discovering

discovering. from Slender Fungus on Vimeo.

video footage by ari, music by Postal Service, video editing by mauri


n-joy

ari

Slender Fungus Tuesday Night

Gumby getting his high mineral content water and our only junior survives close to 50 miles of riding with no complaints.

Slender Fungus Tuesday night ride

Heading out on secret route to South Elgin. Lots of Corn Moths.

A rolling cloud we caught with the camera. Then it rained like crazy

Slender Fungus Tuesday Night

Our nightly walks with the gang.

Gumby and Mauri. Gumby making transactions in the middle of the night.

Hanginig out at the Slender Fungus Post.

Rolled out on tuesday night around 9 pm as we mostly do. Crew was Gumby, My Son Mauri and me. Still kinda hot and humid when we left. Had a great ride, one flat, and the young man from Berlin was able to complete the 42 mile trek without any complaints. Must be great to be 13 years old. He is always very psyched when he comes to visit and just wants to ride the bike. Bugs were out in force and the required bandanna comes in handy. Last week both Gumby and I swallowed bugs and coughed for hours.
Best,
ari

We´re in Iowa, still ? Thank God.

Sabula, Iowa

near Sabula Iowa

Rte 64 Iowa

Near Maquoketa Iowa

"Rambo", ultra secret location. Don´t Ask.

Caves at Maquoketa, Iowa

just a beautiful prairie

Pantanimobile raging war on the B roads

Secret B road.

Fantastic Road trip with Giugi and Mauri. We drove some excellente gravel roads, did some B Maintenance roads, went hiking, had lunch, had ice cream and came home dead tired. I really enjoy visiting our neighbor state and am surprised as to what I find just on the other side of the river.
enjoy the photos.

Ari-Giugi-Mauri

Mini road trip out to Winnebago

Around Leaf River

Heading south towards Rte 64

Drink Milk. Best sign in a long time

Pecatonica trail off Boisington rd, intersecting RTe 20. I don't know if the underpass going under 20 is complete.

Winnebago town hall.

Downtown Winnebago

Pecatonica Prairie Path going through Winnebago. It sure was easier to find then in the town of Pecatonica

This is what I did yesterday. Took Mauri and Giugi out on a road trip. We did a bit of Recon for the Flandria 100+ and then ended up in Winnebago. Had lunch, ice cream and checked out some more portions of the Pecatonica Trail. It was really hot and of course the Pantani-mobile is air condition free as not to pollute the environment. We drank lots of water, sweated and had a great time listening to music and finding some amazing roads. North of Mt Morris, around German Valley, Leaf River town areas there is some fantastic riding to be done. I guess one could park in Oregon and just start riding around that area. I hope to have some time in the fall to do those rides. Perhaps you will see more organized rides at that time.
best,
Ari

Still like Tom Lamarche

20" bmx, 700c fixed, 29er whatever it is Tom is just incredible.
ari

Update to Flandria 100+ and Pecotonica Trail

Off Meridian rd, south of U.S. 20 facing east

Off Meridian Rd, South of US 20 facing West

West of Pecotonica town facing East. Looks Passible to me. What do you think?

First of all there is an update to the Flandria 100+ blog. you can check it out by the "blogs I read"or by clicking on the image on the right column.

I am scouting out the Pecotonica trail for investigation and discovery in the fall once the mosquitoes die down or get their bellies full of blood whichever comes first.


The Pecotonica trail can be seen just south of US 20 off of Meridian Rd. It is on the west side of Meridian as you cross over the bridge. BTW the bridge is out so you have to go west and come back down on US 20. and exit meridian going southbound. I don't know why I obsess over things so much but it has been stuck in my mind that I want to bushwack from Rockford all the way to Freeport and then perhaps have a ride back . I can see doing this in thick pants, thick shirt and workgloves because it is going to be a bloody mess. Bike of choice would be a 29er that you don't keep on a pedestal. Is anyone game????
The Pecotonica trail was supposed to receive 5 million dollars from the wonderous and progressive state of Illinois to open up the trail, build ammenities so the fine citizens of Illinois and neighboring states could enjoy the open prairies and fresh air. Com Ed, fine providers of cheap energy, had bought the strip of land from one of the rail ways and had planted high voltage cables. Underneath the humming wires were supposed to be a smooth, flat trail for Hikers, Bikers and Skiers in the winter. Thanks to our fearless and greedy leaders the money never came and the trail is at a stanstill and the weeds are out of control with all the rain we have received. I have this dream of getting enough offroaders to use it so it stays open before the weeds turn into trees and the raspberry and blackberry bushes make it impassible.
Check out the photos depicting the current conditions. Hurray for our Illinois Government !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

best,

Ari