Grand Illinois Trail

Sorry for the delay....

My posts each night during my ride of the GIT were short because i have a 'dumb' phone and the only way to post to this blog is to send a short text message. Add to that the fact that i use T-Mobile, which could be the worst service provider in the world. In all but one campground i had no reception with my phone; in the one exception it was one bar. Once you are out of any urban area, or anywhere near a rural area, T-Mobile reception seems to not exist.

But, in any case, after my last post and one last day to ride back home from West Dundee, i ended with 9 days on the road and 460 miles pedaled. It was wonderful. The hills in northwest Illinois ate me up and spit me out, much like the hills did in Missouri a couple of years ago, but for the most part i was able to ride the majority of them.

A few pictures of the wonderfullness i found:

I was very lucky in that the week i rode it was abnormally cool for mid- to late-August. The days were typically in the upper 70's and lower 80's, almost perfect riding weather. The downside of this, though, was that it was also colder than normal at night. With nightly temperatures dropping into the low 50's, and a few in the upper 40's, i regretted not bringing a sleeping bag. I gambled that, given the time of year, it would be warm enough that a light blanket and a silk sleeping bag liner would be enough. And i lost that bet. I ended up sleeping in every piece of clothing i had, including my had, and including my rain pants and rain coat, with the hood pulled over the cap. Typically this was enough to get me through the nights, but on the nights in the 40's, i woke up several time in the very early morning. Oh well.... this wasn't a big enough issue to overcome the great riding weather during the days.

In the end, i didn't ride the entire GIT. Instead i rode a modified version for about half the trip. I rode the normal trail for the first two days and found out that while riding packed limestone paths is OK when it is only 40 miles, you end up back home that same night, and you don't have to ride again the next day, riding on then all day, 70 miles one day, and doing it again the next day, isn't my cup of tea.

So, on day 2, i skipped an entire section of the trail when the guide, and locals at a McDonalds i stopped at, said that i was going to have to ride through gravel — not packed limestone, gravel. Instead i headed out to the local two lane highway and headed straight west.

Then after a night in Le-Aqua-Na State Park on day 6, i cut an entire swing to the north off and rode due west towards Rockford. I don't know what the Jane Adams Trail is like up there, but i didn't want to find out as i had a 60+ mile day to ride that day. From Rockford, i skipped another ride to the north and headed due east to Crystal Lake, before turning south and starting the swing back towards home.

I guess what i found out is that while i love touring, for me that means i want to stay on asphalt throughout the day.

The I&M Canal Trail was in terrible shape during day 2. Two bridges were completely washed out and a third was marked as closed for repairs, but a local told me they hadn't started yet so if i ignored the signs i'd make it across — which i did. Here's an example of where one bridge had stood and what it looks like now, and what they used to replace it until further repairs are made.

Oh, if you live in the US, you know of that company called Sears, Roebuck, & Co. This may be the oldest store in the chain.

A couple of pictures of a typical campsite with the local restaurant i visited each night.

My back tire is now as bald and smooth as a baby's behind and the bike is locked in the garage until i can buy two new tires after the first of the month.

Thursday 48.3 miles to Mississippi Palisades State Park. Friday in the hills to Galena. 28.2 miles. Tomorrow to Lake Le-Aqua-Na. Big hills.

Overlooking the mighty mississippi!

Camp hauberg, north of port byron. 56.5 mi.

At campground north of sheffield. 51.2 miles.

Yesterday 71.5 miles. Brutal. Almost too much.

Yesterday

In lasalle for breakfast.

In Morris for lunch.

Grand Illinois Trail

My bicycle and tent have been complaining of neglect more and more loudly at the start of each week so i'm caving into the pressure and taking them out on the trail for a week. I'll leave Lockport (just north of Joliet) tomorrow morning and spend 8 days pedaling around the northern part of the state. It's supposed to be a little over 500 miles long, with 200 of that on paved roads and the rest on packed gravel trails, but i'm cutting out the eastern swing through the city of Chicago.

(info, pdf guide, map)

My current plan is:
Day 1: Starved Rock State Park near LaSalle
Day 2: Campground north of Sheffield
Day 3: Campgound north of Port Byron on the Mississippi River
Day 4: Mississippi Palisades State Park north of Savannah
Day 5: Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park in Lena
Day 6: Rock Cut State Park in Rockford
Day 7: Somewhere in McHenry, as yet unknown
Day 8: Long ride south from McHenry — McHenry, Crystal Lake, Elgin, Naperville, Romeoville, home.

