Riding Bikes at Night and Hannah turns 21

Last night Karen and I bicycled the Bison Night Gravel Ride out in Dekalb. The ride was put on by Axle Tree and done really well from our perspective. Now to be fair we have not rode in any organized ride in quite some time and when we did it was usually 30 miles at the most. 

The Bison ride was 56 miles and Karen was a bit worried that the parking lot would be empty and all the lights would be turned off in the bar by the time she finished. That couldn't have been further from the truth as we completed the ride shortly before midnight and the KJ’s bar was packed. I’ve always liked cycling at night provided car traffic is minimal and that it was. The route was put together really well aside from the occasional missing street sign which made it easy to miss the appropriate right or left turn to continue the correct route. The majority of the ride was on gravel once out of the city of Dekalb and we cycled by some of the towering wind turbines that illuminate the dark night sky with their blinking red marker lights. I heard the soft whistling noise of the turbines that many of the local residents complain about. I didn’t think it was bad but I don’t live with them 24-7 either. 

Towards the middle of the trip Karen and I were mostly by ourselves seeing only red tail lights a mile or so ahead of us and bright headlights behind us usually gaining ground. During this time I was reminded of my first long ride as a kid I did alone. I’m not sure why this came to mind but I think it was the quiet and calm of the countryside. It’s kinda cool when these memories come back so vivid it seems like yesterday. Back then I was alone on an orange KMART special with a banana seat, now I have a wonderful woman with me (she never complained, but this was her idea) and I’m riding a fancy Salsa Fargo with the bells and whistles. The Fargo’s performed flawlessly without any issues and the Big Apple tires at 30 psi worked great also. Sam intended to send out one of his mega-bright headlights but forgot so we had to purchase one for Karen’s bike. We bought Axiom’s Lazer 600 and it was great. The lithium ion battery lasted the entire ride and the light illuminated our way at any of the power settings. 

Many thanks to Axle Tree for a great ride and we’ll see what ride Karen’s got planned next.

This week we made plans to meet up with some of our looper friends in Chicago, George & Martha aboard MV Aunt Aggie. We first met the pair from Atlanta at the AGLCA rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama. It was hard not to want to be around their southern charm. This time we met them for a Giordono’s Pizza off of Randolph street in Chicago and had some great pizza and a lot of catching up.

When we first met George & Martha they had just purchased their boat and I didn’t think they had much boating experience, but look at them now. They have practically completed the loop and we found ourselves asking them for advice on sailing Last Mango up the east coast. Like most Looper’s we’ve met along the way they didn’t care for Lake Michigan. The two being from Atlanta didn’t think our hot and humid weather was bad. Apparently this heat wave is the standard for summer in the peach tree state. 

We wish them well the remainder of their trip and hope to see them in Savannah Georgia when we bring Last Mango up the east coast next summer. 

We traveled to Iowa City to help Hannah and her friends celebrate her 21st birthday. It’s been quite a long time for us and brought back memories from our pre-college / college years. The night started in Iowa City at the Sports Column where we bought the first 30 pitchers of beer (we’re not big drinkers, there were many other people drinking with us). It was interesting listening to Hannah and her friends talk about childhood memories, many of her friends grew up and went to public school together in Iowa before reuniting together again at college. It was a late night for Karen and I and quite a night also as we won the beer pong tournament (pure luck) and had a late night visit from the local PD investigating loud music late at night. Even me being half deaf thought the music was loud but I wasn’t going to complain and be accused of being too old. The night ended gracefully with nobody vomiting or being arrested. I did wake up with a bit of a hangover. For me it was a learning experience as I learned I like Rumple Minze, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky and a flavored rum of some sort (my memory was a bit foggy when drinking the rum). I also learned again that drinking is for the younger crowd where I no longer reside. Pictures are lacking due to a phone change. I left my old phone which has party pictures on it back in West Dundee. 

Hannah enjoying her time with Rumbo and Woody

Karen and I continue to ride almost daily depending on our schedule and have put on over a thousand miles since purchasing the bikes in May. I rode down to St. Charles the other day to the Streamwood Fire Department’s monthly retired guys night out at Alley 64. The weather was wonderful and had a couple of beers with current and former members of Local 3022. Alley 64 provides plenty of outside seating and as I found out some really hot jalapeno poppers. I left the bar shortly after 9 and the Axiom Lazer 600 headlight worked great for the trip back home via the Fox River Trail. Passed only one other bicyclist, 1 raccoon, one rabbit and a slight detour from the path for the skunk blocking the bridge crossing the river.

Monday morning we leave for Eugene via Metra and Amtrak to visit with Sam and Nicole. We haven’t seen them since last Christmas and we’re kinda going through withdraw. We’ve also really looking forward to our sleeper car and watching the scenery go by while doing whatever we want or nothing at all.