What a beautiful summer day!

Current Seasonal Total: 1,048.9
On Sunday, July 25th, following a one-week absence because I attended the National Science Congress, I followed a nice 25.9 mile route that carried me along familiar roads in Bartlett, Hanover Park, Schaumburg and Roselle. I began my ride at 2:15 p.m. and returned home at 4:45. It was a beautiful afternoon, with temperatures around 80, lower humidity, and light northeasterly breezes.

1000 miles . . . and counting

Current Seasonal Total: 1,023.8

I reached two significant milestones on Saturday, July 17th. First, I surpassed the 200 mile mark for July. At my current pace, if I don't set a record for July, it will still rank as one of my top five months since beginning my fund raising initiative in 2007. Secondly -- and more importantly -- I broke the 1,000 mile mark for 2010. Having exceeded this mark in each of my past two cycling seasons, I wasn't surprised to accomplish this feat, but I was surprised how early in the season I reached it. In both 2008 and 2009, I surpassed the 1,000 mile mark in the first few days of September. In 2010, I reached the same goal in mid-July!

My three rides this past weekend were otherwise unremarkable. Friday's ride followed a new eastern route (President Street) to reach the Great Western Trail and a new northern route (Klein Road) to get from North Avenue's frontage road to Schick Road. Friday's ride totaled 24.6 miles, bringing me to within 11 miles of the magic number. On Saturday's ride along Schaumburg streets, I stopped at the Starbucks on Irving Park Road in Schaumburg and discovered a new taste treat -- iced coffee with milk and sweetner. Only a little more expensive than coffee, iced coffee is far more suitable for the hot, sticky days of summer. It is a welcome treat at any point during a ride. I reached the 1,000 mile mark on the corner of Walnut and Warwick Lanes. I stopped, took my traditional cell phone self-portrait (shown here), and continued riding. My Saturday ride totaled 21.4 miles. On Sunday, which was the hottest and steamiest of the three days, I rode to the Roselle Starbucks and back (for another iced coffee), adding an additional 13 miles to my tally.

As I write this, I need only 476 miles to reach my goal of 1,500 miles in my 2010 season. Also, I need only 392 miles to reach the 5,000 mile mark since I began my "One for All" fundraising initiative. Onward and upward!

My annual 50 mile ride pushes me above 900

Current Seasonal Total: 964.8

On Saturday, July 10th, I rode my annual half-century (i.e. 50 mile) ride. This year, I designed an all-new route that included one loop of the Busse Woods Bicycle Path, numerous roads in Roselle, Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg, and Hanover Park, and even a segment of the Great Western Trail and Elgin Spur of the Illinois Prairie Path. In total, my ride was 52.3 miles -- one mile for each year of my life. In order to reduce the negative effects of the mid-day sun, I started my ride at the ungodly hour of 6:05 a.m., bound for the Busse Woods Forest Preserve in Elk Grove Village. To save additional time, I even avoided a morning stop at Starbucks. Skies were clear and temperatures were seasonal, rising from the low 70s into the low 80s with light westerly winds. Even so, by ride's end I still felt overheated and dehydrated.

At about the half-way point, as I rode along a very long stretch of Weathersfield Way in Schaumburg, I chanced upon my brother-in-law in front of his home. He was nice enough to replenish my water bottle with some ice-cold water, which helped me immensely as I continued on the long backstretch of my route. The most uncomfortable part of the ride was the section along the Great Western Trail, where the summer sun shone upon me continuously. As I rode the final stretch of my route, I began to realize that my longer distance riding was limited more by my rising core temperature than by my aerobic threshold or muscle soreness. I concluded that, in the future, I should plan the longest routes of my season during the cooler months of September or October. I returned home a few minutes before 11 o'clock, having completed 52.3 miles, which was exactly the figure of my longest 2008 ride and slightly farther than its 2009 counterpart.

On the day before my big ride, I completed a warm-up ride that took me for the first time this season to the lakes and paths within Meacham Grove and the Lake Street Reserve. On the day after my big ride, I rode through the Roselle and Schaumburg Metra stations and along the network of roads that connect them.

In total, these three rides added 89 miles to my season total, which now stands at 964.8. With only 35 miles to go, I am poised to break the 1,000 mile mark in July, which will be more than a month earlier than I've ever reached that milestone before.

Four rides on the Fourth of July weekend

Current Seasonal Total: 875.8

On my extended Fourth of July weekend, I rode four times in four days and added an additional 78.6 miles to my seasonal total.

Friday morning's ride (7/02) enjoyed near-perfect weather, with highs in the low to mid 70s and light winds. I rode through parts of Hanover Park, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates. During my return trip, I stumbled across the all-new paved path that links Ranger Park in Hanover Park with both Atcher Park (on Springinsguth) and Olde Salem Park (on Hartmann) in Schaumburg. I later learned that an "official" opening of the path was scheduled for the following day. My ride was 23.4 miles.

