Putting Black Friday into a running and riding perspective

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Christopher Cudworth

The hottest gift in early Mesopotamia was a fake animal on wheels that you pulled with a length of twine. Shoppers on Black Friday in 2000 B.C. ran over each other to get this toy. Showing that things never really change.

It’s still a bit stunning to me that the major shopping day in America is called Black Friday.

Perhaps it is proof that Americans have really short memories. Do people really not recall that the term Black Friday was originally coined (no pun intended) to describe the horrific date of September 24, 1929 when a market collapse signaled the start of the Great Depression?

Modern times.  

The shoppers I watched charging out of K-Mart during a news clip on Thanksgiving didn’t seem to have irony on their minds at all. They were running, literally, out of the store with items they had purchased the day before official Black Friday sales begin.

None of those people running out the door looked like they had run for any other purpose in their lives for a very long time. Yet here they were, jubilantly sprinting across a storefront threshold with excited expressions on their faces like they’d just won a marathon or something.

It’s an Event

So we must stop to consider that Black Friday really does mean something to people other than a chance to buy things they want, need, or desire to give to other people.

To millions of Americans who wait for the day after Thanksgiving to come around each year, Black Friday is an Event, with a capital “E.”

It takes training

That means that for many people, a whole lot of planning goes into preparing for Black Friday. I hesitate to say they actually train for the event, but they come close.

I’ve witnessed a Black Friday Athlete in training. She plotted for weeks which stores she was going to attack, and when. It was as if she was laying down plans to run a marathon or complete a Century on a bike. She would start at midnight, shop through the morning hours, hit a food station at around 9:00 and then head off for a new set of locations.

The Black Friday mindset: Like a world class athlete

This woman was obsessed, dumping phone calls at work as fast as she could to provide more time to go online and search for places to buy gifts. Her goals were to pick up presents for all her kids and her husband. She also had in mind a few items to pick up for herself. This is called, in Black Friday terms, “rewarding yourself” for the effort. That award might be something the Black Friday shopper knows no one else will think to give them. And heck, if the savings are big enough on the items you find during Black Friday sales, who says it’s so bad to buy yourself a little something for the effort?

Hitting the wall or bonking

Of course, like any marathon or other endurance event, there is always a risk of bonking or hitting the wall. You see those people leaning against the store wall surrounded by bags and boxes. Their posture sags. Their eyes glaze over.

If they’ve lost their kids during the day, they don’t really care that much. There are plenty of other kids to go around. Find some more and take them home. They’ll probably like what you already bought as much as your own kids.

Black Friday can do that to you.

The warmup

That’s why its important to warm up before you start your Black Friday shopping. Spend the weeks leading up to Black Friday putting in shorter shopping stints that raise your heart rate but do not require use of your full VO2 Max. Train only at 80% lest you peak too early. You might even want to just drive around to the best shopping areas and not actually buy anything. It’s still best to know your course on race day.

Give it all you’ve got

Of course, if you’re only just now reading this, it’s a little late to begin training for Black Friday. So like Donald Rumsfeld once said, “You don’t go to war with the army you want. You go to war with the army you have.”

Same goes for any distance race, bicycling competition or Black Friday shopping marathon. If you did not have time to prepare, you’re going to have to pace yourself wisely, don’t go out too fast, save a little energy for the middle of the race and try to kick it in if you have any juice left in the engine at all.

Beware your competition

It will be frightening out there, we want to warn you. Black Friday brings out a brand of competitor you likely do not encounter in your local 10K or marathon. For one thing, they are entirely unfit. Some of them may even be obese, or the size of NFL offensive lineman, and we mean that allegorically. If you do not understand what you are about to face in your first Black Friday competition, we suggest you check out this website: www.peopleofwalmart.com.

What is frightening about these types of competitors is that they find strength and endurance in places well-trained runners and cyclists only wish they had. It really is an aberration of nature to see a person who normally sweats just getting up from their chair traipsing tirelessly around giant stores pushing shopping carts full of presents. Perhaps these people know how to access The Force, just like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. It really is remarkable.

Yes, to see a full-on, full-sized shopper tearing about a department store is a wonder of nature, like watching former Olympic shot-putter Brian Oldfield run the 400 meters. Understand, Brian was actually very fit in his day. He’s the model for all huge people who exceed natural expectations.

Black Friday Gladiators

These people are fearless, determined and inexhaustible, for the most part. So if you think all the running and riding is going to give you an advantage in Black Friday traffic, think again. Your typical Black Friday competitor is meaner, tougher and more acquisitive than any person you’ll ever encounter at the adidas, Nike or Puma booth at your local running expo when they’re giving way free tee-shirts to the first 100 registrants.

No, Black Friday is way more serious than some little running or cycling expo, where your competition weighs about the same as you and actually has a polite bone in their body. That’s how we sportsman are taught to behave, with a little respect for the competition.

Ancient Mesopotamians line up in front of Pharaoh Mart to buy ancient crap that no one will ever need again.

But those rules go out the freakin’ window on Black Friday. You might as well be running a marathon with a pack of fully-armed gladiators. Or riding your road bike on a highway with those crazed lunatics from Mad Max, the Mel Gibson movies. It’s been that way for millennia. People out shopping are crazy.

Better to chill out. Relax. Go for a run or ride instead. Shopping will still be there come Monday and beyond. 

In fact, I hate to tell you this at so late an hour, but you are much better off forgetting about running out to shop on Black Friday at all. You should kick back on Black Friday, watch the tragic news reports of people who didn’t find what they wanted to buy or just absolutely had to have, and then head out to Shop Local. Spread a little money around in your own community. Support your neighbors and friendly mom and pop stores.

Don’t worry. Sears and JCPenny and Kohl’s and Macy’s will all still be there on Monday. There are 30 shopping days until Christmas. The big box stores will certainly welcome you with open arms well after Black Friday has passed.

Pace yourself. Go for a run or a ride. 

Instead of all the madness, bundle up and go our for a run or a ride in the country. Think through your shopping list, and what it means to buy someone something they really like. If all else fails, buy gift cards. Make a handmade card to go with them. You family and friends will love you for it.

That’s like Black Friday anti-matter. So be brave, and be part of the Dark Energy of the Holiday Season this year.

But watch out for the Black Hole of eggnog. It can put 5 lbs on your cosmic dumper in a heartbeat.

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The tarsnake of being thankful for things that didn’t happen

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Christopher Cudworth

Running and riding gives us lots to be thankful for. But there’s more to life than that.

