EBCRide Recaps

Questions
by Cindy Reedy

If you're thinking about trying an EBC ride but not sure how fast you ride, this is the place to start. You probably have a few questions like:

What should I wear?
• Most people wear bike jerseys and biking shorts, but lots of riders just wear everyday clothes. On my first ride 9 years ago I wore blue jeans – they weren't very comfortable.
• Helmets are required.
• Most people, but not all, wear biking gloves.
• If you have clipless biking shoes, wear them. Otherwise tennis shoes will do. I even wear sandals on hot days, but they are not very comfortable on the upstroke.

What should I bring?
• Bring water, especially in warm weather. A little Gatorade mixed in is a good idea, too.
• Most people usually bring a snack.
• Sunscreen and/or insect repellant, if appropriate.
• A spare inner tube. A pump and tire changing tools are nice to have, but if you don't have them someone else probably will.

If you have questions about any of the rides, call the ride leader. That's why they post their phone numbers and they will welcome your interest.

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Sunday at a slower pace
by Cindy Reedy
July 8, 2007

We started out with 9 riders. Travis had his two boys with him – one on a tagalong and a two year old in a trailer. They could have made their own parade! The six year old tired after a while so they turned back. We were all impressed with Travis for pulling all that weightand with Kevin for pedaling what would end up to be 13 miles.

Mary was trying out a mountain bike and had some trouble keeping the pace. In true EBC fashion, someone stayed at the corner when we turned, to make sure that Mary would see where we went. When we got to the Itasca Starbucks for our break, we were surprised to see that the EBC moderate pace group was taking their break there also. Mary changed bikes with Baltimore and made the rest of the ride at the posted speed.

We rode 25 miles in less than 3 hours, including the break. Thank you John for an interesting ride with a slightly different route.

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New Years Day Ride
by Mary Moroney
January 1, 2006

The following members logged in their 1st 10 miles for 2006: Mie Koch, Dana Elsesser, Laura Williams, Gerry Fekete, Dick Diebold, John Park, Helen Korth, Connie & Eric Vann, Jessica Orstott, Carole Danillo, Bruce Gibbs, Walt Chlipala & Marty Kotecki. The weather was the best I remember for several years & the food & service at E'gglectic Cafe in Wheaton was again excellent.

Several others joined us for breakfast: Mike Tenzinger, who if my memory serves me right started the New Years Day ride tradition & lead many, many, Marie Tenzinger, Joanne Dezur, who is making good progress after getting a new knee, Freda Brown along with Freda & Dick's granddaughter. AND last but not least, Elaine Dow, our well-traveled member who resides now primarily in Florida. Great to see everyone.

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Century Ride (100 miles)
by George Hermach
July 18, 2004

Five riders completed Ted Sward's Slow Hundred Pre-Ride on Sunday July 18: Ted, Jim Hennig, Al Stanke, Mike Struglinski, and George Hermach. The weather was great, and the roads for the most part very nice. A few of the roads, however, were fairly busy such that I might not feel quite as comfortable had I been riding solo: namely Burlington Rd, LaFox Rd, and a short stretch of Rt 47 that we were on. We did have one encounter with a large dog that chased us on Winters Rd, but we all got through that without incident. We road three loops from Virgil of 58, 32, and 14 miles, for a total of 104. Joining us on the first loop were Joanne Dezur and Sharon Ganske, who then left for other committments. For me, it was my first century. Thanks to Ted's steady pacing and frequent rest breaks, I completed it without any problems and felt great afterward.

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Mountain Biking
by Baltimore Ortega
June 30, 2007

The sign of a true ride leader is someone who makes it about the riders and not themselves. George and Pussanee Pastorino did a great job today leading a great and fun ride.

We had 16 Mountain Bikers today ranging from beginner to advanced. I think some of the riders were going out for the first time. It was great to see about half of the riders were female. The weather was perfect, the trails easy to tough, and everyone was friendly and supportive. G and P did a great job giving safe instructions and making sure we all had a good ride. It was thoughtful to split up the riders during part of the ride between beginners and advanced so everyone could enjoy their level of riding on different trails.

