Today, I rode my "51 at 51" ride

Well . . . I didn't plan it . . . but it just sort of happened. Today, I rode my annual "age in miles" half-century ride, known this year as my "51 at 51" ride.

When the day started, I was planning a 35 mile ride with a possible 7 mile extension if I felt particularly strong. Leaving the house shortly after 9 a.m., I had traveled almost a mile before I discovered that I'd left my two water bottles behind. Since water bottles aren't exactly something that I can be without, I returned home and departed once again, with 1.8 miles already on my odometer. As I rode, I began to realize that this extra "mistake mileage," when added to the mileage of my extended ride, would bring my total mileage to around 44 miles. "Hmmmm," I thought to myself, "why not just go an extra seven miles and complete my '51 at 51' ride today?" As my ride progressed, I liked this idea more and more. Ironically, my water bottle mistake might actually have been a blessing in disguise.

I first rode south to pick up the Great Western Trail, then westward and northwestward along the Illinois Prairie Path's Elgin Spur to where that trail passes near the intersection of North Avenue and Route 59. I then left the trail for paved roads as I passed Sonny Acres Farm (as shown in photo above) and large homes situated on even larger lots that border the Old Wayne Golf Course. My ride carried me through the villages of Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Bartlett, Hanover Park, Streamwood, Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg and Elk Grove Village. Since I hadn't planned to ride 50 miles, I had to chart my path on the fly, and I came pretty close . . . but no cigar. As I approached home, I was three miles short of my 51 mile objective. So, even though I didn't particularly feel like riding sprints up and down local roads, that's what I did on Cloverdale and Lawrence roads. As I pulled into my driveway, my odometer indicated that I had ridden 51.2 miles, bringing my annual total to over 700 miles . . . 712.2 to be precise.

Oh, and by the way, today's weather was finally summer-like. Temperatures started off in the low 70's and probably reached near 80 by ride's end. Winds were nearly still at first but then became light and westerly. Had I known that I'd be riding this long today, I would have started earlier so I wouldn't have had to ride when the sun was so high. Fortunately, I had applied enough sunscreen before leaving.

This ride brings my July total to 189.1, which is just below my June total of 203.7 and well below my record July 2008 mileage of 311.5. I am hoping to squeeze in another ride some evening this upcoming week. If that ride exceeds 14.6 miles, then July will become my best month of 2009 and 2/3 as good as my best month ever. Yes . . . spinning statistics can be fun!