Thanksgiving is about saying thanks for everything you have in life. Food. Family. Love. Relationships. Your road bike. A favorite pair of shoes. See, if you run and ride, your perspective gets a little skewed toward your favorite activities. Nothing wrong with that.

We really can all be thankful for the many things our respective sports bring us in terms of hope, health and happiness.

Saying thanks for endurance. Both physical and emotional.

We can also be thankful for the ways running and riding help us cope with the crap we wish we didn’t have to endure. Things like pain. Depression. Anxiety. Stress. Nothing to eat in the refrigerator. It’s all relative, you know.

Of course, as runners and riders, we’ve likely experienced all four of those previously mentioned emotions, pain, depression, anxiety and stress, in a single race. But that’s why we run and ride. Suffering builds character. So you can handle all the crap that goes on in the rest of your life. We can be thankful for the endurance we develop through our chosen sports.

Saying thanks for nothing?

I’m also here to say thanks for a few things did not happen over the years. To be precise. I’m thankful I did not get killed a few times when it could easily have happened.

Such as the time(s) our college cross country team drove home from meets with a case or two of beer in the car. That was stupid. We almost crashed head on into an approaching vehicle once because the driver of our vehicle was drunk. I can still see the crest of the hill where the road disappeared into the sky. Then the driver crossing the center line, and the car hurtling at us from the other direction. I was not close to God at the time, but a prayer of thanks definitely crossed my lips at that moment.

You’d think that would have been lesson enough. Yet again there was a case or two of beer in the car on our drive back from a meet in Racine, Wisconsin to our college town in Iowa. Our driver and teammate was so drunk he could not sign his name on the gas receipt, so I refused to get back into the car at a gas station in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Honestly I was afraid we might plunge off the bridge ahead, into the Mississippi. So I stood outside the car refusing to get back in until someone with more wits about them agreed to drive. I thank goodness for that tiny bit of common sense. And that we made it home alive.

I’m certainly hopeful today’s college kids have more sense. We can be thankful if that is indeed the case. But I’m not so sure.

Fate can be even stranger than stupidity

Sometimes fate is even stranger than stupidity. While standing on a curb during a run, waiting for the light to change in Geneva, Illinois, I was wiping sweat out of my eyes when a loud crash erupted from the intersection. I opened my eyes to see a Volkswagon in mid-air, headed right for me. I dove for cover, grabbing an elderly man in the process, likely saving both his life and mine. Not knowing what else to do, and feeling shock from the incident, I got up and kept running. 400 meters later I stopped when a shiver of fear came over me. I’m certainly thankful to have avoided that flying car.

A knife attack

A few years earlier in Geneva I was running through town when a group of kids hanging out by the downtown theater took a disliking to the color of my shirt, which was orange and black, indicative of the school I attended in another town.

First the bored townies stuck out their legs to try to trip me, then got angry when I spun around to flip them off. Alright. I admit that was probably dumb.

Then it got weirder, and more dangerous. A huge guy wearing flip flops jumped up and came after me.  I trotted just ahead of him until he got tired. But then a car pulled up and he jumped in and the car started to chase me. I cut through the backlot of a grocery store but they had circled the block and had me in their sights. The angry guy jumped out, pulled out a large knife and threw it at me. It skittered across the ground.  I am of course thankful to this day he did not hit me with the knife.

Other airborne objects

Over the 30+ years I have been out on the roads, I have been hit by empty and full water bottles thrown at me from cars while I was running and riding. Most of that was long ago, so I’m thankful people seem to be more tolerant of runners these days. We’re still working on tolerance for cyclists, I’d say.

But I will say I’m thankful that none of the angry drivers who have confronted me on the bike has ever made good on their threats, which have included “twisting me into a pretzel” and “snapping my pencil neck.” Thank God they have all stayed in the car. So far.

Thankful the lone bike crash wasn’t too bad…

I’m really thankful my recent bike accident resulted only in a broken clavicle, now healed, and that I did not tumble across the road like a sausage tossed from a meat truck. Instead I landed hard but safely in a grassy ditch. I’m thankful for all that too.

And that I did not freeze to death in the Twin Cities Marathon…

I was so excited to compete in the Twin Cities Marathon that I did not bring along enough clothes to compensate for a 30-degree temperature at the start, compounded by steady winds off the many lakes in town. While sticking with a group that included Olympian Don Kardong doing 5:30 per mile, it did not occur to me that the growing numbness in my body was a sign of possible hypothermia. A college roommate watching the race pulled me off the course at 16 miles. “You’re done,” he said, noting my thickening tongue and bluish lips. “Your race is over.” I’m thankful he was there.

It all adds up to thankfulness

It’s amazing how many things we have to be thankful for if we stop and think about it. But as illustrated here, sometimes it is the things that don’t happen that make you really thankful you didn’t get hurt or even lose your life.

And since I am alive I’ll say I’m thankful for people like you who read this blog and give feedback.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Hope you get out for a run or a ride today. And if so, that you don’t encounter any turkeys on the road.

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Important safety warning to all who run and ride

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Christopher Cudworth

By Christopher Cudworth

There is a serious problem facing many of you out there who run and ride. You might not think about it on a daily basis, but you may be at risk of running or riding off the edge of the world.

No matter where you live or how far you run and ride. The edge of the world is near. It’s true.

The illustration in this Flat Earth Society logo explains it all.

The continents of the world are clearly all perched on a disc-like surface. That means you could be riding or running along happily and suddenly plunge off the edge of the world. You could be riding or running along innocently in Chicago, Illinois or Perth, Australia and plunge off the edge of the world before you know it.

How we know the idea of a round earth is all a ruse

It turns out we’ve all been tricked. Those pictures of earth from space that make it look like the earth is round? Turns out it’s all an elaborate hoax, a lens effect, as it were, perpetrated to fool us all into thinking we can circumnavigate the globe.

See, the Flat Earth Society has it all figured out. And then some. It turns out that when sailors years ago noticed ships receding over the horizon they were not disappearing over the curvature of the earth. The astute folks at the Flat Earth Society have proven that the world is full of tricks designed to make us think the earth is round, when in fact it is flat. Take a look at this scientific explanation for why horizon lights disappear and you’ll be convinced once and for all the earth is flat. Then you’ll want to take steps to protect yourself.

What do to if you are about to fall off the earth

Now that we all know the earth is truly flat, it is important to arm ourselves with strategies in case we experience the edge of the world.

