Tom Sherman wrote:
> Larry,
>
> Someone is excited about coming to Illinois - what a concept!
>
> Actually, I would be tempted to do this ride except it is at a bad time of year for me. I am not
> too disappointed, since I am within day trip distance of all the parks and trails.
>
> Although it will likely be fairly hot and humid, the ride should not be that difficult. Most of
> the route could be ridden with just a single chainring and a normal range cassette with no
> problem. I would recommend tires suitable for pavement, gravel, and limestone screenings.
>
> If you have time on the final day, a visit to the dells area Matthiessen State Park [1] (very
> close to Starved Rock State Park) is recommended. (If the picture of the reconstructed fort in
> the picnic area looks familiar, it is the middle rest stop for the 106 mile route on the Bike
> Psycho's Century).
>
> I should warn you about RANS Stratus riders with Easy Racers type
handlebars,
> as I believe that Ben Fox is planning on doing the ride.

>
> [1]
http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/R1/mttindex.htm
>
> Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side) RANS "Wavewind" and Rocket, Earth Cycles Sunset and
> Dragonflyer
>
I was pretty undecided about what rides to do this year, at least after Bike Florida in March,
Florida Bicycle Safari in April, TOSRV+ in May, and the Horsey Hundred on Memorial Day weekend. I
had considered TRIRI - it's always a great ride - but I thought, hey, this ride sounds a lot like
TRIRI, it's fairly easy to get to, it's the first year for it, small crowd, loop, catered meals,
camp in state parks, etc. - all of the things I like. So hey, if you can't do the whole week,
come up for one of the days. I'll be riding my Greenspeed GTO, which should be perfect on any of
the non-paved trails.
--
Larry Varney Cold Spring, KY
http://home.fuse.net/larryvarney