A glorious Labor Day!

Wow . . . what a glorious day. Actually, what a glorious five days we've had, and I am pleased to report that I cycled and raised money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation on each of these days. At the end of it, I've rode 107 miles and am now within 142 miles of my 2008 total.

But first . . . a brief on yesterday's ride. It was cloudy most of the day and even looked like it could sprinkle at times, but it didn't. I rode a little "chip shot" of a ride totalling only 12.4 miles, exploring the industrial park pond trails near home, then continuing on to familiar side streets in Roselle before returning home via the Lake Street bicycle bridge route.

Overnight, the clouds cleared away, yielding a spectacular Labor Day, with clear skies only occasionally punctuated by stray clouds and temperatures in the mid 70s. My ride resembled a large misshapen loop through Hanover Park, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates. I rode along Martingale Road and side roads leading to it for the first time, which was a delightful experience with so little traffic to contend with. Actually, extremely light traffic was one of the headlines for this ride. I don't remember ever seeing so little traffic along these very familiar roads. It felt like I was riding along an enormous network of bike trails. No cars . . . no worries!

Here's an even bigger headline -- I am now 48.6 miles ahead of last year at this time and within 142 miles of my 2008 seasonal total! For the first time, I really feel confident that I can break my own record.