A Brief Respite from the Cold

On what may be the last 60 degree plus day this year, I enjoyed a delightful 21.3 mile ride today. Wearing my cold weather gear (i.e. long sleeve t-shirt, jersey and cycling jacket above my waist and cycling shorts and cycling tights below my waist), I was perfectly comfortable for the duration of the ride, which passed through Roselle en route to the eastern edge of Schaumburg and then back along Weathersfield Way. When I started my ride around 11:30, the skies were partly sunny, but within a half-hour, the clouds moved in. By completing this ride, I surpassed the 100-mile mark for October and extended my seasonal mileage total to 1,294.1 miles.

I felt surprisingly strong during today's ride, especially given the fact that I had just returned from the hectic schedule and short sleep cycles of the annual GLPA planetarium conference. My body almost seemed anxious for physical activity, and I willingly accommodated its request.

On my next ride, I will likely reach three more milestones -- exceeding the 1,300 seasonal mileage mark, setting a new October mileage record, and exceeding 100 hours of total riding time this season. If I can complete 32.1 more miles this season, I will better last years seasonal mark by an even 100 miles. Stay tuned.

Nearing the end of my season

Although it was still an abnormally chilly day for mid-October, today was a full ten degrees warmer than last Sunday. Hooray! With sunny skies and light winds, the weather conditions were much better for today's ride, which will be one of the last rides of my season. Today, I rode 20.8 miles, pushing my seasonal total to 1,272.8 miles. My seasonal total is now 46.6 miles greater than my 2008 total. Will there be more miles to come? Only time (and weather conditions) will tell.

On this day, I rode familiar streets within Schaumburg, Hanover Park, and Bartlett, but in a counter-clockwise fashion. I'm not sure why I typically start this great loop in a northwesterly direction through Bartlett, but today, this segment of my route was at the end of the ride instead of the beginning. As I rode today, I tried to soak in the full Zen experience of cycling -- the life energy contained in my breathing and the rhythm of my pedaling, the natural beauty that surrounds me as I ride, and the feeling of "oneness" that characterizes each sojourn into this parallel world. Soon, my cycling season will end, and I will once again long for the experience.

Brrr . . . I should get bonus miles for this!

Well, I'm finally getting around to commenting on the two rides that I endured last weekend. I say "endured" because the air temperatures at ride time were in the low 40s -- uncharacteristic chilly for early October. On Saturday, I rode to Starbucks on Irving Park Road (the hot coffee did indeed help!) then through parts of Schaumburg and Roselle. My total ride was only 13.8 miles, which would have been a short ride under normal circumstances; today, it posed a challenge given the 41 degree temperature and light winds that further added to the wind chill.

Although the temperatures were predicted to be colder on Sunday, that day's ride was actually two degrees warmer and felt even warmer than that, with no wind to speak of. This day, I rode to and through the Hawk Hollow Trail and through parts of Bartlett, totaling 11.6 miles.

Adding both rides together yields a respectable 25.4 miles. So perhaps I should simply consider my weekend effort one ride divided between two days. Given the extreme weather, that should be allowed. In any event, I added to my record seasonal total, which now stands at 1,252 miles.

The Sweet Taste of Victory

On Sunday, October 4th, I surpassed my seasonal total of 2008, which had been my personal best. What's more, this sweet taste of victory came almost a full month before I attained the same mileage a year ago. Given the strange and unseasonal weather that has plagued 2009, I am pleased that my many late-summer rides were able to offset the early-season deficit.

I am particularly pleased by the timing of my achievement -- the weekend of Livestrong Day -- the day to remember people we've lost to cancer, love and support people who are fighting cancer, and take action in the fight against cancer. Although the Chicagoland weather on the actual Livestrong Day (Friday) was rainy, I was able to ride on both the Saturday and Sunday that followed. By so doing, I also broke a 13-day cycling drought due to my recent trip to California. It felt good to be back in the saddle.

Saturday's 14.8 mile ride took me to the Irving Park Road Starbucks in Schaumburg and then along a well-traveled section of Schaumburg. Skies were mostly cloudy with a couple of sprinkles near the end of my ride. Temperatures were in the upper-50s (well below average for the season) but winds were (thankfully) light. Within an hour of my return, steadier rains moved in.

Sunday's 29.1 mile ride was well planned the night before to ensure that I would break my seasonal record. My route was also chosen to be representative of all my previous rides. Portions of my route included crushed stone surfaces of the Great Western Trail, the Elgin Spur of the Illinois Prairie Path, and two sections of the Hawk Hollow Preserve. Other portions were ridden on paved secondary roads and subdivisions, representative of the matrix of lightly-traveled roads that I have . I broke my 2008 seasonal total within my own subdivision, with only 0.4 of a mile to spare. Skies were partly cloudy, with temperatures starting in the low 60s and ending in the upper-50s and light northwesterly winds.

Henceforth, my miles for 2009 will be the proverbial "frosting on the cake." Every additional mile that I now ride will extend my seaonal record and contribute additional funds to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Me . . . my bike . . . my cause!

September ends cool and rainy

I have returned from a wonderful vacation in Southern California. My brother-in-law Michael married Leah on Saturday, September 26th, and the entire Basile family shared a wonderful time at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. Prior to arriving there, Tammy and I flew into San Diego and visited Sea World. Although I considered renting a bicycle while I was in California, I thought (correctly) that there wouldn't be many opportunities to ride. It was a pretty action-packed week!

With the end of yet another month, it is time to make my monthly contribution to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. My September contribution was $50, based on my September mileage of 205.2 miles. In retrospect, considering that I was gone for two of the four weekends in September (one for the Prairie Skies star party and the other in California), I still had my third best month of 2009 and my fifth best month since 2007. My seasonal total now stands at 1,182.7 miles.

It's now been 11 days since my last bike ride, and the weather has turned decidedly cool and rainy. The forecast suggests that my next ride will have to wait until Sunday, at which time I can start chipping away at the remaining 44 miles that I need to break last year's total.