Mountain biking is a great way to enjoy nature in an off-road environment. It allows an alternative way to train on an easy or challenging trail ride depending on the cyclist. I always judge club rides by whether they are fun and/or give me a decent workout. The ride today was fun and gave me a good workout. The advanced hill climbing was tough. I'm looking forward to the next Mountain Bike ride. I hope anyone interested calls G and P to join us or get information on how to get started.

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Tuesdays and Thursdays
by Kären & Bill Schwartz
June 17, 2004

The bike ride today had riders from 3 clubs-including Susie Wolf from the Quad Cities.. We had a great time. The 49 miles to Sycamore and back were filled with great conversation and moderate riding. We all ate lots of good food at our lunch stop in Sycamore. There was no rain, great weather and a tailwind on the way back.
See you next week!

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Thursday
by Peter Turula
June 3, 2004

My ride description said: "Loop ride through Herrick, Danada, Blackwell, McDowell, Springbrook Prairie, Greene Valley and more. !!Ride cancelled if wet!!" So I figured the ride was cancelled - it has rained for the last 77 days and my lawn goes "squish squish" underfoot. But the ride leader has to show up at the start just in case someone doesn't heed the description. I was surprised to find 5 riders (Al, Lou, Roman and Cari, and guest Lee) ready to roll at the Greene Valley West trailhead. We decided to try my planned route (see www.turula.com/bike/cue ) but I had a good, all-paved road and trail alternative in reserve, just in case.

To my pleasant amazement the DuPage Forest Preserve trails were in great shape, mostly quite dry and nice to ride on. I have to commend the County Forest Preserve District engineers for excellent trail drainage design and construction, and the trail crews, who where out there patching the trail, rolling it, and scraping where needed as we rolled by, for their diligence. Of the six reserves we visited, only McDowell had a few spots of standing water, and this was on a spur trail leading to a wetlands viewing area.

The ride covered 63 miles and took about 7 and 1/2 hours with a leisurely stop for lunch in Naperville. I plan to do a similar, a bit shorter ride on Saturday July 10. Come out and enjoy our Forest Preserve trails.

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Saturday
by Lew Worthem
May 17, 2004

My thanks to Joanne Dybala, Larry Gitchell, and Ray Dal Lago for helping me discover that it's perfectly feasible to ride from Elmhurst to the University of Chicago on a Saturday morning. There's two steel grating bridges where caution is needed, and a half-block of puddles next to a junk yard, but otherwise the ride is rather pleasant. Ray is particulary familiar with the campus, and he took us to several interesting nooks and crannies. We even spotted some monk parakeets!

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First Ride
Kim Botdorf
July 16, 2007

I joined EBC a few months ago but being shy/nervous about meeting new people have never ventured out on a ride... Now I'm sorry I waited.

If you're anything like me (shy and nervous about meeting new people) I know you've put off getting out and joining the EBC for a Sunday ride - Well fret no more, they really are a nice bunch.

First, riding by yourself all the time is B O R I N G!!! Sometimes it really is nice to ride with others and learn a new route. I finally ventured out this Sunday to ride with that group.... Oh granted Kevin was with me, but its not like he stayed by my side the entire ride.

We headed over to meet the EBC behind Panera's. Got there about 8:20 and there was quite the crowd already.

We were promptly greeted by Jeff who leads the 15-17mph group. After already riding 35 miles I thought this really should have been the group I rode with... But then Dave pulls up and before you know it I'm signing the sheet to ride with his group at 16-18 mph. Well the 8:30 bell chimes (I'm not kidding some church's bell goes off at 8:30) and Dave is ready to roll, he wastes no time! So off we go....

I was doing ok on flat land and for the 1st half of our 30+ mile ride. Oh some of the roads completely suck, but not much anyone can do about that. Some of the holes in the road could have consumed you but the group out front was very vocal about upcoming hazards.

