brrrr... Fox River trail F-F-FUN



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M

Max

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Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on the
Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.

The trail has been somewhat plowed, by a fellow cyclist who pulls a plow down the trail with his
bike, and by the Geneva park district, but some areas were still badly drifted over. In St. Charles,
the trail was only discernable as the _big_ white space between trees.

My first mile, from St. Chas to Genva, took about 17 minutes.

My safety glasses developed an annoying tendency to completely ice over on the lee eye. Monocular
riding isn't as much fun as it sounds and eventually i just pocketed the glasses. I think my
bakalava wasn't adjusted right or something, channeling my panting wheezes into my face.

My extremities were quite cold until my vascular system decided to join the ride about 15 minutes
into it, at which point i was toasty and serene. Lots of layers, nothing constrictive.

I have decided to switch my bike from inverted tread Kendas to knobbies in the hopes that i might
actually gain traction in the drifts. We'll see... I have a cyclecommute buddy whom I meet in
geekneeva, which makes the ride funner [sic], but today it also was nice to know there would be
backup should either of us have a problem on the trail.

So: Total trip time: 7.5 miles in 52 minutes. :)

And finally -- i had more fun riding today than you did driving. Neener. and I wasted less gasoline,
too. 8-p 8-p 8-p

.max

--
the part of <[email protected]> was played by maxwell monningh 8-p
 
Max wrote:
>
> Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on
> the Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.
<snip the details>

> So: Total trip time: 7.5 miles in 52 minutes. :)
>
> And finally -- i had more fun riding today than you did driving. Neener. and I wasted less
> gasoline, too. 8-p 8-p 8-p

Not as many out on their bikes down Elston Ave. this morning, but still some intrepid riders
out there.

One guys balaklava was totally snowy/ice encrusted. Brrr!

I was afraid for them, because with the salt spray kicking up on the windshield and drying AND the
sunshine on the windsheild, visibility was kinda crappy in the car... Wish more city cyclists had on
lights and brighter clothing.

I imagine a trail is much funner than a salt-spraying city street... you're a trooper.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
barb gee <[email protected]> wrote:

> I imagine a trail is much funner than a salt-spraying city street... you're a trooper.

Once that pesky DUI is behind him it's all Escalade pulling the pontoon boat.
 
On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 03:08:59 GMT, Max <[email protected]> wrote:

>Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on
>the Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.
>
>The trail has been somewhat plowed, by a fellow cyclist who pulls a plow down the trail with his
>bike, and by the Geneva park district, but some areas were still badly drifted over. In St.
>Charles, the trail was only discernable as the _big_ white space between trees.
>
>My first mile, from St. Chas to Genva, took about 17 minutes.
>
>My safety glasses developed an annoying tendency to completely ice over on the lee eye. Monocular
>riding isn't as much fun as it sounds and eventually i just pocketed the glasses. I think my
>bakalava wasn't adjusted right or something, channeling my panting wheezes into my face.
>
>My extremities were quite cold until my vascular system decided to join the ride about 15 minutes
>into it, at which point i was toasty and serene. Lots of layers, nothing constrictive.
>
>I have decided to switch my bike from inverted tread Kendas to knobbies in the hopes that i might
>actually gain traction in the drifts. We'll see... I have a cyclecommute buddy whom I meet in
>geekneeva, which makes the ride funner [sic], but today it also was nice to know there would be
>backup should either of us have a problem on the trail.
>
>So: Total trip time: 7.5 miles in 52 minutes. :)
>
>And finally -- i had more fun riding today than you did driving. Neener. and I wasted less
>gasoline, too. 8-p 8-p 8-p
>
>.max

Hey, Max, what a great post. You have a way with a phrase, haha. 'The lee eye'. I love it.

It's kind of nice to -visit- a much colder climate, as when we journeyed from Virginia to
Pennsylvania during a cold snap, due to the novelty. The way the hairs in your nose freeze and get
all tingly and stuff.

I grew up in Pa., where we sometimes had 4-5 feet of snow, so I can remember some of that, but it's
amazing, IMO, to be biking in it. Awesome.

Anyway, thanks for sharing; you've definitely got some Viking blood in those veins. <g>

I rode today too, but it was a (relatively) balmy 28, with 19 wind chill. Tomorrow, in deference
to your feat, I shall wear a Hawaiian shirt, um, under my windbreaker, and over my wool sweater.
It's cool,
b/c it's a polyester Hawaiian shirt. ;-)

-B

-B
 
barb gee wrote:
>
> Max wrote:
> >
> > Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on
> > the Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.
> <snip the details>
>
> > So: Total trip time: 7.5 miles in 52 minutes. :)
> >
> > And finally -- i had more fun riding today than you did driving. Neener. and I wasted less
> > gasoline, too. 8-p 8-p 8-p
>
> Not as many out on their bikes down Elston Ave. this morning, but still some intrepid riders
> out there.
>
> One guys balaklava was totally snowy/ice encrusted. Brrr!

