Sunday I rode for 30 miles. My first big bike ride of the season. And first one with my new bike. I did 6 miles and 4 miles on it previously! With many more to come hopefully! If this weather ever warms up that is!!! Grr... perfect for running, not for biking (when all you have is biking shorts, no tights).
I got up at 4am to leave DeKalb at 4:30a and headed into Oak Brook to meet up with a friend of mine, Kevin. We both were going to ride on Lake Shore Drive in downtown Chicago, called Bike the Drive.
It was a fantastic day all together. Air was a little chilly in the morning. Good thing I brought a jacket with me. I wore that all morning long, actually. Kevin was smart and wore a long-sleeved wicking shirt. Wished I would have brought one of mine with me.
We parked in a Michigan Ave parking garage and rode our bikes out of the underground garage. That was cool. Rode over to the start, where Kevin picked up his stickers & shirt. He had to stick it in his jersey back pocket. Brightroom was all over the route taking pictures of us. Those aren't up yet but they will be soon. I doubt I'll buy any unless there's a really cool one of Kevin & I.
From the start there were two options; north or south. We opted for north first. Boy are we glad we did! The wind was coming directly from the north and really slowed us down. My cyclocomputer was also not working the ride so I wasn't sure how fast or far we were going. I was also using my clipless shoes & pedals for the first time. It was a little difficult to put clip them in the pedals at first but once they were in, they stayed in nice & easy.
We eventually got to the turn around and rested up, got some water, bananas, I grabbed a couple mini-muffins and headed on out again, going south. This way a LOT EASIER!!! The wind was behind us, pushing us along. I fixed my cyclocomputer at the stop, the sensor was turned so of course it wasn't reading it!
We stopped for a photo op near the Hancock building. This was the first of two times in which I forgot to unclip my shoes before I stopped. Luckily, there was a fence so I was able to hold myself up while I twisted my ankles.
At this stop is when we met three people. They wanted us to take a picture of them with their cell phone. I offered up my camera and we exchanged email address so that I could email him with it later. While the guy and I were talking, Kevin was talking with the other two. They're from Milwaukee! So they talked for a little while. We parted ways and Kevin and I were off again.
Across a bridge where there was another photo op (we didn't stop) the guy saw me again and thanked me again. Back to the start and we had to drive to the west, then south, then back east. It was a little weird snake thru. I didn't unclip my pedals even though we were going slow during this area. But I was conscious of them just in case! We decided not to stop and just continued our way down.
It was so very nice and we were avg about 18-19 mph on this north to south stretch. We rode by the Museum Campus, Solider Field and we ended up seeing signs for the Skyway and then we stopped at the Museum of Science & Industry. Again another break and rest. I enjoyed the grass and the sun under my helmet and jacket.
The ride back north was again harsh. But we managed to get through it. Kevin and I stopped again for another photo op of the skyline. We were a little far away. If we were on the bike path, it would be better. I AGAIN forgot to unclip my shoes before I got off. This time though, I didn't have a fence to keep me upright. Only by the grace of God was I able to unclip my right foot last minute and throw my foot out and caught myself up on the curb before I fell completely over. Like I was seriously sitting on my butt when I caught myself. Some guy was being sarcastic and said that he couldn't tell that I was new to clipless pedals. Pfft.
The group of three caught back up with us and wanted us to take more pictures. Somehow we are really easy to see I guess. I got a good shot of them with the Sears Tower behind them. Really cool.
We all took off at the same time and they were way faster than us but I was talking to Kevin about them and he said that the girl does triathlons. So I caught up with her and I told her that I signed up for a marathon in Milwaukee in October. She also said that she signed up for her first marathon in October but she's doing the Nike Run Like A Girl in San Francisco. So we talked a little about that race. She even said that I could stay at their place for the marathon. I'm sure she needed to talk that over with her husband first though! We also talked a little about triathlons. She has done a few Sprint Tris so I asked her about the transitions and then also the suits that people wear for them. I got my answers!
So then they took off again when I had to slow down to pass other people. But we saw them again at the finish line and she took a picture of us with the skyline. I also noticed that right when we were coming to the end, with just a few miles left, my right knee started to rear it's ugly head. So with nothing on my knees for support, they can only go for a 30 mile ride.
Kevin and I decided to walk around with our bikes in Grant Park for a bit. Then we saw that there was a FREE bike lockup and we dropped off our bikes there and went for breakfast instead of waiting in line for the pancake breakfast. We stopped at Corner Bakery and enjoyed a hearty french toast and omelet. We then headed over to the Buckingham Fountain. They turned it on a few weeks ago, I think. Then we decided to hit up Millenium Park so Kevin can finally enjoy The Bean or The Cloud as that's the official name. We did the touristy thing and take pictures. Lots of people around doing the same.
Back to the bike lockup and decided to head on down to the garage and off we were back to our meet up place. On the way home to DeKalb, I was getting sleepy!! It was bad!! I took a 45 nap pretty much when I got home at 1pm. I was awake for 9 hours at that time. Kevin and his wife Jess and I met up in DeKalb for some yummy Fatty's food and then they headed on up to Madison, Jess driving the entire way!
It was fun and it got me looking for new rides to do. I have one set for August in Dixon, IL with camping the night before. Then I found one June 7 near Marengo in Union, IL that is called Udder Century. They have a 31 mile ride that I might do. Then of course I have the TOMRV second weekend in June. And in July I have Biking with Beanzie. Next on my plate is to figure out what to do with my knees...