Rule #1: Doh! Try to brake or stop before you fall off

If you should take a turn at the end of your block and find yourself flying about to fly off the edge of the world, the first thing to do is to try to put on the brakes if you are riding, or skid to a stop if you are running. I know, these measures seem simple, but they often work quite well and are known to prevent a sudden fall into the abyss.

Rule #2: Grab hold of something if you can.

It seems simple to say, but even at the edge of the world there are plenty of opportunities to save yourself if you suddenly encounter the edge. Try to snag a tree limb or a bunch of grass in your hands. Or ditch your bike and fall to the ground so you can grab a lamppost, a fence pole or anything lodged in in the ground. Better to lose your $5000 Trek Madone than your life. These humble steps may seem desperate, but they just might save your life.

Rule #3: If you live in the United States, your odds are better to survive a near fall off the edge of the earth. Just grab a fat person and hang on

If you are in a crowd or near other people at the edge of the world, look for the heaviest person in the bunch. This should not be difficult in the United States, where obesity rates have shot off the charts, with nearly 2 out of 3 people chronically overweight. That means your odds are pretty good of finding someone heavy enough to hang onto in an Edge of the World Emergency (EWE). Of course, we are at even great risk here in the States if obesity rates continue to rise. That could tip the disc of the earth in such a way that all 300 million Americans go sliding off into space. What a sight that would be!

Rule #4: Flap your arms. Really. It might work. 

It may be depressing at first to realize you’ve actually fallen off the edge of the Flat Earth while running and riding.  But it can never hurt to flap your arms and try to fly. The rules of gravity might be a little different off the edge of the world, or the air might be a little heavier and thicker. If so, please write us here at We Run and Ride. We like to keep our readers informed on such facts.

Science is stupid. Better to trust your instincts. 

See, there are tons of things we’ve gotten wrong in science over the years. According to the experts at the Flat Earth Society, boring old scientists simply make up stuff about a round earth in order to entertain themselves, Take whale songs, for instance. It turns out that whales like to talk to each other by sending songs through the waters of the ocean. But that could never happen if the world was round, you see. The Flat Earth society informs us that whale songs cannot possibly curve or the sound would be distorted or lost, proving that the earth is, indeed, quite flat. The oceans are nothing more than a big bathtub. But it sure makes the literal story of Noah and the Ark and a worldwide flood seem a little more plausible, doesn’t it? We might be onto something here…

But don’t let that slow you down!

Rule #4: What the hell, pick up speed and see how far you can soar off the edge of the world

We only live once, the saying goes. So why hesitate at the chance to find out how really far you can fly once you reach the edge of the world. Instead of slowing down, build up a good rate of speed, running or riding as fast as you can and just fly off the world’s edge. Who knows, you might make the first unassisted moon landing. But aim well, because it’s obvious the moon is nothing more than a giant coin shape in the ether, flat as a pancake like the earth, but twine as shiny.

Rule #5: Before you go running or riding, check your GPS

Global Positioning Satellites must have this all figured out. Because if you can use your iPhone or your Garmin to find the Walmart at the corner of Randall Road and Fabyan Parkway in Batavia, Illinois in time for Black Friday, surely you can find the edge of the world and avoid it. Not that hard. Of course, looking at these People of Walmart photos might make you think the End of the World is coming, but that’s a different subject.

We all know this image is incorrect. The earth is actually flat.

Ooops. That photo from the End of the World site shows a round earth. Apologies to our Flat Earth Friends.

Practical steps to avoid the edge of the world 

Thank God I bought my college-aged daughter that iPhone this year. She goes to school on the other side of Illinois, and that might just be the edge of the world for all I know.

Here are a just a few more suggestions on how to avoid running or riding off the edge of the Flat Earth.

Wear running shoes with a deep tread

Those last few feet can be slippery. Better to sacrifice a little weight for better traction.

Practice your cyclocross and steeplechase moves

If you can bunny hop your bike over barriers and basically learn to turn around in mid-air when need be, those can be handy skills when it comes to stopping at the edge of the world. Runners should participate in steeplechase events whenever possible. At least if you run off the edge of the world, you’ll got in good form and full style. Who knows, you might even negotiate the giant water barrier on the other side.

Never run or ride alone. And watch for disappearing runners or riders. 

And don’t take the lead. Remember, if you are in the lead of a running or riding group, it is far more likely you’ll be the first person to plunge off into eternity. So rather than take that risk, it is better to suck wheel if you are a cyclist, or hide in the group if you are a running. If suddenly you see heads disappearing in front of you, hit the ground hard and fast. Sure, a few more of your running and riding mates may tumble over you on their way to oblivion, but it’s far better than going there yourself.

That’s it. That’s about all the help we can offer you here at We Run and Ride on how to handle the reality of a Flat Earth. Again, if you want to know more, it might be helpful to find a really conservative church in the south, or hang around the back rooms of stodgy old libraries in downtown London. That way you might meet up with members of the Flat Earth Society. You could join them and get in on all the secrets of how and why the earth was formed flat. And what to do about it if you hit the edge.

Image

If all else fails, read this Shel Silverstein book, Where the Sidewalk Ends. It likely has more answers than the Flat Earth Society. And it’s just as funny.

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Sweating this one out

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Christopher Cudworth

By Monte Wehrkamp

Confessions of a sweater.

Monte Wehrkamp on our annual trek to Wisconsin

I have the ability to sweat better, harder, faster and in greater volume than anybody I know. I can sweat at the drop of a hat, then sweat twice as much picking it up. I often joke that I can break a sweat just thinking about working out or riding. And when I do work out or ride, I can soak a t-shirt or jersey so completely in an hour, you can literally wring a cup of water out of it (well, I can; you’d find wringing out my sweat-soaked t-shirt a little gross, I’m guessing). When I step off the elliptical at the gym, it looks like I’ve been running through sprinklers or caught in a downpoor. I have to change clothes just to drive the 12 blocks home.

Too much of a good thing?

Of course, sweating is good. When you’re exerting yourself, sweat glands push water, sodium, potassium and chloride to your skin in an awesome balancing act — keeping you cool and while preventing your internal chemical soup from getting too dense. The problem for me and sweaters like me is remembering to rehydrate regularly. Which I don’t. Several times in the middle of a 3-hour ride, a buddy has asked me a question, and I find I can’t answer. My lips are glued shut with cotton mouth. So if you’re ever riding with me and I don’t answer you right away, I’m not being rude. Just gimme a second while I take a swig from my water bottle. In fact, tell me to take a drink and then ask your question. I’ll sip and listen at the same time.

