A Clyde On A Bike

I got out for the first time this week. It is so hard to find time to ride during the week during this time when my youngest son has baseball.

But, I got out for a nice 9 mile ride up to SWIC and back. I didn’t even take the camera as I knew I was just going to do an up and back.

It was a nice ride and I just feel so good after doing any ride.

Got out today for my third day in a row. Figured I would explore back out on the MC Trails. I wasn’t 500 feet down the trail before I saw a deer. lol

It was a beautiful morning…

…and I figured I would go for about 25 miles. I started out on the Schoolhouse trail and took off north up to the Goshen Trail and then followed the Watershed trail north to its end.

I like this trail area because after you get a mile or so out, there are no more meat pylons (pedestrians) to avoid. lol Once the towns and subdivisions thin out it is too far for any walkers and you can ride with out worrying.

Two things of note. I rode for a bit with a group of about 10 road cyclists. Well, they took a while to pass me and I rode as hard as I could to stay with them for a mile or two anyway. lol They were all pleasant but I just couldn’t get my MTB to keep up with their road bikes for very long. They were all quit in shape and obviously very regular riders but not hard core balls to the wallers. They were having a good time and looked like a fun group. Mix of about 50/50 ladies and gents and all about 10 years younger than I, I bet.

The other thing of note happened just as they caught up to me and started to go around. There was a turtle int he middle of the path! So now I know what I assume is the the universal call for a turtle in the path “Turtle Hurdle Ahead!” lol

I ended up at 28 miles for the day and it was a very nice ride even though I kind of blew my legs out trying to keep up with the roadies.

I am going to participate in Jumbo’s B7 Challenge so I had to go out and do a 3 mile time trial today. I rode about a mile up to the bike path close to my house. I started from a dead stop, turned around at the 1.5 mile mark and rode as hard as I could.

I really wanted to break 12 minutes. When I got to the end of it, I was sweating (it was about 92 degrees out), my heart was pounding and my time was 12:07. Oh well. lol I will do better next time.

I couldn’t wait to get back to the MC Trails system today. I got up a 5:00AM, ate a little breakfast and got the bike on the car.

I decided to go the opposite direction of the way I went the first time. I had my route all planned out. About 25 miles with a loop in the middle. I started out on the Schoolhouse Trail and went to the Goshen Trail with the idea of hitting a loop around the Nickel Plate and Glen Carbon Trails.

Everything started out well and I came across an old Trail Filler shortly into the ride.

I love rusty metal. So, after the photo ops, I continued on my path looking for the Nickel Plate trail.

Well, I ended up on the Nature Trail by mistake. By the time I figured it out, I said…heck with it…I will follow it until I come to where it is closed for construction. I did that and then turned around after getting some flower pics.

Since I was feeling good, I then decided to make a loop around the Bluff Trail to the Morris Trail to the Watershed and back to the Goshen trail. This wound me around Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville.

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I then got on the Morris Trail which ended up being a limestone trail for part of it.

So I followed it through campus and it turned into a more dirt type trail and at the end, I could see a large hill that I figured must intersect the Watershed trail that was my intended path. I made it up the hill with my legs screaming only to find…no trail. lol

So I went up the street and on an overpass and I looked down and saw the trail. But, I could not figure out how to get there! After a mile of looking, I decided to back track my way back to my starting point.

I snapped a few photos along the way.

and finally ended up back at my car….after 32 miles! A new record. I only averaged about 10.5 mph but considering some of the trails were dirt and limestone, I was happy with it!

One other thing I did was take my dSLR this time. I enjoy shooting with it so much that it will probably be my default bike camera unless I plan to do off road stuff.

I made it out to the MC Trails. I started with the idea of going out and doing 20 miles. The 2 lane trails are nice and wide and wind through varied scenery. I started out and wasn’t 10 minutes into the ride before I saw my first deer.

Now this is my kind of riding!

I took the Schoolhouse Trail down to Lake Horseshoe.

I thought about turning around there are it would have been around 20 miles round trip. But, I was still feeling fresh so I decided to go to the end of that trail and I made it.

That put me at 14 miles out. I tried not to think about the fact that I was going to end up 18 miles further than I had ridden before and 8 more than I intended to ride. That worked until about the 23 mile mark. lol

I started to get a little worn out around that point but a mile or so later I seemed to get a second wind and when I got to my starting point at 28 miles, I decided to go for 30. i rode a mile past my start point and then back.

30 miles!! I averaged right at 12.5 mph. I am a happy Clyde!

I was looking on the internet today and saw that the MC Trails system is only 17 miles from my house. A 30 minute car ride and I have 85 miles of trails at my disposal. I was pretty psyched when I found that out and drove up there to see. Easy to get there and that is my plan for next weekend if at all possible.

On the way back, I stopped by a local bike shop and picked up a rear rack and rack trunk. The rack fit - barely - and the bag is a great size. Perfect for everything I will carry plus the camera. I could even take the dSLR if I want to sometime. I also ditched the ugly red handlebar bag. Much better I think!

After I got home, I went for a ride on my normal 9 mile route. I had adjusted my seat and could feel my weight was finally in just the right spot on my tushie. I marked the seat. A few picks from todays ride.

Back to work tomorrow and my son’s baseball games, etc. Don’t know how much time I will have on the bike until the Friday comes. I hope to get out at least once before then but it will be tough.

(Totals: 69.8 miles)

Went out for a ride this morning and then also went out this evening. Legs and butt are doing surprisingly well. lol

This morning was a good, easy ride up to the parks on the bike trail.

This evening, it was very windy. Definitely 15-20mph and more on the gusts. My cyclometer said I got up to 28.5 mph on the straightway path with the wind at my back. I think that is a couple miles an hour faster than I ever want to go again but I hit 20 so fast, I decided to pump as hard as I could and see how fast it would register.

The wind was not so nice as I struggled on the way home to maintain 9 or 10mph against the wind…and dropping below that for stretches as my legs were probably shot from the hard ride out. lol Good feeling when I made it home though.

Totals: 61.1 miles

Took a trip out to a bike shop in StL. It was a Specialized dealer. I had plans to go to a couple dealers as I was looking at the HardRock Sport, Giant Rincon and Trek 4300.

Well, I never made it past the Specialized dealer.

I went for a long test ride on the HardRock Sport and fell in love with the way it felt and handled. It was all over but the shouting after that. Had them put a Yakima Little Joe on the Neon, mount the bike and I was out the door.

When I got home, I transferred the cyclometer, bags and other such stuff from the xmart bike, filled the water bottle and went for a ride. Made 14.5 miles in an hour and 18 minutes. I was quite happy with that. Can’t wait to get out tomorrow.

Totals - 44.4 Miles