I don’t like that its getting colder but I do love fall. I love the changing leaves, the smells in the air, the foods. I even do like the colder weather as its an excuse to start a fire and get cozy! Today was a beautiful fall day and the forest is really starting to change. It was perfect riding weather too so The Other and I decided to check out a new path at a different forest preserve. We have been to Lake Carina before but I forgot (or it wasn’t built yet) that it had this awesome dock with benches I could sit on and just gaze over the lake. Very peaceful!
I biked with MapMyRide!
Distance: 7.50mi
time: 55:57
pace: 7:28min/mi
speed: 8.04mi/h.
Thought I would be all cute and take selfies with my bicycle in front of a swampy area then Photoshop in a Sasquatch or alien in later. However as I was making sure the images came out OK I heard a loud splash into the water. My first thought was alligator (totally legitimate threat in northern Illinois in October!) so once I made sure nothing was running at me I jumped on the bike and rode away as fast as I could. Hence why I have such a good time stat today.
I biked with MapMyRide!
Distance: 11.83mi
time: 01:05:16
pace: 5:31min/mi
speed: 10.87mi/h.
Cloudy fall day but perfect weather for a ride. A little cool but just the right amount for working up a sweat. The Other came with me today and it was fun to ride with someone – especially since I was more in the mood to play video games! I also got to try out my new Bionic Cycling gloves which were pretty amazing. The padding is intense but doesn’t get in the way or make you lose contact with the handlebars. This first ride I was getting used to them but I look forward to future rides where I can really see how they perform.
Fun fact – title quote is from John F Kennedy!
I biked with MapMyRide!
Distance: 6.69mi
time: 39:41
pace: 5:56min/mi
speed: 10.12mi/h.
Beautiful fall day. Weather was crisp and clean. Although I was harassed by a rude squirrel. I actually saw the same squirrel on the return trip – ran across my path again. I guess when you have shit to do you can’t let anyone get in your way.
I biked with MapMyRide!
Distance: 11.52mi,
time: 01:02:54
pace: 5:28min/mi
speed: 10.99mi/h.
The days are getting shorter and it makes me sad. Today the sun was setting at 6:44pm! Just a few weeks ago it was 8:14pm!! Oh well, there are good things about fall – pumpkin pie mostly. Lots of critters on the trail tonight, check out the video for an awesome trash panda sighting!
No ride tonight as the weather wasn’t the greatest (Brent and I actually rode then in a drizzle) and one of the usual riding members was injured. So instead after Brent and I rode to the bike shop we headed right over for Chili!!! I don’t like to ride with a big belly (insert fat joke here) so I got Berries and Cream which was super delicious. But then again I am a woodland fairy so thing like berries and cream and super sweet fruity tea is right up my alley 🙂
I still had a lot of fun but it was a pretty long ride! almost 30 miles! I think its the longest ride I have done this season. Brent was kind enough to lend me his GPS data, which although not perfect is a good indicator of the overall ride. Brent rides farther then me so I think this overstates my ride by 5-7 miles.
Saw 3 skunks tonight, all after the GoPro died. The last one was just me and the skunk on a bridge and it lunged at me – totally thought I was gonna get sprayed with that one!! Also saw lots of frogs (I don’t remember this many last year) and a couple of chipmunks. One even lost his nuts! Other than that we were just being our usual silly selves!
I am not sure if the world is bigger or smaller than I think it is. When I started out today, I said to myself that I didn’t want to ride as far and Brent and I did on Sunday – I just wanted to do a short ride. So I decided to ride to the end of this trail and when I got there I discovered a little used 2 wheel path. I still didn’t want to ride far but decided to follow the trail for a bit and see where it led. In less than a mile I was suddenly where I didn’t want to ride to – the location that in my mind was so far away!
All in all it was a great ride and I enjoyed exploring a new path, as well as finding out you are never as far away as you think you are 🙂
Found this Selfie Stop on the trail today so I stopped to take some selfies!!! Apparently it is to commemorate the first year all 31.4 miles of the trail is open. According to the website this is 54 years in the making! That seems like a long time but I know park budgets are small. I encourage everyone who uses the DPRT or other trails in the area to donate time or money to keeping our trails open, clean and in good repair!
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