottowa, and over the Illinois River though Marseilles. It was about at mile sixty that we started to realize what we had gotten ourselves into. This was when the winds began to really pick up, and for the rest of the ride, we fought a strong headwind coming directly out of the south. I'm sure some people will understand, but it is hard to convey how draining and discouraging it was to ride into the wind for twelve hours straight. There was never a second of relief. I have never felt so frustrated, exerting myself fully against such an unyielding force. The scenery was flat, vast, and uninspiring. The roads were straight as an arrow, with little variation. This was definitely "type two" fun. We also avoided near disaster around mile 65 when the bolt securing one of Agatha's derailleur pulley wheels un-threaded and the entire component fell out onto the road. We managed to find the pulley but not the bolt. Miraculously, one of the bolts from my stem was the right length and diameter to hold the pulley wheel in place, and it worked fine for the final ninety miles of the ride. Other than that, I have little to say about this experience. It was grueling, but it was always something I wanted to do. This was probably the first ride I've done that pushed me to my limits both mentally and physically. It was satisfying to set a new personal record, and I'm sure I'll do another big ride like this someday. Just not into a headwind.
ADDENDUM:
I would also like to add that I am coming up on the one year anniversary of owning my Salsa Casseroll. It has been a fantastic bike and I'm happy to say that I've put over 2,000 miles on it since purchasing it last April. I cannot think of a time where it has failed me in any way on a ride, not even so much as a flat tire. It's a great machine that has taken me on many adventures and made me smile.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
shine up your shoes, polish your coffin
Saturday, March 10th 2012. Wake up those weak winter legs! You know you want to!
EDIT: THE RIDE WILL NOW BE ON SUNDAY IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE ATTENDANCE. SEE YOU THEN.
EDIT: THE RIDE WILL NOW BE ON SUNDAY IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE ATTENDANCE. SEE YOU THEN.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Horse Pens 40: 11/18/11-11/22/11
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
Another trip down to HP40, this time with Blake and new friend Alex. Good trip, decent weather, great climbing. Did not send any "hard" new problems, but managed to repeat all my old climbs which pleased me considering how little I've been getting in the gym this fall. Loved getting to discuss the nature of the climbing at HP40 with Blake and Alex who had never been before. Forget grades, just climb because these are the best boulders I've ever touched!!
Monday, September 5, 2011
9/5/2011
Post Teens--Fucked Up Perception from A Justice on Vimeo.
sick punk band from gainesville, fl. i just ordered their new demo cassette, and you can too!
*click* to buy or *click* to listen (it's only $5 w/ shipping, so if you like it just buy it!)
yesterday got back from a trip to jackson falls. it was HOT, but we managed to get some fun climbing in, cool off at swimming holes, and take in the beauty of the shawnee. i ended up onsighting "spiders from mars", a 5.10b slab climb which had me quaking pretty badly in a few spots. it was exhilarating and marks my hardest onsight to date. the trip has left me with aching tendons and probably some poison ivy, but it was great to get out and get on the stone again. other routes of note include:
- cheerio bowl, 5.10a: one of my favorite routes at jackson, just as good as it always is. great exposure.
- flash, 5.10a/b: tried this one cause it stayed dry in the rain on sunday. found out from some other folks climbing it that certain holds have broken off in the past few years, explaining why it felt so damn hard.
- fine nine, 5.9: wanted to climb this again as the last time i tried it was soaking wet. felt better, but still not an easy route by any means.
- stubborn swede, 5.8: a cool wandering route on the monument right by cheerio bowl. worth checking out for the setting alone, the hidden peaks has got to be one of the most scenic spots in the canyon.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
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