As the weather turns cold, it’s not rehydration that’s causing me bike anxiety. It’s dampness. Er, wetness. Oh heck, completely soakedness. See, it doesn’t matter if it’s 85 or 25, if I’m riding anything faster than 5 mph, I’m sweating buckets. Way more than you’d think a person needs to, but apparently, my body thinks it needs to.

Ice, ice baby.

My winter riding anxiety isn’t so much about the ice on the road or trail, it’s the ice in my clothes.

Just last winter, I went out on the mountain bike for a frozen-trail spin in the afternoon. While the sun was managing to warm the northern Illinois ground up to a searing 30 degrees, I felt fine. I knew I was sweating profusely as usual, but I tried to moderate my effort, not going into the red or overheating. Everything went well until I began heading for the car parked back at the trailhead. By then, the sun had sunk low, taking the temperature with it. A breeze kicked up a bit, and I began to freeze. First, clammy discomfort. Then prickling pain. Numbness set in next, and by the time I managed to start the car with shaking hands, I was dangerously cold. In fact, my collar, skull cap and cuffs were stiff and crunchy with frozen sweat. My clothing had actually begun to ice up on my body.

No such thing as bad weather, just bad gear.

How many times have I heard that? Growing up in South Dakota, hunting in the Black Hills, I can assure you, plenty.

I can’t tell you how many dollars and hours afield I’ve spent trying to find clothing with the magic combination of warmth, ventilation, and sweat wicking properties. I’m sure there are great thermal base layers and technical outerwear that work for 95% of all outdoorsmen, but I’ve yet to find something that works well for me over the course of an entire day.

Same goes for bike kit. By the time I’m geared up enough to stay warm at 18 mph at 18 degrees (let’s just call it 18-4-18), I’ve also wrapped myself in enough material to hold a couple gallons of water, which in my case, is frozen sweat in a matter of an hour or so.

For runners, it’s a question of route vs. sweat

Many runners work up a health sweat during a long run. But when that sweat makes you chilled on the return trip, it can be pretty dangerous to your internal core temperature if the sweat has you freezing on the outside.

It is therefore vitally important to plan your route accordingly if you are a heavy “sweater” in particular. Generally, the best advice is run into the wind at the start of your run (or ride) so that you are not facing a blasting cold wind on the return trip.

Be advised that at times a wind from behind can be just as dangerous, especially for people susceptible to chilled back muscles. If you know you’re going to be running or riding back with a cold wind, it can be wise to pace a light vest and throw it under or over your existing layers to protect against the effects of wind blowing up your clothes in back.

I’m open to any ideas.

I’m guessing I can’t be the only heavy sweater out in the winter chill, trying to figure out how to make a cold morning run or ride enjoyable, or at least, tolerable. There has to be a few other weekend warriors out there who suffer the winter bike anxiety that comes from freezing up a few times to often.

So please weigh in below…

Are there ways you’ve found to reduce sweating? (No, I don’t think it’s hyperhidrosis — when I’m at work, or at rest, I don’t sweat any more than anyone else. But when my heart-rate is elevated during exercise, grab a bath towel. I’m going to need it.)

Have you found especially effective pre-ride or run rituals? (I’ve heard taking a cold shower before winter exercise sometimes helps.)

Or have you found especially good gear that manages to wick well and keep you warm?

How about diet and/or vitamins or medicine? (Kicking spicy food or caffeine, maybe?)

Road features made of tar.

Anything that trips you up or holds you back is a tarsnake.

Is profuse sweating  just one of the tarsnakes of life when you run and ride?

The easy fix is already underway — my bike’s on the trainer in the living room, pointed at the big screen TV. But there are only so many old movies and reruns I can take before I want to go outside for a real ride. I’m just hoping for one that doesn’t end in frost bite or hypothermia.

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It’s Monday. Welcome to the treadmill.

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Christopher Cudworth

By Christopher Cudworth

The elliptical trainer lurks.

It’s cold out there

Runners and cyclists facing the cold winter months must make a decision on how to keep up their training. You can train outside, bundling up to fight the elements, which for runners often means waterproof shoes with good tread for traction as well as complementary layers of clothing, gloves and hats.

Better dig out the bike trainers.

For cyclists, winter can be doubly challenging because the effects of cold are exaggerated by the wind chill generated while riding. It can be much harder to keep hands, feet and face warm.

Then there’s the danger of sliding out on ice, or riding on slushy days. Road cycling can become impossible, and the mountain bike is the only alternative. Still, many people do it. Myself included.

Heading indoors

Yet many millions more opt to go indoors with their training, using treadmills and bike trainers to put in miles while the winter winds blow.

It makes sense. If you can stand it. Even at work.

Going nowhere fast

The treadmills now available to runners are sophisticated enough to make running indoors both practical and even desirable to risking life and limb outdoors. Some runners put in whole marathons on the treadmill.

The symbolism of such an act deserves a moment of contemplation. Just think about that: Running 26 miles without going anywhere. Really, it takes a special sort of discipline to do that.

The whole earth is a treadmill

Or is it just a matter of perspective. After all, I’ve run 50,000 miles in my lifetime, and it hasn’t really taken me anywhere other than up a few mountainsides. That was cool, but I might as well consider that the entire earth is a form of treadmill. It’s spinning round and round beneath my little feet. You can’t really tell that the earth is round when you’re running or riding. In fact, often it seems so flat here in Illinois that you have to play mind games to keep the runs and rides interesting.

Welcome to the treadmill of life

So we’re all on a treadmill whether we like it or not. We’re all pedaling and spinning on a bike trainer of sorts because the world keeps passing under our feet. It’s like the Pink Floyd song says;

“You run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking, and racing around to come up behind you again…”

Feeling elliptical about indoor training

I guess I congratulate people who can jump on the treadmill or bike trainer and happily put in miles of training to keep the fat away and keep fitness up during the winter months. There’s an elliptical trainer in our basement that has gone largely unused for years in our household.  But this winter may be different. There is cold weather predicted here in the Chicago area, and keeping up fitness might be a challenge at times. Plus the elliptical is a perfect way to maintain the rehabilitation of my shoulder after the bike crash.

I also own a couple bike trainers. And lots of bikes. So there may be no excuse for not saddling up somehow this winter.

