The final miles of our Night Century 
Helmut the Mutant 
Naperville, IL.
The newly graded GWT
After the Trans-Iowa I have spent some time catching up with things and trying to plan out
what is going to happen in the next few months with my riding. Working from 10am-7pm and having family commitments has always been difficult for riding. Last night Helmut and I went out riding on our Salsa Chilis. We ended up riding all through the night and that was truly an experience. We came to my place and had a hearty pasta meal and downed some stouts. My belly felt really full but I knew it was packed with fuel.
We took the GWT,Great Western Trail and made it to St.Charles then we ran thru Geneva, warrenville, naperville,lisle, Downers Grove,Clarendon Hills and ended up in Hinsdales. WE got there around 1:30 a.m and had 52 miles in our legs. WE took a break and then headed home with a headwind and to confront the demons. It was easy riding through the wee hours and before we knew it, around 430, the skies started to turn colors. The EPO laced pasta held us until about 530am and then we had some homemade fruit bars, courtesy of lovely wifey. Washed it down with a gu and we were set to make the assault on the last strech of gravel, 17miles.
We arrived to Sycamore around 645am and picked up blueberry muffins for breakfast. We were really tired but happy to have made this epic ride.
The numbers
107 miles
7 hrs 21 minutes
max speed 31
av speed 14.5 mph
Ari...Very Cool!!! Really great read...Us Northerners have a plan to put together a Trans-Iowa type event up here on the shores of Lake Superior. We plan to do the recon work during the course of several efforts this summer, culminating in a full-on "practice ride" in mid-October. The route, we hope, will follow the amazing North Shore Trail, which is a 150 mile DNR trail that starts on the NE side of Duluth and ends 150 miles later in Grand Marias, just a few miles from the border. The route would be 100% trail with no traffic other than the possibility of illegal ATVs and the like. I will keep you posted, but our hope is to have it all ready by October 2010...It would be the perfect course for a Fargo with mtb tires. Itz hope to tell, but I would assume that a fast guy would be able to do it in 15 to 24 hours...so the planning would be similar to the TI, but with special attention to carrying alot of water and calories. Pass it along...but like fight club, don't talk about it to civilians :)
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Charlie
great write up, ari. hardcore! have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThat type of riding holds no appeal to me. I flat out refuse to do it. But, I'll be damned if it doesn't bring me some inner peace knowing you're out there flying around, under cover of night, like a vagabond on wheels.
ReplyDeleteBravo.
s.
Charlie, I can't wait to pack up and go to Duluth,
ReplyDeleteBlue, Have a blast. Thanks for writing and we still have to meet up
Strangelife,
We rolled by your house around 2 am but I guess you were sleeping.
ari
Mmmmm, New Glarus coffee stout.
ReplyDelete