At about the half way point we stopped at the Corner Bakery for refueling and potty stops, maybe 15/20 minutes then we are off again. I was really starting to feel it at this point and did get behind a time or two, but what's nice is that this group does not ride at such a break neck speed that I couldn't at least see the group and the jersey's in front of me so I didn't get lost.

I'm not really comfortable with pace line riding or riding in the middle of a larger group. I don't corner very well (I know it will come in time) and didn't want to take anyone around me down because I have to go a little wider. But Dave gave some nice tips and is and was very encouraging.

All in all my point is, if you're looking to get out and bike and don't want to do it alone, check out this group, they have rides for every pace ability and they all seem very nice.

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Wednesday Night
by Larry Gitchell
October 2006

Listen my cyclists and you shall hear,
Of a Wednesday Night Quickie with Lynn Rivier.
Tom Manata leading, and bell-ringing John,
We met in McCollum and at 6:00 we were gone!

Pedaling our way over to the I-55 frontage road,
Barely slowed down by the excessive wind load.
Flying south on Wolf Road, and west up 91st,
To Madison street where the hills are the worst!

Along about then, our shorts we were ready to pee,
When Tom suggested we ride down Route 83!
But he decided to change his route before then,
And we took Bluff road through Waterfall Glen.

We sped along the street without too much talk,
Till a motorist yelled "Get on the @#$% sidewalk!"
He went out of sight and that was just as well,
Because I felt sorely tempted to ring his bell!

We lit up our headlights and rode on through the dark,
And just before eight arrived back at McCollum Park.

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Sunday Morning - Dave Polkow
(other contributors noted below their comments)
March 7, 2006

With the 3rd anniversary of the SMR streak coming up this Sunday I thought it was a good time for a ride recap. It has been an interesting winter with several rides drawing only 2-3 hardy riders to brave either the cold, rain, snow, wind, or some combination of the elements. Through it all EBC members have ridden between 17 and 25 miles each Sunday cycling around the western suburbs. To bring SMRiders up to date, the strong have gotten stronger while the others hang with me in the back. I continue to lead from the middle to the back of the pack. Eric continues to ride in from Naperville and has 3 centuries this year. Don has resurfaced and is thinking of reclaiming his kingship from Ray. Ray has been costumed from Santa to the human Banana Man on SMRs.

This past Sunday saw 7 of us wind south through some Oak Brook subdivisions and some college (Jeff wanted to learn this route) before turning east to Clarendon Hills. I kept control of the ride for a while, but once we hit some straight aways, several horses got out of the barn and took off. After a few more stretches where the strong could play we got back into Elmhurst finishing 5 minutes late with 24 miles ridden.
Dave Polkow

Thank you Dave (and your lieutenants)!
The SMR has been the highlight of my week for years. You all have taught me a great deal, sped me up, and are a kick to ride with. Shall we try for 3 years in a row ?!
Jeff (March 2005)

My very 1st ride w/ EBC was Polkow's SMR 9 months ago! The ride was so much fun and the riders so friendly that the decision to join the club was instantaneous (albeit some initial pressure from Rollie :-)
To celebrate the day, Judy Polkow kindly took some pre-ride "historical" pictures and Karen Zenisek generously provided bagels, fruits, muffins and other treats at the end of today's ride...
Thank you Dave (and his "lieutenants") for your great contribution to a great club.
Karim (March 2005)

Some things in this world are for certain such as, taxes, death , your spouse telling you you're riding too much and the Sunday Morning Fast Ride.
Thanks Dave and to all of your substitute leaders for your time and dedication.
Bill Mueller (March 2005)

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Sunday Morning Fast
by Karen Zenisek
October 3, 2004

While Ray and crew rolled off, 11 of us headed out to enjoy the beautiful fall weather by riding south and west. This experienced group of riders, soon fell into a comfortable pace as we headed through Villa Park, Lombard and Lisle. We opened the ride up to allow a "sprint" from Lacey road to our regroup point at route 53. Actually this was more than a sprint but gave us an opportunity to ride at our own pace. We might have exceeded our max of 18 as I saw 26 MPH on my computer but I'm sure that was an error, OOPS. That new pavement on Warrenville road was just too much to pass up. Happy Birthday to Frank who celebrated his birthday by riding with us, Happy Birthday Frank!