Health clubs and other torture chambers

There’s always a health club too. But those places can be difficult to find when darkness falls and you don’t feel like getting out of the house after a long day at work.

The bike club to which I belong offers bike training session on sophisticated training machines that track your watts and mileage and let you compete with other riders. The cost is 10 sessions for $250, and the camaraderie is well documented in the club’s Yahoo group discussions. So perhaps that’s an option as well.

An allegorical fall from grace

Maybe I’m just a little gun shy when it comes to training indoors. Years ago at the local health club I was clipping along on a treadmill, showing off at 6:00 pace with my feet thumping the belt and sweat pouring off my face. At that moment a beautiful young woman

Kerry (Hoskins) Branson, a Playboy and video game model was a member at the club. She’s now a devoted mom and entrepreneur who recently ran for political office. And she’s still a looker. But not the one who distracted me.

showed up at the side of the treadmill and asked, “Are you almost done? I’m signed up at 2:30…”

Distracted by her appearance, I missed a step and plunged to the belt with my shoulder, which struck the back cylinder, and the humming belt shot me off the back of the treadmill into the wall behind. My feet punctured the drywall and I lay there stunned. Then I got up, told the young lady she could have the machine now, and drove home.

Not too far to fall

No longer fit for duty? The hyper fit General David Petraeus fell off the military treadmill through his affair with the equally fit Paul Broadwell.

The symbolism was just too rich. All of life’s a treadmill, you see, and a pretty woman or a handsome man can be a major distraction to the mission at hand.

Just ask General David Petraeus, whose fit little affair with Paula Broadwell seems to have knocked him off his treadmill of success and adulation.

The moral of the story is this: It’s best to be careful no matter where you train. In there. Out there. On the treadmill. Or on the bike trainer. I mean, both can be precarious if you’re not careful.

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Running and riding as a holy place

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Christopher Cudworth

As regular churchgoers, my wife and I enjoy the tradition and rituals of our faith. We also appreciate the sustaining value of what we learn through fellowship and worship.

But there are weeks when we desire a break from church at times. Then we choose a park or other serene place to visit. One of our favorite places for this ritual is Morton Arboretum, a large park and educational center in Lisle, IL. It isn’t a long drive for us to get there, probably 20 minutes. The Arb as most people call it, offers walking trails through deep woods and open prairies. There are both amazing and subtle things to observe in all seasons. Then we stop back at the center and partake in a little goat cheese/cranberry salad. We call it the Church of the Arboretum.

Finding your own space

Going to a church or temple or mosque is not everyone’s favorite thing. Some people prefer to find spirituality on their own, and some not at all.

My own mother was a Unitarian, a faith that by tradition respects everyone’s belief system. One of the guys with whom I ride is a member of the same Unitarian Church in Geneva, IL, my mother attended. That rider is a devout atheist. And I don’t mean that term as an oxymoron.

Riffing your way to gladness

When we ride together we often discuss spiritual matters, but not in argumentative fashion. My “atheist” friend is one of the most logical thinkers who likes to cut through the bull, but in often humorous fashion. Sometimes we set in riffing on various aspects of religious tradition, making up stories or reacting to those heard on the news. We make a game of it, announcing our ideas as if they were a newscast or a Saturday Night Live skit. The miles roll on as we find the common core of our belief systems. Which is much broader than you might think.

Space to breathe

It is remarkable that by comparison, faith was a relatively rare component of conversation while training with teammates at the Christian institution (Luther College) that I attended in college. We were more likely to talk about the women we liked, parties and coursework than God or Jesus. But we were college kids. What do you expect? God was someone you met in class, analyzed and doubted, for the most part, on the basis that the unexamined faith is not worth having.

It seems that faith sometimes needs space to breathe, and while we are young there is so much happening in our lives that faith gets squished between all that other stuff. It moves around and pops up on occasion like toothpaste in a tube.

What do you think about God?

Then we age a little bit and while life can still be hectic, faith and big questions take on a little more interest and urgency. We let the questions hang out there a bit more. We bring them up with friends during a long run. “What do you think about God?” we might dare ask. Or, “Do you think there really is a God?”

The run or ride then turns into an exploration of sorts. The eyes focus on the road or path ahead. Occasionally you glance over at your friend (or friends) while riding or running along, to see what their faces say about their agreement with your thoughts. We all want to know what people think about our conception of the big picture. It is human nature.

Holy place

Running and riding can be that holy place where you feel open and active enough to ask the big questions, and actually take the time to try to find the answers. Sometimes when things come together and ideas flow in harmony, you can actually be moved spiritually and try to bring back what you’ve learned into the rest of your life.

Transfiguration

It can be difficult to do. Like the disciples who climbed a mountain with Jesus and were witness to his transfiguration, they wanted to stay in that holy place. But Jesus warned them they could not stay. Their duty and calling was to bring that inspiration to others. To deliver the message, as it were, that goodness exists.

And so it goes. We all proselytize to some degree about the many benefits of running and riding. For health. For stress release. But sometime you might want to consider the fact that our time on the road is something of a holy place. We turn regular roads and paths in to holy space. That is how it is meant to be.

Amen to that.

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Saturday cartoon: Can minimalism in running go too far?

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Christopher Cudworth

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Forget about running and riding this winter. Polar bears are coming. And they will eat you.

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Christopher Cudworth

This is a public service announcement. You should probably forget about running and riding for a while. Possibly all winter. Because there’s a really important priority right now in the middle of North America. Apparently we need to protect ourselves from polar bears.

Watch out kid! The polar bears are coming to get us!

You know, polar bears are known to kill and eat people. They will actually hunt you down and chaw on your carcass if they get a chance. And when they do find you, they will bite your skull and you’ll wind up looking like that guy in the Saturday Night Live skit with Headwound Harry.

Fortunately, there are brave hunters protecting us from the potential polar bear onslaught

In the interests of protecting the rest of North America from polar bear attacks, helpful hunters head up to the arctic every year for a chance to kill the King of the Arctic.

Fuzzy wuzzy bear. I just shot you. Now you can’t terrorize Chicago.

They also kill polar bears to feel the white soft fur of the bear once it is dead. One hunter named Fred Bear (no kidding) describes softly stroking the animal he’d just killed: “I walked up to the bear and began to run my hands through his fur.  It was every bit as beautiful as it had seemed from a distance and had a very silky feel to it.  I was surprised at the relative softness that it had as I expected it to be more coarse.”

