The 2009 Wright Ride

On Sunday, I woke up shortly after 6 a.m., drove to my former home town of Oak Park, and participated in the Fifth Annual Wright Ride, which derives its name by the many Frank Lloyd Wright homes that cyclists pass as they course their way Oak Park, River Forest, Berwyn, Riverside, Brookfield, La Grange Park, and Western Springs. This was the second year in a row that I participated in this annual ride, which is sponsored by the Oak Park Cycle Club. In both years, I rode their 25-mile route, which is actually about 29 miles by their reckoning.

I left home at 6:45 a.m. and bought coffee at Starbucks en route to Oak Park. I started my ride at 7:52. At about 8:20, while riding the final segment of the initial Oak Park/River Forest loop before the course turns southward, we encountered a moderate rain shower lasting about five minutes. Our group reached the Riverside water stop at 9:00, the Western Springs water tower at 9:50, and the Spring Rock Park (and rest stop) at 9:57. After very nearly retracing our route back, returning to our starting point at 12:03. I then set out on my own to visit my first apartment on Washington Boulevard (which I reached at 12:18) and rode back, extending my overall ride by about 30 minutes and 3 1/2 miles. I was back at car at 12:33 and left for home at about 12:45.

This year, by chance, I ended up riding with four other people. Although riding with cyclists of varying abilities lowered my average speed, it was a nice change of pace from my usual practice of riding alone. Unfortunately, one woman in our group crashed her bike on a stretch of road in Brookfield, but she was able to escape the mishap with only some moderate road rash on her legs. [Today, I learned the term "concrete loofah" from another member of our group]. A woman from a passing support vehicle (kudos to the ride organizers) did a superb job of dressing her wounds, and she was able to finish her ride with only minor discomfort.

Although weather forecasters had predicted rain for the afternoon, we were a bit surprised and concerned by a rain shower arriving so early. Fortunately, the skies soon turned partly cloudy, and no more showers were to dampen our ride. However, the evaporating rainwater added to an already humid day. Temperatures started off in the mid 70s and peaked in the mid 80s by ride's end.

My total mileage for today was 36.7 miles, which raises my seasonal total to 884. I am just 7.5 miles short of 3,000 overall miles since starting my One for All initiative in the spring of 2007.

Twenty minutes after beginning my drive home, as Lake Street fed traffic onto the Eisenhower Expressway, I drove headlong into a deluge of rain. The rain fell so hard that visibility was severely limited, and some cars even pulled over to the side of the road. The rains, heavy at times, continued through much of the afternoon. I felt very lucky to have completed the ride before the rain arrived. I would guess that everyone associated with the 2009 Wright Ride felt the same way.