Where the "true" trail would go east from Elgin into Chicago, then south along the lake, before turning back west to Joliet, i seen no sense in being a target for goofballs looking for a new bike and willing to take mine... so i'm avoiding the city altogether.

A few of the days are around 55 miles, but it seems that most of them will be between 65 & 70 miles.

Lance On The Ropes

Word is that Leipheimer, Hincapie, Vande Velde, and Zabriskie have apparently agreed to very short 6 months suspensions (served during the off season) in return for testifying against Lance. That these four would testify is almost unbelievable for me, until i stop and remember that they are all still racing and a one or two year suspension this late in some of their careers could stop that career dead in its tracks. Taking the six-month deal is the best they are ever going to be offered so you can't blame them, even though Lance certainly will.

But won't Lance continue his "I've never failed a test" routine? In response to that, Velo News has a very good article out that speaks to that. "Ashenden: Understanding USADA’s Armstrong charges. Blood-doping expert Michael Ashenden details how USADA could build a case against Lance Armstrong."

What for me was interesting, because i never knew it, is that an athlete could apparently fail a test and still not be charged or suspended. And, the athlete wouldn't know that he had failed the test because no one would tell him/her.

I'll say it once again. On the one hand i have long, long believed that Lance is a drug cheat and should lose his TDF titles. You cheat, you pay the price no matter who you are or how much money you have. But, i also think Bruyneel had to have been a key player in the doping program and therefore should also pay the price.

One the other hand, i will always admire the "athlete" Lance. All the major competition during his TDF days were also drug cheats so Lance was still the best athlete on the road. Lance was an amazing athlete and his teams were a wonder to watch as they rode around France each summer.

He may finally get his due and lose the titles, but in the long view of history, i think he and his team's made the TDF a better race as others struggled to beat him.

Sounds contradictory, i know.

Introspecting... Yet Again

Sighhhhhhh..........

A Man, A Bike and 4,100 Miles

Sighhhhhhh........

Mergers & Acquisitions

Found this to be very interesting bicycling news: RadioShack & Leopard-Trek are merging teams.

Some of the funnier comments i've read about the merger are the complaints that Levi Leipheimer isn't included in the new team. Seems that he opted to leave and join the also newly-merged Omega-Pharma/Quickstep team; there is too much competing talent for him to be considered a leader if he had stayed with Radio-Shack/Leopard-Trek.

What i find humorous is that Levi would be considered a "leader" on any team competing at the Grand Tours. He's a good rider, don't get me wrong, but he is not good enough to be the leader and have a team built around him in support of GC wins — except for races here in the US.

Building a team around Levi would be like BMC building a team around George Hincapie. I love George, highly respect him and his talent, but he is a leader of the support group, the riders supporting the GC contenders, not the person expected to win the race. Levi is exactly the same.

Planting Memories

Besides the torii in the front yard, i converted more of the side yard to gardens as well this week. Not quite the last of all the gardening i want to do around the house this year, but the rest will have to wait until i return in the fall. The side yard, though, is now complete:





Bicycle is packed and ready to go. I'll be out volunteering all day Saturday so had to finish everything today. Will print some maps for the trip south through Illinois tonight, and then i'm off on Sunday morning.

Chained To Tradition

Couldn't have said it any better, so here it is, straight from VeloNews.com:

Neal Rogers Opinion: It’s wrong to vilify Alberto Contador

I love this year's tour, but my head and heart are split right down the middle. I pray that Contador wins, not because i really like the guy (he's not as bad as Armstrong supporters maliciously make him out to be), but because i so desperately want someone to beat Armstrong's record seven wins and Alberto is a man who could possibly, conceivably, maybe do it. I don't want that just because i don't like Armstrong (disclosure: i admire him as an athlete, not as a person, and suspect he doped), but because people are so adamant in saying that no one will ever beat Armstrong's record. Throw down a challenge like that and i'm in line to support anyone who can possibly, conceivably, maybe do it. And if Contador manages to pull it off, i'll be in the next line supporting the next challenger.

Then on the other hand, i would love to see Schleck win the tour. He seems like such a nice guy. He seems not to be a drug cheat (although i admit you can't tell something like that by reading media reports and watching videos of the Tour), seems to be incredibly personable and gets along with everyone, and obviously loves racing a bike. If pro bike racing was composed of guys like him, there is a good future for the sport. If he wears the yellow in Paris, the Tour will be well represented.