Not such a good shot

Mr. Bear, otherwise known as Ricardo Longoria, went on to describe how much he admired the polar bear he had just shot through the gut with his bow and arrow after a couple of missed attempts, one of which hit the bear’s back leg.

Other hunters weigh in

A few hunters commenting online about the article did not seem too impressed with Mr. Longoria’s ethics, or his hunting tactics. As one wrote: That is the worst most unethical hunting story I have ever herd (sic). Some rich guy flinging arrows from a longbow at sixty yards or better at a polar bear. Luckily he finaly gets a “good shot” after hitting the bear in the rear leg and missing a couple of times. What a hero. What a JOKE! No wonder bowhunters are targeted by animal rights groups. Pathetic.

Another hunter who goes by the online name of Longbeard still thought Fred Bear did a good job killing his polar bear target, regardless how efficient he was with his bow. Longbeard commented: “Complain all you want on his ‘shot ethics’. the man’s nads still clank when he walks, as they’re most likely made of titanium. I know I don’t have ‘nads enough to do it, nor do a lot of others who post here.”

Doing the bears, and all of us, a favor

Fred Bear seemed to think he was doing the polar bear a huge favor by taking it out of its misery, living in the arctic and all. After all, it’s always cold up there, the ice is shrinking and there’s hardly enough food to go around. So polar bears are pretty much doomed anyway. Why not shoot them and save them the trouble of slowly going extinct?

Yet we must admit that Fred, or Ricardo, seemed to understand the wonder of what he’d just shot: “Its (the polar bear) proportions were massive!  The pads alone were more than fourteen inches long.  Its claws accounted for an additional two inches and were razor sharp.  While turning the bear over I cut one of my hands with its claws.  At this moment I realized that Polar Bear’s really are every bit as dangerous as they are said to be.  I examined its mouth and was surprised to find that one of his canines was missing half of it.  Abe (the guide) examined them and confirmed the bear’s old age.  He thought that the fur might have been was white as it was due to a lack of adequate nutrition.  After skinning and examining the carcass we noticed that this bear had almost no fat on it and was surely suffering from malnutrition.”

Hunters actually trying to prevent polar bear immigration

So really, we should all be grateful there are hunters brave enough to ride around on snow machines up in the arctic, hop off and send the dogs after polar bears and then sneak up on them with a longbow and shoot them through the gut.

Because, as you well know, polar bears are going to become a threat to people like us who like to run and ride in the Lower 48 states. Because if global warming keeps up, polar bears are going to run out of suitably cold territory north of the Arctic Circle and be forced, like Snowy Owls, to head down south to find food come the winter months.

Coming back home

See, polar bears are descendants of other large bears in North America, and it won’t take them but a couple generations of evolutionary inbreeding to get back their brown fur and mix in with the rest of the immigrant population south of the Canadian border. And when they do, polar bears with go after the low-hanging fruit, like us slow humans, just as they do up north with those baby seals they catch and eat for the blubber.

Actual photo of polar bear damage on a human foot. Huarache sandals won’t help.

And guess who’s outside all winter trying to lose blubber down here in America? That’s riiiight. You guessed it: Runners and cyclists like you and me. Slow humans will make easy hunting for expatriated polar bears looking for faux seal meat.

Cougars are already moved in to the City of Chicago

Don’t laugh! There are already mountain lions and gray wolves making their way from out west into the City of Chicago. They’ve moved in to stay. And once a few mountain lions get a foothold down here in Chi-Town there will not be a safe place to run or ride in Lincoln Park.

Be warned! Cougars are already picking off runners and other hapless humans in the hills of California. But that’s just target practice. Wait until they’re jumping off of condos onto the back of Team in Training participants along Cannon Drive. There won’t be a runner or rider who can raise a dime for a non-profit organization once that gets started.

Be careful not to wear spandex in patterns that resemble polar bear prey

If you want to be safe, don’t dress like a seal

Inspired by the success of pioneering predatory species like mountain lions and wolves, it won’t be long before polar bears begin figuring out there’s easy game down south where people are running and riding around in suits and shorts that make them look like seals. Remember, polar bears can also smell prey from miles away. Those two factors do not bode well for exercising humans.

How they’ll get here

A polar bear could easily march its way south from Hudson Bay to the northern tier of Lake Michigan and swim down the western lakeshore to reach Chicago. Then they’ll crawl out near Montrose Harbor and pick off a few joggers before anyone takes much notice.

Rumor has it we humans are good eating, based on reports of cannibalism from many parts of the world. And it turns out that men actually taste better than women. The meat tends to be a little more lean. So at least you gals will have that going for you. If you see a polar bear coming at your Saturday morning running group, hide behind a buffed male hunk. You might save your own life.

Hunters fighting back against polar bears

So while it seems a bit cruel and stupid on the surface to hunt animals like polar bears running wild and free, just trying to survive in the arctic, the hunting community may actually be doing us all a favor because they seem to know something the rest of us don’t.

They’re fighting back against a polar bear population that has you in its sights. Polar

Michael Phelps imitating a seal trying to swim away from a polar bear

bears and can swim longer than Michael Phelps and run faster than Usain Bolt. They can even scoot across the ice faster than your average NHL player, although we wouldn’t really know that this year because that stupid hockey league is on strike.

But, if this is an icy winter on Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron or Lake Michigan, the runners and riders of Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago had better be on their toes. Polar bears could be sliding in for Sunday dinner. And you’re on the menu.

They’ll gitchoo

A cool piece of advice

So if you’re out running or riding in the winter this year, and you hear behind you the muffled footfalls of 14″ paws bearing 2″ daggerlike claws shielded inside the fur, you’d best keep up your pace or risk becoming a meal for one of the world’s most dangerous hunters. The polar bear. They’re here. They’re near. And they’re hungry.

And really, they’re not so cute and cuddly as those bears in the Coca-Cola commercials.

Polar bears will pretend to be human to infiltrate and take easy prey

Safety tip: Better carry your longbow while out running or riding

This woman runner was smart and carried her bow with her during a recent run in northern Minnesota. She took down the charging polar bear with one shot. Nice job, Sally!

For now, watch out for polar bears, or else carry a longbow with you when you’re out for a run or a ride. And don’t forget your arrows. Lots of them. A polar bear can be hard to hit when you’re cold and breathing hard.