There's nothing quite like frozen boogers on your balaclava. Mmmmmmmm, nose trails.

trent

--
I read it on the Internet, therefore it must be true.
 
Originally posted by Max

My safety glasses developed an annoying tendency to completely ice over on the lee eye. Monocular
riding isn't as much fun as it sounds and eventually i just pocketed the glasses. I think my
bakalava wasn't adjusted right or something, channeling my panting wheezes into my face.


.max

B]


Give ski goggles a try, they've worked for me. (I've bike previous winters here in Minnesota, and ran into the same issue as you did with glasses).
 
On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 03:08:59 GMT, Max <[email protected]> wrote:

>Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on
>the Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.
>
>The trail has been somewhat plowed, by a fellow cyclist who pulls a plow down the trail with
>his bike,

Okay, here's something weird. Our club (Naperville Bike Club) gets together every Sunday during the
winter. If weather permits we ride. If not we do an alternative activity, like cross-country skiing.
Last Sunday's host lives in Batavia. It was snowing, but not enough had fallen to support skiing, so
we decided to take a hike in Fabyan Woods.

At one point we took the trail that takes a tunnel under Route 31 and joins up with the Fox River
Trail. As we were walking along the trail along comes a guy on a bike towing a wedged shaped thing
behind him, plowing a clear path about 18" wide down the trail. We just looked at each other
quizzically and wondered "why?".

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Max <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on
>the Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.
>
>The trail has been somewhat plowed, by a fellow cyclist who pulls a plow down the trail with his
>bike, and by the Geneva park district, but some areas were still badly drifted over. In St.
>Charles, the trail was only discernable as the _big_ white space between trees.
>

[rest of Shackleton-like ordeal snipped]

I salute your perseverance. Or fanaticism. I store the two-wheeler away when the temperature drops
below 40-ish.

--
-john

February 28 1997: Last day libraries could order catalogue cards from the Library of Congress.
 
barb gee <[email protected]> wrote:

> Not as many out on their bikes down Elston Ave. this morning, but still some intrepid riders
> out there.
>
> One guys balaklava was totally snowy/ice encrusted. Brrr!

Once while x-c skiing in near-zero temps I tried to remove my balaclava, only to discover that it
was frozen to my beard. Ouch! I had to wait until I got back to the car and got the heat going
before I could remove it.

--
Ray Heindl (remove the Xs to reply)
 
In article <[email protected]>,
John Everett <[email protected]> wrote:

> Max <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on
> >the Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.
> >
> >The trail has been somewhat plowed, by a fellow cyclist who pulls a plow down the trail with
> >his bike,
>
[...]
> At one point we took the trail that takes a tunnel under Route 31 and joins up with the Fox River
> Trail. As we were walking along the trail along comes a guy on a bike towing a wedged shaped thing
> behind him, plowing a clear path about 18" wide down the trail. We just looked at each other
> quizzically and wondered "why?".

That's the guy! because <http://www-bdnew.fnal.gov/pbar/organizationalchart/peterson/snowplow_fil
es/Bike_Plow.html> mostly. this is his page, he's one of my cow orkers.

Without speaking for him, I think a lot of the reason is that there's a lot of us fermions who use
the river trail to get to work from geneva/st. charles, 24/7/365, and by the nature of the
streets/roads here, the alternative snow routes are bleak, esp on the east side.

.max

--
the part of <[email protected]> was played by maxwell monningh 8-p
 
[email protected] (John M. Gamble) wrote:

> [rest of Shackleton-like ordeal snipped]

rofl !

To enhance the narrative flow, i elided the face plant i did on the way home, when i hit a patch of
ice on the curve Right Next to the Geneva Sludge Pond. truth.

> I salute your perseverance. Or fanaticism. I store the two-wheeler away when the temperature drops
> below 40-ish.

I just this minute finished driving 104 3/8" pointy phillips screws into my big knobby tires.

Now my bike has claws. big sharp claws.

I intend to kick the snot out of mother nature tomorrow.

.max

--
the part of <[email protected]> was played by maxwell monningh 8-p
 
On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 20:53:47 -0000, Ray Heindl <[email protected]>
wrote:

>barb gee <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Not as many out on their bikes down Elston Ave. this morning, but still some intrepid riders
>> out there.
>>
>> One guys balaklava was totally snowy/ice encrusted. Brrr!
>
>Once while x-c skiing in near-zero temps I tried to remove my balaclava, only to discover that it
>was frozen to my beard. Ouch! I had to wait until I got back to the car and got the heat going
>before I could remove it.

OK, so I have a balaclava question.

Is it OK to wear a camo Balaclava with a camo baseball cap? (my wife says the two camos
don't match.)

[BTW, as promised, I wore my Hawaiian shirt under my wind breaker - it's polyester. I tried to wear
it on top of the windbreaker, but got stopped at the back door by the fashion police (my 16 y.o.
daughter). Compared to those riding at -5 deg, the Hawaiian shirt added about 10 degrees of mental
warmth. Recommended.]

TIA.

-B
 
In chi.general Max <[email protected]> wrote:
: Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on
: the Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.