Contador? Schleck? Contador? Schleck? .... My head says Contador, but my heart says it doesn't matter as long as the race continues to be as exciting as it has been so far. Go Thor! Go Andy! Go Alberto! Man, you have to love this race.....

Nice Guys Finish Later

You can tell me i'm wrong, but i say Astana rode much too strongly today to inexplicably die in the last few minutes of the race. I think they intentionally held back so Andy Schleck could get his first Tour stage win. It costs Contador absolutely nothing and was a very nice gesture. Schleck gets his first win, Astana doesn't have to worry about defending the yellow jersey, and Contador's legs are that little micro-bit less tired.

Congrats to Andy! Well done to Astana.

Self-Mastery

Had to call a plumber today to fix a broken pipe in the basement. $265 later he was gone and i changed clothes, shuffled my iPod to the KPops section, and headed out on my bike to forget about the money spent. I always find it amusing (and amazing) that when i'm out on the road, running or riding, i can completely turn off the world and become nothing but moving feet as soon as i turn my KPops on. Can't do that with JPops or USA Pops. Can't even do it with Classical, my standard (non-running) fare. I sometimes suspect that with enough songs and enough volume i could undergo surgery with just the music. Don't want to try to prove it, though.

Good news. I could, for the first time, actually use my right thumb to click the shifter on my bike. Until now it just wasn't possible but today there was no pain. I'd still have to say that each time i did it my thumb was "uncomfortable," but that's not pain. It seems to be on the mend.

This reminds me of when i was in the ER after the bike wreck. I don't think i've written about this, but... On numerous occasions while i was lying there a nurse would come in and ask me to rate my pain on a scale of 1 to 10 while she was updating something on a blackboard i couldn't see.

Each time we did this we went through the same routine, and i wasn't trying to be cute, brave, or anything else. I would always reply that i wasn't in any pain. I'd tell her to rate it at zero. She'd question that, and i'd say "OK, my right thumb is throbbing so you can say that's a two, but the rest of me is a zero."

I don't know if anyone can understand this unless you do any endurance sports. Over the years of training for marathons what i call pain has changed considerably. Where long ago i would have winced at the slightest pain, now i have learned, or just come to accept, that i can simply turn off those thoughts and forget about it.

As just one of countless examples, i remember running the Napa, California marathon in the pouring, almost freezing, rain years ago. I had a blister on my right foot before i had gone 5 miles, but knew there was nothing i could do about it then and there. Unlike Chicago, the Napa marathon is run out in the middle of nowhere. What to do? Tell your foot to shut up, that you don't want to hear it bitching about a little blister, then ignore it and keep running. Tune it out and turn into a pair of moving feet. Simple as that.

It wasn't until the morning after my night in ER following the bike wreck that i understood why they were asking me about pain all the time. Until that morning i had never seen my face so had no idea how much damage had been done. Since i hadn't seen anything, i did what i always do while i laid there: told my body to shut up. It's not that i felt pain and chose to ignore it, i really didn't feel any pain. In hindsight, after seeing myself in a mirror, i can see why the nurses didn't want to believe that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Along these lines, and continuing with previous posts, while the plumber was here i downloaded a copy of the 1923 volume of Message Of The East, a monthly magazine started in the early 1900s by Swami Paramananda when he came to the US to teach Vedanta. Over the years, he included one lesson on Vedanta in each month's issue. It's good reading.

The January issue is subtitled Mastery of the Self and includes these paragraphs in his message:

Spirituality is not a question of calculation. We either have it or we do not have it. It is not a question of doctrines or words or theories. It is something we evolve within us and after we have evolved it others benefit by it. Our life becomes transformed. We are the same and yet we are not the same. We have the same hands and feet, but they are put to better use; we have the same mind and heart but they are filled with greater ideas and ideals. The only way we can rise, the only way we can lift our fellow-beings, is to find a higher level of consciousness. If we have a higher standard of life, if we possess self-control, if we are masters of ourselves, we cannot help but benefit those living around us. They may become impatient with us, intolerant that we are different from them, but if we try to walk in their ways we do not benefit them. If, however, we hold fast to our own ideals, they will turn to us in moments of distress. In time of storm, anger, impatience or great grief, one who is not molested by these things becomes like a rock, others cling to him and find their consolation.

...