After the rest stop, we continued down or up Warrenville road to Leask and found our way home through Wheaton, and Glen Ellyn.

As the sun warmed me up, I could not help but appreciate how much fun it was to be riding without a structured work out schedule. Thanks to all the riders for making this ride so much fun, relaxing and enjoyable.

Joining me today for the 33 mile ride were Larry G, Kevin M, Candy G, Lew W, Frank A, Laura K, Tracy G, Debbie H, Bill S and Kären S.

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Madison, WI
by Susan and Keith Sperl
May 26-27-28, 2007

We had a wonderful biking weekend in Madison, Stoughton, Middleton and Mount Horeb where Hank has very fond memories.

The weather held for us in the 70's with only a few drops on Saturday.

Madison is such a beautiful clean city with great biking and nice trails. We enjoyed viewing the downtown, the Arboretum, the Capitol, lakes, Spring blossoms and country side. We loved the many hills but mostly, the great downhills....38 mph for Petra. All the wonderful bike shops....I think we only missed one. The biggest used bike shop with some of the strangest looking antique bikes I have ever seen! Also, for sale were new 2005 & 2006 brand name bikes for approximately $500.00.

We enjoyed celebrating an early anniversary which rewarded us with free cake for all. Breakfast every morning was made to order; lunches with lake side views, or being invited to Aunt Mary's 80th birthday, or trying to win the jewelry by eating the record breaking brat; one Italian dinner, one Indian (ear smoking spicy) dinner and the one the only Peppermill where both Peter and Betty had a big surprise. Must not forget Michael's Custard.... almost every night?

The Mustard Museum was great fun and tastey (Apricot Ginger Mustard, Wasabi Lime Mustard, Pineapple Mustard, French or German or Spanish Mustard, Mustard with liquors in them....you name it they have it). Thanks to Ksenia for driving our mustard back to the hotel.

Only one wasp sting on the cheek, one dropped light, and a couple "afraid of the that hill", rode too far ahead of the leader, back trackers.

Thanks to Larry for another great job well done! You're a great ride leader!

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Friendship Keeps Gears Running on Bike Trip
by Melanie Murphy (melaniejm3@yahoo.com)
as published in theWheaton Leader
ride dates: September 8-16, 2004

Just as the Sumac begin to turn red and the first Sugar Maples dazzle in their yellow and orange fall foliage, Lou Fish of Wheaton, along with 11 other area residents, ages 40s to 70s, rode their bicycles the 540 miles from Lombard to Minong, Wis. in gear in nine days.

Carole Danillo of Lombard, Gerry Fekete of La Grange Park, Carol Nield of Downers Grove, Kären Schartz of Downers Grove, Ted Sward of La Grange Park, Peter Turula of Downers Grove, Ellen Weber and Lou Fish of Wheaton, Susie Wolf of the Quad Cities, Lew Worthem of Elmhurst, and Jerry Ringer and Betty Bond of Lombard left Lombard Sept. 8 and arrived in Minong Sept. 16.

The year before, two of the members, Jerry Ringer and Bond, thought it would be fun to ride their bikes to their cottage in Minong. After successfully completing the ride, they decided to invite others to join them.

"It is a really wonderful way to travel," said Fish, recalling all the landscapes she encountered. "It is an incredible feeling of independence knowing you have everything you need with you and that you can take care of yourself."

The group, who met each other through theElmhurst Bicycle Club, carried all of their gear with them on their touring bikes.

"The bikes with the gear weighed from 55 to 85 pounds," said Fish, noting that they stayed at campgrounds each night. "Some (bikers) carried stoves. We carried tents and all our gear, including breakfast.