We close today with an inspiring photo of one woman runner who thought ahead. She carried her compound bow with her on a twilight run near White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and bagged herself a new carpet just in time for Christmas. Now that’s taking care of your holiday shopping the smart way. Nice work, Sally!

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What makes a great running loop?

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Christopher Cudworth

A great running loop ideally has a mix of scenery no matter how long or short it is.

Nearly all runners have them. The trusty running loop.

Depending on your level of commitment in the sport of running, the trusty (or great) running loop can vary from 1 mile to 20. Much of running success depends on consistency. Therefore having a running loop by which to motivate you to get out and run, and also measure your success along the way, is a critical aspect of your training.

Baselines

The needs of people vary greatly. In our neighborhood there is a runner who apparently only does his training on a .7 mile oversized block that I also happen to use for criterium training in cycling. The block circles Memorial Park, an area that used to hold the high school track and football facilities from the 1930s through the 1950. Now it is occupied by three state-of-the-art softball fields and a newly installed asphalt “trail” that circles the park. Frankly that new asphalt trail ruined my grass training loop! But dog walkers and some joggers seem to like it better now.

Our “neighborhood” runner dresses quite eclectically, as running garb goes. On hot days he wears no shirt, but he does wear a reflective orange and bright green vest in all seasons. His running is a shifting jog that hardly qualifies as running, but for many years he has been religious about his training, and I mean that literally. As a Jehovah’s Witness he showed up at our home one day to talk about God. To his surprise he found out I think about those things a little bit in my spare time, but we had a spirited discussion nevertheless. We wave hello now, friends in running and faith. Well, sort of.

Every day he’d circle his trusty running loop in white sneakers that were not quite running shoes. His training has curtailed of late, perhaps due to injury or age. But he was the model of consistency for a long time, appearing so frequently that our dog did not even lift his head in curiosity at the strange looking man “running” by our house.

The next level

Another neighborhood fixture was the gal who ran with her golden retriever. Our street was on her trusty route and the two would come running past early in the day. Her stride was a little long for her frame and I often wished to tell her she could shorten up her cadence and possibly save her body a little stress.  Yet her running was consistent and it was not my business to intrude. Instead I’d wave when we crossed paths at a number of points around town. She must have put in 4-5 miles a day. Every day.

Trusty routes everywhere you go

A trusty running loop in a strange town can help you keep the world in perspective.

Even when you’re out of town running from some hotel it is interesting to discover people out on their runs who clearly run there every day. If you’re staying at a hotel for 3-4 days and take off for a run into some nearby residential area, you’ll often find other runners out at the same time. The runner on their trusty loop often has a far-away look in their eyes, for they are processing yesterday’s events and thinking about today and tomorrow.

That is part of what makes a great running loop. You can run it without thinking, so that you can do the thinking you need to solve your problems, be they practical or creative. It’s always interesting to realize that while you’re in foreign territory, the ground you cover while running may be another runner’s trusty route. It gives you a little comfort to know you’re not alone in the world. You might make your own trusty loop for a few days, so that you don’t get lost and miss an important meeting back at the conference you are attending, or whatever. Trusty loops can be permanent or temporary. But we still need them.

All the makings of a great running loop

The ideal “great running loop” offers a mix of predictability and variety. My own trusty loop is a simple 3 mile course that can be easily expanded to 4 or 5 miles depending on time available and type of training desired. The route can be run in either direction of course–depending on the wind and weather–and that can be important in Illinois.

Its only drawback as a year-round loop is that is covers part of the Fox River Trail, a system of paths along the Fox River. Last winter proved so warm and snowless that it was passable all year, although the occasional ice patch made things interesting.

When snow and ice preclude the trusty running loop there is another 3-miler out and around the high school that is always clear.

The great thing about the river loop is the variety. As a birder I’m always on the lookout for interesting birds and there are many to be found along that loop, which cuts along a forest preserve and a slow stretch of the Fox where birds really like to congregate. Eastern bluebird, Great-crested flycatcher, Baltimore Oriole, Cedar Waxwing, Blue-gray gnatcatcher, multiple species of warblers in spring and a Great horned owl are just some of the bird species found on the loop.

This 3-miler also offers variety in terrain, sloping down into the river valley and back up the other side at either end of the loop. You can’t escape running hills that way.

It is also populated with plenty of people. Because while I’m a loner sometimes, at other times it is nice to greet other runners and walkers on the path, stop to pet a friendly dog or share the sighting of a bluebird on a bare branch.

Forgiveness

A great running loop should test you sometimes, and at other times be forgiving enough to help you get back in shape. My trusty loop has seen me through rehab of a torn ACL, for example. For weeks I’d walk the loop, which took an hour or more. Then it was possible to add in some slow jogging, then sustained running and finally a complete trip of 3 miles when the knee would allow it.

Recently while coming back from the bike accident that process was repeated. So the trusty running loop has seen both glory, when I raced up part of its stretch on the path to victory in a 10k, and humility when injury or illness or stress required simpler method and goals. Recently I found a new friend on the route who was completing a personal marathon when her plans for NYC were cancelled by Hurricane Sandy. So you never know  who’ll you’ll meet on a great running loop either.

History

A great running loop builds its own history. It sees you through the miles and years. You might share it with a visiting runner friend, for example, which I have done with old college running teammates and visitors from out of town. Most marvel at the scenery and what a great little loop it is. I smile proudly because it is like having a child of which you are most proud.

Big time

When you are training for a marathon or other big race, you need a trusty running loop that can be built upon as you increase your mileage week to week, month to month. That loop should also have water access if you don’t train with a group that provides it, or else carry your own. That of course is an increasing dynamic as modern running technology has made water more portable. Formerly it was crucial to know where the publicly available water stops were, so that you didn’t run dry at 15 miles.

Training groups have also turned former deserts into an oasis of convenience for runnings. All summer long at the start of the Great Western Trail in St. Charles, Illinois, groups of runners meet and depart on training runs ranging from 5 to 20 miles. The group sets out giant water jugs with cups. Literally dozens of runners, equal numbers male and female turn out through the summer months, putting in miles in preparation for races around the country and around the world.

That flat section of trail used to be a railroad bed, so it’s only hills are at the start and over the bridges that cross highways. The actual roads it crosses are few, so one can run while talking and not worry about being mowed down by cars.

There is also shade over about 50% of the length of that trail, a vital savior on hot summer mornings. Its only drawback is that you run out and back, not exactly a thrilling notion when you know the mile marker you’ve just passed has to be passed again on the way home. That is existentialism defined. The irreversibility of time. We all run with Jean Paul Sarte and Albert Camus in some form or another.