Even from the stand-point of self-preservation or personal happiness, we should cultivate mastery of self, because therein lies the secret, the strength, the fulfillment. If we do not have all that we desire, let us make the best use of what we have. The greatest artists are those who depend less and less on outer conditions. They have creative genius within themselves and with little material produce the best. It is not the material which makes the artist, it is the artist himself who shapes the material. If we bear this in mind we shall cease to complain, to find fault either with ourselves or our outer conditions. Whatever comes our way, let us use it. The efforts we are making now will bring us the highest; all they need is direction and fortification. That is what self-mastery means. Self mastery gives us such wisdom that we may always, under all circumstances, depend upon our own inward strength.

Therein lies the secret — cultivate mastery of the self. We can, then, under all circumstances, depend on our own inner strength. Good words to think about as you're drifting off to sleep.

Giddy With Pleasure

Lao, you're acting weird again.

Listen Dave, you know you tell me that too often, don't you? What is it now?

Lao, i only tell you these things because i care for you. But this time you're getting ridiculous.

WHAT, already. Just spit it out.

OK, OK. I'm getting to it. Geesh.... You know you haven't been in the best of moods the last week or so...

That's none of your business.

It is as long as i'm stuck living in the same house. Anyhow, today you're in a great mood. Almost giddy with pleasure.

Yeah.... Sooooo.....???

Well, you know it's only because she decided to come back home again.

Yeahhh.....

Well, you know, you shouldn't let your moods be decided by whether or not she's here, or not. Whether you get to spend time with her or not. You've got to learn to live on a more even keel. We've talked about this before and you agreed with me.

Oh, god, not this again. Listen, i have tried; you know that. But i can't help myself — when i see her my heart goes wild and i just can't think straight. It's love. You know that.

Lao, she's green.

So, i don't care.

She's wiry. Skinny as a rail. Not an ounce of fat on her frame.

I know, i like that. She exudes so much energy. My adrenaline starts pumping with just one touch. And when you get her going, all you can do is hope you're able to hold on tight until she tires out. Which is always long after i do. ;-)

She's been abused, you know. And it shows. And just last month she knocked you around pretty badly. You haven't forgotten that?

It wasn't her fault. She was running from something and i just happened to be in the way.

Lao, listen man, get your head straight. If she really cared for you she would have been home weeks ago. Instead she stayed away this time for three weeks even though you were told it would be one.

Dave, stop. Please. She's back. That's all i care about. All that matters is when i get up in the morning she's downstairs waiting for me. When i say "let's go out" she's always right there for me. She's faithful to a fault, no matter what you say, she's gorgeous, and oh, man, what a figure.

Lao, you're hopeless. When did she get home anyway?

I walked to the bike shop this morning as soon as they called and rode her home from there. Dave, you just don't know how good it felt to have her back.

You're hopeless, Lao.

Yeah..... i know....

You've Got To Dig Deep Or You Don't Have A Chance

This from VeloNews.com:
Lance Armstrong uncertain about his 2010 Tour de France chances

Normally i would dismiss an article like this as nothing but Lance trying to play with the heads of Contador and the Schleck brothers. But something about his answers leads me to believe that this is one of those rare occasions in his (professional biking) life where he is being honest.

The three good pieces of news so far this year are that Contador seems to be in good form with several wins already under his tires. In addition, as of today, and the 7^th stage, Vinokurov is in second place at the Giro and has said that winning in Italy is his priority this year, going on to say that he will be riding in support of Contador at the Tour. He's not the most trust-worthy rider, but if he's telling the truth, that's great news for Contador. Lastly, but closely related to the second point, is given that Vinokurov is in second place in Italy, that means the Astana team must be riding well. That, also, bodes very well for Contador's Tour ride chances. Contador may well be the best individual rider out there, but there's an awful lot of great team talent stacked against Astana this year.

I think i read somewhere today that Hincape is the reigning US National Champion? How cool is that. If there's one pro rider i respect more than all the rest, it's George.