The weather was hot and humid for my remaining three rides this weekend. On Saturday, I rode late in the afternoon to the Meacham Grove Loop, where I spied a doe and two young deer on the steep hill bypass trail. They fled along the trail for a short distance before disappearing into the bushes and trees that line the crushed rock path. I was looking for a climbing challenge and I found wildlife as a bonus! I returned home along side streets in Roselle. My ride was 14.5 miles.

On Sunday (Independence Day), I rode to my nearest Starbucks in Dominicks Plaza en route to the West Branch Bike Trail, Wilcox Trail, and the new Schaumburg-Hanover Park path. Growing a little bored of the very same route, I detoured from my normal route along Kuhn Road's sidewalk for Woodhill and Woodlake Roads, which (I now realize) provides a better way to reach the Lies Road path. This will likely become my default route in the future when heading in that direction. My ride was 23.2 miles.

Originally, I planned to take a day off from riding on Monday, since the weather forecast called for rain. However, when it became clear that the morning would be rain-free, I took a short ride to my nearby Starbucks and then followed a new route along the perimeter road of the Stratford Square Mall to Covington, the Bloomingdale Court Plaza, Schmale Road, and the Lies Road paved path. My ride was 17.5 miles.

These four rides bring my total seasonal mileage to 875.8 miles.

Record-breaking mileage = record-breaking contribution to LAF

With the end of yet another month, it is time to make my monthly contribution to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. My June contribution was a record $80, based on my record-breaking June mileage of 320.9 miles.

My fund raising effort has become personal yet again, as my aunt in Texas has been diagnosed with lung cancer. My thoughts and prayers are with her.

Relentless -- Halfway to 1,500

I will need to find some new adjectives to describe my cycling mindset in recent weeks. "Relentless" is my current favorite. Looking back on my past three years of cycling, I always felt rather proud of the mileage figures that I'd posted each year, but those numbers are (so far) looking pale compared to my current season. For instance. . .

-- In June of 2010, I rode more miles on my bicycle (320.9) than I've ever ridden in a single month, eclipsing my previous record set in July of 2008.

-- As of July 1, 2010, I am 274.1 miles ahead of where I was on July 1st of last year and 319.1 ahead of this same time in 2008!

-- I am on schedule to break the 1,000 mile mark sometime in late-July or early August, about a month earlier than in years past.

-- On June 28th, I passed the half-way mark to my seasonal goal of 1,500 miles.

I am now making plans for my annual Half Century ride, which I've previously completed in late-July. I may even ride two such rides in 2010. So far in 2010, I've already ridden 10 rides greater than 30 miles, and 2 greater than 40 miles. Since my most recent ride was 44.7 miles, I have no doubt that I already have the legs for a 50 mile ride. The trick will be to find a day that's not too hot and not too windy . . . and to plan my ride so that I'm not on the road when the sun is highest in the sky.

Three rides close out June

Current Seasonal Total: 797.2

During the final five days of June, I was able to squeeze in three rides, totaling 94.7 miles. My late afternoon ride on Saturday, June 26th was my shortest by far, totaling 15.5 miles and following a route that I used to take quite often -- the bicycle trail to the Meacham Grove and Spring Creek Reservoir Forest Preserves.

Two days later, I took a vacation day from work and rode down to the Great Western Trail (GWT) and Illinois Prairie Path (IPP). A less humid air mass had settled into the area, and the weather was near-perfect, with sunny skies, temperatures in the mid to upper 70s, and light to moderate northwesterly winds. Although I had ridden short segments of the GWT earlier this year, this was the first time this year that I completed the full triangle formed by the GWT, the Main Branch of the IPP, and the Elgin Branch of the IPP. The entire triangle is about 25 miles in length. Adding to this was the six mile direct route from home to the GWT and a extended return route of about 14 miles, which took me farther to the northwest through Bartlett. In the end, I had completed my longest ride so far this year -- 44.7 miles. Considering that over half of this distance was ridden on crushed stone, this ride was probably as taxing as a 50 mile ride on pavement.

Finally, on the last day of June, I took my final half-day off from Fiscal Year 2010 for what I thought would be a fairly short ride through Roselle and Schaumburg. Once again, the weather was excellent, but slightly on the cool side for late-June. My original plan was to ride about 14 miles, thereby pushing my June total over the 300 mile mark. However, as I pedaled along Weathersfield Way in Schaumburg, I conjured a plan to extend my ride by the additional 11 miles needed to surpass my all-time monthly mileage mark of 311.5 miles. I decided to go for it! I turned northward onto Walnut Lane and proceeded all the way up to Hassell Road in Hoffman Estates. I then turned westward and rode into the Poplar Creek Forest Preserve, completed 3/4 of its 9-mile loop, and returned home along the streets of western Schaumburg. In all, I rode 34.5 miles, exceeding my previous monthly record by over 9 miles and bringing my seasonal total to the verge of 800 miles.