All lengths and all times

Great running loops are therefore as diverse as the people who run them. Some become the stuff of local legend such as Pre’s Trail in Oregon, where you are likely to encounter world class distance runners padding the same paths.

In Chicago, the Lincoln Park trail offers a mix of hard surface and gritty cinders, affording a rather classic feel to the varied lengths of running loops available on the north side of the city. That’s where I did most of my training while living at 1764 N. Clark Street, right on Lincoln Park. There were many cold winter afternoons spent traipsing up to Montrose Harbor and back, an 8 mile loop and a staple of daily training. The lake breezes were welcome in summertime, but in winter they could blow waves up and over the breakwall, dashing you with freezing cold lake water. Despite those challenges, it was one of the greatest running loops you could hope for.

If you have a great running loop you’d like to describe, send in a 500 word or less email to cudworthfix@gmail.com. It would be fun to share your great running loops with the rest of the world.

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The allegorical beauty of the short and sweet ride: Part 1

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Christopher Cudworth

By Christopher Cudworth

The open roads of Illinois

There is a bike route from my house that takes a straight route out of town to a largely flat, well-paved road heading straight west, a great stretch of road for solo or group rides. Even the gravel trucks from the quarry west of Route 47 respect the cyclists. Kudos to them.

The road slides into a patiently smooth downhill, then turns right on a state highway with a wide, clear shoulder. There is a beautiful climb out of a small valley onto one of the many corn plateaus in our region; open expanses of flat land broken only by the occasional gravel-filled prairie kames dumped thousands of years ago by glaciers that formed the northern Illinois landscape.

Up and over

Turning right, the route dips and swerves past a series of lower kames, but if a bit of hill climbing is needed, the route passes a local treasure named Johnson’s Mound Forest Preserve, a lump sticking up from the Illinois landscape. A one-lane blacktop road loops through and over a 150-foot high “mound” covered with deep old woods. It is shady there in summer, green and cool, a welcome respite from the white-hot sun on some days.

Walking the Johnson’s Mound hill

The small road twists along a bottomland that in wet years smells of swampy deliciousness and fresh, rich flowers. Then the road turns abruptly, climbing grades of 10 to 15 degrees broken up by flatter stages where the cyclist can recover. At the top is the steepest pitch, a short, lung and leg bursting bit of road that puts you back in an honest place whether you are fit or fat at the time.

Launching east

Plunging down the south side of the hill, you must be careful not to launch onto the open road again or risk being flattened by traffic. But when you turn left again toward home on a rolling road, the legs inevitably feel strengthened by the climb just completed. It’s like that extra blood needed to make it up the hill sticks around to do some extra work. Then it’s possible to crank it up to 25 miles an hour, slip through the biggest intersection in farm country on Hughes Road and head toward home on a short slope where speeds of 35mph are possible.

The Big Road

Then the road dips and lands you on a major thoroughfare called Fabyan Parkway. Again, the shoulder is ample the entire way so it is not a dangerous road to ride, though cars are moving fast. With luck the first traffic light will read green and one can cycle down another hill at 25-30 mph as long as there is no traffic nudging into the parkway from the country club homes on either side of the road. One learns not to take the intersection for granted, because SUVs and Mercedes often have an impatient urgency to them.

Out of the valley

A series of climbs then follows as you climb out of a small valley where Mill Creek trundles toward the Fox River, crossing under the road. The route zips past Peck Farm Park, where casual cyclists like to ride the 4-mile paved loop around the 150-year-old farm house with its slowly-filling lake.

The Walmart Criterium

Back into town you go, up a final hard climb and toward the giant Walmart complex where a short bit of fun awaits. The street turns right, then left, the right and left again. On quiet days this is an excellent place to practice your bike handling and cornering. One learns to savor and indulge on this smooth outlot road, cranking the pedals to gain speed and cornering with practiced control.

One always hopes drivers take the sign literally

Then up you go again past the Sam’s and across Randall Road, the busiest danged road in the county, the epicenter of commercial enterprise and tax revenue for towns from Aurora to Algonquin. It is rare to find a green light here, so you pause, take the last sip of fluid and serve as a curiosity for drivers in the cars next to you. They sometimes sneak a glance at the odd creature in the bike kit, sweating now or bundled in tights and jacket on cool days.

Breaking the speed limit

Across the road you go and through the stop sign when there’s no sign, because an opportunity lies ahead to break the 25 mph speed limit on the winding road through a subdivision. As traffic design goes, this is the absolute worst road in the area. It was built in compromise with residents who did not want a through street from the movie theater and Randall Road back into town. But it is still used that way out of necessity. Yet the road is too narrow for its purpose, and its winding method of getting around houses is just silly. If a Jeep or God Forbid, a Hummer decides to park in front of one of the houses the entire lane is blocked off for car or bike. And it happens often. So you must anticipate that if you are cycling through, and separate hazards or risk being squished by circumstance.

Racing home or chilling out

The last mile home is uneventful, a time to gather your wits if you’ve ridden hard, or try to save up the mental notes and creative bursts earned during a casual ride.

The route is 20 miles total, a perfect allegory for everything cycling has to offer. Hills, both up and down, smooth roads the entire way, beautiful scenery with deep woods and even restored prairie in sight along the way, and the inevitable Illinois corn and soybean fields you can watch planted, growing and harvested until the ground lay sullen and tilled the winter months.

Reverse course

For variety, all one has to do is reverse the course and all the downhills become uphills. The wind can affect the course most interestingly, throwing headwinds and crosswinds and tailwinds into the mix. Weather too. I once tried to sneak a 20 miler on a February day that started out with a light mist and 60 degrees only to change to a brisk wind and horizontal rain by the 10 mile point. It was all one could to do get home without hypothermia. Forced to stop at the Randall Road traffic light, I stood shivering with the bike, grateful there was only one mile home.

Allegorical ride

The route is an allegory for everything cycling has to offer here in Illinois. One needs that kind of route, to know exactly how long it will take to ride, and to make a challenge on days when you are feeling frisky and fast. My record is just under one hour for the loop, including a trip over Johnson’s Mound. That was a good day.

There have been many other good days on that sweet ride. There have been bad days as well. Another allegory for riding, and for life. You can never tell exactly what you’ll get until you head out the door. And that’s what makes it so exciting to run or ride.

Tomorrow: What makes a great running loop. 

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