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Rainy Days and Wednesdays

Most people stayed away from the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society's Wednesday Night Ride. Maybe it had something to do with the fact there was a severe thunderstorm warning for St. Clair County!

But seven of us did show up at Eckert's Country Store for the ride, and we decided to go after hearing the warning was supposed to expire at 6:34 p.m. We figured since the storm hadn't arrived at 6:15, we were clear to go.

But a funny thing happened. The skies got darker and darker. With about five miles left in the ride, we started to see lightning in the distance. We knew the rain would come shortly, so we kicked in in a gear or two in the hopes of beating the rain.

While the faster guys, Brian Campbell, Steven Johnson, Bob Crow and Mike Gilchrist, were on pace to beat the rain, Dawn Peil, Sheila Biegler and I weren't quite sure we would make it. I didn't help that we were belted with a stiff headwind as we turned north on Old Freeburg Road with about three miles to go. The skies continued to get darker, but we were fortunate the motorists could see our reflectors and gave us plenty of room.

We thought we would beat the rain, but the sprinkles starting coming as we made the turn onto Green Mount Road with nine-tenths of a mile left the go. The sprinkles soon turned into a downpour. To their credit, the guys who had already made it back to Eckert's came out to pick us up. But the damage had been done. We were already wet.

But Bob Crow pulled up to the traffic light at Green Mount and Illinois 13-15 to make sure we would get the green light, then he pulled behind us to make sure we could safely make the turn back into Eckert's. If Bob had not driven up to the signal, who knows when we could have crossed the busy highway. For some reason, it is impossible for bicycles to trigger the signal. Maybe someday the Illinois Department of Transportation will fix the signal there because the road is frequently used as part of bicycle tours based at Eckert's.

Thanks, everyone, for watching out for us slowpokes!

Roger 0 comments 12:48 AM

Friday, August 13, 2004

More on the Shoreline

The West Shoreline Tour, sponsored by the League of Michigan Bicylists, is one of the most scenic bicycle tours in the Midwest, if not the entire United States. The Lake Michigan shoreline is dotted with scenic beaches and sand dunes, making the ride a visual delight for cyclists.

It was my goal this year to ride the entire event my bicycle. The last time I did this ride, in 1997, I had to do much of the ride by ambulance and SAG wagon because of an injury I suffered just 11 miles into the route. You can read more about that in my account of that particular ride.

Ironically, I did have a setback 11 miles into the 2004 version of the ride as well. As we were exploring the scenery between Spring Lake and Muskegon, I noticed a slow leak in my rear tire -- of course -- that forced me to pull over and make a repair. It turned out that a small piece of rock had worked its way into the tread. I fixed that, but then I flatted again when my tire pump pulled the stem far enough to make two tears into the new tube.

Fortunately, SAG driver Beth was passing by, and she assisted me in getting another tube into the rear wheel. I told her the story about the 1997 ride and told her, "I hope I don't see you the rest of the week, at least on the road." She understood and took no offense.

Even on bicycle tours, many people like to pound in the miles as quickly as they can. The West Shoreline Tour, however, is more fully enjoyed by making stops at the beaches and quaint towns along the way. You have all day to ride. Why spend it at camp when you can see the sights along the way?

Another thing that enhanced the trip was the Pamper Zone. Bubba set up a record 42 tents for this ride as more and more people realize how much easier it is not to have to set up your own tent after a long day of cycling. The bigger benefit, however, is meeting so many great people while enjoying a cold drink in the Pamper Zone each night after the ride.

The other great thing about this ride was seeing my sister, Teresa Parod, and her two children, Julius and Sereana, tackle the course. Julius, 13, was riding "Old Blue," the Cannondale I purchased in 1985. He grew so much in the past year that he had no problems handling the bike. Sereana, 11, rode on a tandem with her mom. All three did a great job!

I hope to post a full account on the Web site sometime in the next two weeks. Keep posted!

Roger 1 comments 2:18 PM

Monday, August 09, 2004

West Shoreline Tour

Just got back home a few minutes ago from the West Shoreline Tour in Michigan. I had promised to post articles during the course of the trip, but the fact that I failed to do so should indicate to you that I had a good time and had plenty of more important things to do other than type things in my blog. I should be posting a summary here sometime early this week, and the full articles and photos likely won't be posted for two weeks.

Roger 0 comments 5:18 AM