J.D Drifter 150 a Gravel Caravan

Not much time to write but all I can say is that that ride was a success. Ten of us met up at the Apple River Canyon on Sunday at around 5am. We headed out of the canyon on a steep climb and came out to view some very beautiful terrain. The ride ended at 930 pm when the storms rolled in and AG got the perfectly timed flat. That was the sign to get out of town. We rode on Gravel, dirt, grass, mosquitoe infested area, along the Miss. river, Pavement. It was a super-diverse ride. The total climbing for the day was over 11,000 feet. I was glad to have my triple and sometimes that was not enough.
Thanks to all who came out. It was a blast riding with all of you!
Ari

Part two:
The riding was spectacular and it was great to ride with Lance,Traci, Eric, Richard, Blue Demon, L. Perfecto, Jakey La Cruz, Grant, Tom. We ended up in Savanna for our first break after about 50 miles at a Casey's. We fueled up on Breakfast Pizza, Gatorade, Red Bulls and whatnot. We then headed up into the Palisades where we had a couple riders crash out on a  very steep descent. Both riders continued on despite some injuries. We later descended on some crazy singletrack. We finally made it to Galena and stopped for lunch. This was a great idea since food on the bike gets boring and old. A freshly stacked salad bar with Chicken Noodle soup was  a great lunch. We then came out of Galena and hit some monster hills. My legs were starting to act up and I kept pounding them with water and gels. I finally stopped cramping as the sun was going down and it was cooling. I started to feel really good around mile 110. I wanted to continue riding all night. It was cool, we were listening to Johnny Cash on Blue Demons Blue tooth stereo. I was in my glory and did not want the ride to end. We eventually ran out of water and knocked on a door. The lady gave us free range on the garden hose. We were so happy with full bottles. I kept thinking how right Jake la Cruz was about Jo Daviess county. The hills, the views, the roads, the river. It is the best part of IL that I know of. 
Ari 

The Group heading out early morning. 

Bushwhacking to get to the hidden Bridge. 

These bridges are slowly dissapearing. It's great to be on a bike and find them. 

Sometimes the scenery was so good we all stopped and stared. 

More bushwhacking along the Miss river. 

about 930 pm. We wanted more but got stopped by the storms. 

There was a lot of Walky hills. 

The Blue Demon rode 150 miles on his ECR on a new Brooks.