They carried their gear in panniers, a pair of bags that hung on either side of the bicycle, and often trained with the panniers over the summer when the group biked two or three times each week, Fish said.

On the nine day road trip, the group rode approximately 60 miles per day which took up to 10 hours depending on how hilly the roads were that day.

"One day after a beautiful climb we stopped at the top of a hill to rest," said Fish. "We started in an Amish area and there was this farm on the hill. This lovely Amish women and her daughter invited us to sit down with them. They were so humble and wanted to know all about what we were doing. At that time, her husband came in from the fields, standing on top of 10 feet of hay in a horse-drawn wagon. He was dressed in the traditional white shirt, dark pants and hat. Their garden was so beautiful and it was such a lovely day."

The group stopped for lunch and dinner at local restaurants each day.

Betty Bond recalled a favorite stop on their travels. "One hot afternoon we stopped at this lit- tie tavern in this little Wisconsin town. I ordered lemonade in a can but then someone ordered homemade root beer that came in a big, frosty mug. It looked so good. I drank my lemonade real quick so I could have a mug of that cold, frosty, homemade root beer," she said.

Bond and Fish agreed the camaraderie of their group made all the difference on such a long journey.

"One night we stayed at a campground that was up on the hill," Bond said. "It was a group site and at night we sat by the campfire, roasting marshmallows and just looking at the stars. The companionship was wonderful."

When they arrived at their destination, the cabin in Minong, spouses and relatives were there to meet the bikers. Jerry Ringer rode ahead and started the grill so when the rest of his riding buddies arrived, he had a feast waiting for them.

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Lake Geneva
by Lew Worthem
August 30, 2004

Our excellent excursion to Lake Geneva inspires me to compose a ride report.

I went to bed Friday night knowing that the weather forecast was a near certainty of thunderstorms and an inch of rain for most of Saturday. I woke in the wee hours to thunderclaps, lightning, and heavy rain. Almost miraculously, the rain stopped at 5 am, just about the time Larry Gitchell started his ride from Northlake to meet me at Elmhurst.

Sure enough, at about 5:45, an apparition appeared out of the fog and darkness, and it was Larry! We departed for Elgin, taking to the streets rather than the Prairie Path to avoid having 20 pounds of wet limestone tailings cling to our bikes.

We arrived at the Elgin casino zone a mere 10 minutes late but still dry. There we were joined by Al Stanke, and we continued northward on the Fox River Trail and the Prairie Trail.

Very fortunately for us, Freda Brown and Mary Moroney rode south to meet us before we arrived at Big Foot Beach State Park. During the past year, the highways around the park have been rerouted, and my maps were totally wrong. Without the escort, I probably would have missed the park and led us all the way to Wausau.

At the park we joined up with Mike Stuglinski and three members of the Schaumburg BC - Joe and two others whose names I forget - sorry - let's call them SBC1 and SBC2. The rain did not resume until after we had our tents pitched, so we relaxed a while before heading to dinner.

SBC1 had her van there, so she drove us into town where we had a nourishing dinner at a restaurant named the "something Air," once again I forget the name, but I'm pretty sure it was not the "Dairy Air." The conversation turned to speculation on ways to prevent Rich Diebold from being too active and harming his broken rib recovery. The ideas ran from ropes and chains to prisoner ankle bracelets. Hard to keep a good man down.

SBC2 was sporting an ice pack on his right shoulder. He recounted his head-on collision with a serpentining kid on the trail. Mary Moroney had some ghastly looking, but painless, bruises on her leg, the result of her B.O.B. trailer hitting a boulder.

It rained through much of Saturday night, but we were snug in our tents and looking forward to the return trip.

We hit the road at 7 a.m. Sunday with a cool, light breeze at our backs, billowy clouds over our heads, and downhills before us. We stopped for a terrific breakfast at the Homeplate restaurant in Genoa City, then continued on for an uneventful trip home. What a beautiful day!