I'm getting goosebumps already and the Tour is still a month and a half away. :-)

~~~~~~~~~~

Complete change of subject. In my readings this afternoon, i ran across these noteworthy paragraphs.

"The burdens which men, indeed all beings, carry round with them are no different now from the Buddha-time. For then as now men were burdened with unknowing and craving. They did not know of the Four Noble Truths nor of Dependent Arising and they craved for fire and poison and were then as now, consumed by fears. Lord Buddha, One-attained-to-the-Secure has said:

'Profound, Ānanda, is this Dependent Arising, and it appears profound. It is through not understanding, not penetrating this law that the world resembles a tangled skein of thread, a woven nest of birds, a thicket of bamboos and reeds, that man does not escape from (birth in) the lower realms of existence, from the states of woe and perdition, and suffers from the round of rebirth.'

The not-understanding of Dependent Arising is the root of all sorrows experienced by all beings. It is also the most important of the formulations of Lord Buddha’s Enlightenment. For a Buddhist it is therefore most necessary to see into the heart of this for oneself. This is done not by reading about it nor by becoming expert in scriptures, nor by speculations upon one’s own and others’ concepts but by seeing Dependent Arising in one’s own life and by coming to grips with it through calm and insight in one’s “own” mind and body."

The Wheel of Birth and Death
Bhikkhu Khantipālo
Buddhist Publication Society

And then this was expanded on and reinforced later in the day when i came across this from Daido Loori:

"Holding on to the absolute is a dead end. That’s one of the diseases of incomplete Zen practice. It’s got to do with using zazen as a place to hide. That’s not what zazen is about. We think of zazen as meditation. Zazen is not meditation. It’s not contemplation, introspection, quieting the mind, focusing the mind, mindfulness, mindlessness. Zazen is a way of using your mind. It is a way of living your life, a way of being with other people. In order to be able to do that you have to go very deeply into yourself to find the foundations of zazen, the foundations of your life."

Caoshan's Love Between Parent and Child
John Daido Loori
Online Dharma Discourse

Trash Talk In Your Face

Stitches came out this morning — we think; maybe.

The doctor's first words were, "What did they do, leave you to lay there and bleed?" He was referring to the fact that there were scabs covering the stitches above my eye and on my chin. "Well," he continued, "we'll have to dissolve what we can with peroxide and then cut the rest of the scabs back far enough to see the stitches so we can get them out." Then as he worked he wondered aloud why they had used such thin thread instead of what he considers the standard, and thicker, one. Then it was a comment on how superficial the sewing had been, just barely holding the edge of the lacerations together. Then, as he continued to work on the scabs, he wondered why they hadn't noted how many stitches had been put in so he knew how many had to come out, thus alleviating the need to keep cutting back the scab on the chin to see if any more were hidden. Nope, he wasn't at all happy with what had been done.

They seem to be out now. But, he continued, if you happen to find more on the chin later, as the scab begins to fall off, then let him know and he'll take those out at that time.

Unfortunately, though, my ruse doesn't seem to have worked. I always told people that i went to Virginia to ride my bike. The truth is i thought i could hide some major facial reconstructive surgery inside that ruse and no one would be the wiser. I mean, i'm getting older and i need to take the initiative if i hope to snare the perfect job and that 20 year old down the street. At least that's how i understood the explanation on Entertainment Tonight late last year. Yet, even though i found the street maintained by the best technicians the VA Department of Streets & Sanitation have hired, and submitted to the prescribed painful full facial scrub, nip, and tuck, in the end i don't think i'm any better looking now than i was before the procedure. I think the money just went down the drain.

My doctor said the sprained thumb will take a few more weeks to return to normal. All the scabs will simply fall off when they're ready. Just be patient was his advice.

He did make me laugh, though, when he told me his story of being chased by a dog while on his bicycle many years ago. The dog actually got close enough to bite him on the leg. Standing there with blood dripping down his leg, he confronted the owner when he arrived. "Your dog just bit me!," he yelled. "No it didn't," the owner replied, ignoring, or simply refusing to see, the obvious. Dumbstruck, my doctor had no idea what to say after that. Apparently many dog owners are of the same mindset — their dogs can do no harm and it is the bicyclist's fault for thinking they have the right to ride on public streets in front of their houses. :-)

Physically i should be completely back to normal in just a few more weeks. So when do i get back on the TransAm? I don't know that answer. That is going to take some time to figure out, and all the figuring is financial. I've already spent the entire budget that i had set aside for the ride. Do i just bite the bullet, come up with more from savings, and head out in late June? Do i save all i can between now and next spring and then head out next May/June? Before i try and make that decision i think i need to wait for my bike to get back home next week so i can see what it is going to cost to repair that. I'm hoping all i need to do is replace one or two wheels and retape the handlebars.

I will finish the ride, but when? Only time will tell.

But, the good news is that all has been healing very well and i could be back on my bike as soon as it gets repaired.