: The trail has been somewhat plowed, by a fellow cyclist who pulls a plow down the trail with his
: bike, and by the Geneva park district, but some areas were still badly drifted over. In St.
: Charles, the trail was only discernable as the _big_ white space between trees.

When we did the trip across the state with my son's scout troop we did it in small sections.

First weekend of December that year we were camping in a Will County Forest Preserve about a mile
north of the Plank Road Trail (Rails to Trail). It was warm when we reserved it, and I remember
telling the kids to keep praying that El Nino didn't fail us (winter had been mild sofar).

It was the coldest weekend of the year I think... scout rules say you have to wear a helmet when
riding and we were all wearing hats under and over the helmets trying to keep our heads warm. The
campground only had porta-potties ... luckily the trail went right near a mall next to I-57 and we
were able to stop inside there for a while to warm up.

Have you tried that trail? There are spots where the trail is elevated high enough that if it's a
windy day, you feel like your going to get blown off the path and down the embankment (I'd guess 20
to 30 feet up with nothing but farms around it).

No one fell off that trail... we did have one kid fall and roll down the embankment on the I&M and
several went off on the Hennepin.

--
John Nelson
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago Area Paddling/Fishing Page
http://www.chicagopaddling.org http://www.chicagofishing.org
(A Non-Commercial Web Site: No Sponsors, No Paid Ads and Nothing to Sell)
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> In article <[email protected]>, Max
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on
> >the Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.
> >
> >The trail has been somewhat plowed, by a fellow cyclist who pulls a plow down the trail with his
> >bike, and by the Geneva park district, but some areas were still badly drifted over. In St.
> >Charles, the trail was only discernable as the _big_ white space between trees.
> >
>
> [rest of Shackleton-like ordeal snipped]
>
> I salute your perseverance. Or fanaticism. I store the two-wheeler away when the temperature drops
> below 40-ish.

I've found that I really enjoy riding in weather at least down to the low 30's (maybe lower, but I
haven't tried yet) as long as it's sunny and dry. I had my fill of riding in snow, ice and -20F when
I was in Junior High back in the 70's, though.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.
 
"Max" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] (John M. Gamble) wrote: I just this minute finished driving 104 3/8" pointy
> phillips
screws into
> my big knobby tires.
>
> Now my bike has claws. big sharp claws.
>
> I intend to kick the snot out of mother nature tomorrow.

Good luck! Just don't kick your tires. Your bike doesn't have toe overlap does it?

Doug For email, a sense of wonder.
 
Is there someplace we can get these plans? We have some trails that needed this a couple of
years ago.

John Everett wrote:
>
> On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 03:08:59 GMT, Max <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on
> >the Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.
> >
> >The trail has been somewhat plowed, by a fellow cyclist who pulls a plow down the trail with
> >his bike,
>
> Okay, here's something weird. Our club (Naperville Bike Club) gets together every Sunday during
> the winter. If weather permits we ride. If not we do an alternative activity, like cross-country
> skiing. Last Sunday's host lives in Batavia. It was snowing, but not enough had fallen to support
> skiing, so we decided to take a hike in Fabyan Woods.
>
> At one point we took the trail that takes a tunnel under Route 31 and joins up with the Fox River
> Trail. As we were walking along the trail along comes a guy on a bike towing a wedged shaped thing
> behind him, plowing a clear path about 18" wide down the trail. We just looked at each other
> quizzically and wondered "why?".
>
> jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3
 
On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 03:34:01 -0600, Mike Schwab <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Is there someplace we can get these plans? We have some trails that needed this a couple of
>years ago.

http://www-bdnew.fnal.gov/pbar/organizationalchart/peterson/snowplow_files/Bike_Plow.html

He's freakin' brilliant, and we just chatted in email. If you didn't get the site URL, it's repeated
above. I sorta doubt he had plans, since it was adapted from a hand plow, but you get enough
pictures on the site to put it together, ISM.

-B

>
>John Everett wrote:
>>
>> On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 03:08:59 GMT, Max <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >Hewing to my promise to let no weather stop me from my appointed cyclecommute, i found myself on
>> >the Fox River Trail, heading from St. Charles to Batavia. Outside temp was -5.1F.
>> >
>> >The trail has been somewhat plowed, by a fellow cyclist who pulls a plow down the trail with
>> >his bike,
>>
>> Okay, here's something weird. Our club (Naperville Bike Club) gets together every Sunday during
>> the winter. If weather permits we ride. If not we do an alternative activity, like cross-country
>> skiing. Last Sunday's host lives in Batavia. It was snowing, but not enough had fallen to support
>> skiing, so we decided to take a hike in Fabyan Woods.
>>
>> At one point we took the trail that takes a tunnel under Route 31 and joins up with the Fox River
>> Trail. As we were walking along the trail along comes a guy on a bike towing a wedged shaped
>> thing behind him, plowing a clear path about 18" wide down the trail. We just looked at each
>> other quizzically and wondered "why?".
>>
>> jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3
 
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