Headquarters for the Slender Fungus Cycling Association

Headquarters for the Slender Fungus Cycling Association
Brewers of Hardy Rides.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Slender Fungus Sunday Ride


Gumby napping after a long ride and before having to mow the lawn


Gumby finishing the ride. Good job man!



Gumby's Tifosi writing words of encouragement




Slender Fungus hanging out at favorite place: Gas Stations


Ice box in Savannah, IL.


Riding along the Big River.




Taking a break after a long grinder



Riding along a valley




Messmer, a good gravel road with lots of steep hills


taking a break by a picturesque stream.



We were supposed to leave my house at 5 am. but it did not happen. I really hate being late. I awoke, got dressed, loaded on Hellmut's car and away we were. No coffee, no breakfast, and no bathroom. We made it to Lanark, IL in no time and started to pedal. We rode straight west and got a bit off track once into Mt.Carroll. Poor mapping, planning on my part but we soon enough found our way and started to hit the hills on Scenic Bluff and Messmer. This is where we need to be riding to get in shape for T.I.
Hellmut was on a 29er, Gumby on his Fisher and I on the 1x1x29 fixed. I figured it would be a good chance to see how I can do. I did not make two hills all day which were excessively steep. Hellmut made them using the 32x34 gearing on the 29er. We made it all the way to Hanover then headed south to Savannah, took a break at the gas station and then made the long trek back to Lanark. The hills were relentless and the wind was getting stronger and stronger. The ride turned out to be good, and with some refining will be even better. There are many good roads to discover in this area. We will save time and drive to mt carroll instead of Lanark so we can hit the hills quicker.

We ended up riding a total of 72 miles, 20 more than planned. We were tired but had no flats, no mechanicals and nobody had any cramps. Riding time was around 5 hours 20 minutes.

best,

ari

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Ari: Thank you for the advice on the tires...Very helpful, indeed. I ordered the Continental 37mm tires as the Schwabe's are just too expensive for me right now.
Thanks again,
Charlie

Guitar Ted said...

That area looks very promising, Ari. Keep up the recon and riding! maybe someday you'll have to put on an "invitational" and we can all come and sample the route you end up with in Illinois. Ride on!

Ari said...

Erico: Thanks for the test. I know blogger was having issues with comments.
Charlie: Continentals are great meats. Maybe I can wing seeing you guys at the start of Trans-Wisconsin

Guitar Ted: There is huge potential for that area and I have been doing a lot of driving and hope to do a lot more riding this summer to plan out routes. There are some very steep hills and beautiful countryside.