If I may indulge in a personal note, I realize that in my life I have far more regrets over things I didn't do than the things I did. It's much better to take off into the possibility of rain than to stay at home waiting for the sunshine. Wetter, but better.

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Root River
by Earl Weber
August 4, 2004

The Root River Ride contingent arrived Sunday afternoon for a few days of riding in the scenic Root River Valley of southeastern Minnesota. Camp was set up, dinner eaten and preparations made for the next days ride.

Thunderstorms at 7AM on Monday allowed us to sleep in.

Mondays ride was from Lanesboro to Houston and return marked 64 miles and since we are all getting ready for Wisconsin in September we traveled loaded. (not intoxicated)

Tuesdays ride was from Lanesboro to Harmony at the top of the hills up out of the Root River valley. The hills are a challenge, but the ride back is exhilerating. If you have time to look on the way down the scenery is restful. 50 miles for the day, loaded.

Tuesday afternoon and evening gave us rain. We were done with the days ride before the rains started.-->

Wednesdays ride was from Lanesboro past Rushford and return for 50 miles, loaded. The trail was covered for 10 miles with leaves as a result of hail storms in the Rushton, Peterson area. Luckily 10 miles south of our campsite.

Plans for a shorter ride on Thursday wraps up this trip to the Root River / Harmony Preston Trails area of Bluff Country Minnesota.

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Waterford Factory Tour
by Steve Josephs
July 16, 2006

We had a great time up in Waterford! Ten Elmhurst members joined about 100 people from other clubs for the factory tour and ride in the Wisconsin countryside.

It was interesting to see how these beautiful Waterford and Gunnar frames are made. These are all steel and traditionally made - but these are more about a great fit and ride on a beautifully crafted frame than riding the latest and greatest technology. Richard Schwinn did field a question about carbon fiber forks, and he assured the tour group that many of his frames go out the door with "plastic" forks - if this is what the customer wants!

In terms of the rides, it was hot yesterday in the farmland and small towns west of Waterford. But a group of us managed to turn the metric century into a 72 mile ride, with the help of a few missed turns. There was actually only one nice downhill that we had to climb back up due to a missed turn.

This is an annual event, and will be back on our ride schedule next year - I encourage people to give this a try next year, you will enjoy it!

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Annual Club Chili Mixer and Ride
by Petra Lynn Hofmann
from the February 2007 newsletter

Chili and bicycling go well together as Marge Ricke can tell you. She is again inviting EBC members to The Annual Club Chili Mixer, Sunday, February 25th.

Bicycling begins at Noon, with two rides, followed by a 1 pm Hike led by Judy Mikesell.

After adding their favorite chili recipe to the huge simmering Chili Pot, attendees may either bike or hike, as they desire. In addition, Marge asks everyone to bring not only a serving of chili but a side dish or dessert as well. Upon returning to Marge's all will enjoy a spectacular and filling buffet!

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Earth Day Trail Cleanup
by Ray Dal Lago
April 24, 2005

Thanks to Cathy and Larry Page, Susan Solberg and Susan Kilgore for working with me on clean-up of a one mile stretch of the Great Western Trail. We conquered the one mile stretch between Schmale Rd. and Gary Ave. In 2 and 1/2 hours we filled 10 garbage bags. This does not seem like a lot, especially compared to past years. Could litter be a decreasing problem? We also found a spare tire for my mountain bike (pictures soon).

Some statistics:
• no trash, bottles, cans, etc. ON our section of trail, only to the sides.
• Budweiser is still the king of beers with Corona a close second.
• Power Bars are pretty popular.
• I only saw one snake.
• why we found a golf ball, a mini whiffle ball and a tennis ball is beyond me

I understand there was another group from EBC positioned along another portion of trail. Way to go!

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Metro Metric
by Jeff Wincentsen
July 26, 2004

I rode the 35 mile loop of the Metro Metric Sunday. This was a terrific route and overall was well marked. The rest areas were well stocked and the EBCers were very helpful. I really like the new route. Hampshire is a beautiful area. The cyclists I came across were very positive. Looking forward to next year!