Winter Trail Walk

It was a soft quiet winter Sunday morning as we pulled into the parking lot at the Jane Addams trailhead. Not a car was in sight; only the fresh show. I had an urge to shift from four to two-wheel drive and cut a couple of donuts before hoofing it up the trail.

As Sue Robinson and I stepped from my Chevy Blazer, Commodore Dennis (Robinson) was digitally recording the event for posterity. This was our first trail walk of the year—a four mile round trip to Scioto Mills.

The Jane Addams Trail stretches north from the trailhead through the bucolic burgs of Scioto Mills, Red Oak, Orangeville, Oneco, and Clarno on its way to Monroe, Wisconsin. We’ve walked and biked nearly every foot of it, save the newest section between Clarno and Monroe.

Occasionally we ride our bikes on the trail, but it is more satisfying as a walking path. The pace is slower and sensations stronger when draped in fall color and the bloomin bluebells in early spring.

The local snowmobile club helped construct and maintain this trail, and they've no doubt been itching to have fresh snow to ride on.

We weren’t long down the trail, before hearing a muffled rasp of a sled gliding up from behind. We scurried to the side of the trail to make way for three machines which passed us in short order. Once clear, they opened their throttles and sped away.

These motorini con skis are very powerful and fast. Their silent menacing exhaust note caused me to conjure up a suitable moniker from the past.

While in the Army at Fort Bliss, Texas, I reluctantly traded in my red "67" Alfa Duetto Spider for a 1971 BMW 1600 Sedan. Our beloved Alfa was ill suited to double dating, and we couldn't afford the more powerful and legendary 2002.

In those days, when you gassed up, an attendant filled your tank. As I pulled into a Chevron station, the good old Texan looked over my shiny new Bimmer and proclaimed, "This is what I like to call a whispering bomb."

And so the "whispering bombs" slid past us and disappeared in front of their white vortex. Left to silence, we followed their tracks, and I thought it probable that snowmobiles might coexist with human powered travel.

At last, with only a mile left on our four mile walk, the whispering sleds returned. By the time we reached the trailhead, they were packed up and gone.


To get to the Jane Addams Trailhead, follow US Route 20 a short mile west of the Illinois Route 26 Exit to Freeport. Turn south on Fairview Road. Go to the "tee" and turn right over the hill. The parking lot is on your right.

Eating and the Art of Cycle Aerodynamics

Winter has dumped several inches of snow and superchilled the Upper Left Hand Corner of Illinois. So there's nothing whatsoever to do but eat.

Now we can work on fattening up to increase our downhill speed. And since we're becoming more well rounded, we should be more aerodynamic as well.

This is a good time to put in a word for Mort & Saint's bar & grill at 114 S. Chicago Avenue in Freeport just next door to our Freeport Bicycle Company. Today's special was goulash replete with three pieces of grilled garlic bread. We washed it down with a couple mugs of diet cola (no endorsements for soft drink companies in this blog), and were out the door for under five bucks.

Mort's has the best Italian beef this side of Chicagoland, and their Italian meatball sandwich is terrific. The meatballs are larger than golf balls, and you get two sleeves on a great French role for -- you got it -- under five bucks!

While we were smacking at the Hungarian Goul, Duke Herrling remarked that Tyger Johnson was singing and playing his many instruments at 9 East Coffee on Stephenson Street this morning. Tyger is our renowned cyclocross champion who retired years ago to a Lightning F40 recumbent.

http://www.lightningbikes.com/f40.htm

Tyger is our local Lightning dealer and has sold most of the Lightning recumbents ridden in this area. Thanks to Tyger, the Upper Left Hand Corner may have more recumbent bikes per capita than any place in the world.

Nevertheless, the next time we find Tyger playing at 9 East Coffee, we're gonna get him some dark glasses and a monkey with a tin cup. With his talent, he should be able to make enough money to properly refit the shell on his F40.

Now, back to Jill's Goulash at Mort & Saint's. It was so deliciously filling that afterwards I felt obliged to stop in next door and talk bike riding with Ron Mattson at Freeport Bicycle. This was so therapeutic after a big lunch.

Ridin in Winter

This is the second winter season where our roads have been clear, and the invitation to ride our bikes has been with us nearly every day. And we're in Northwest Illinois-- the "Upper Left-hand Corner"-- in what is typically a frosty landscape in winter.

Herr Carl Beichel and I have logged over 130 miles since the first of January 2007. Our daily rides begin at 3:00 in the afternoon, and we roll in just as the light begins to fade. But we're on the other side of the winter solstice now, and each day the light will linger longer. Now, if only the snow holds back, we'll exceed our 200 miles during January of 2006.

On Saturday mornings, we head out from the corner of Harlem Center and Lily Creek Roads at 8:30 and ride north into the hills above Freeport. We punctuate each Saturday ride with a double espresso e dolce at the 9 East Coffee shop in downtown Freeport.

On Sunday mornings, we ride south from Highland Community College at 9:00. Our usual destination is Jerry's Cafe in Shannon where we warm up with waffles, eggs & sausage. The past few Sundays have been frosty, and our faces are in the wind as we ride to breakfast. But on the return trips, we catch the wind and sail with the sun at our backs and the sparkle in the trees.

Yup, winter riding is very special, and it sets the tone for what is to come in the cycling season.

This is a simple beginning to our bicycle blog in the Upper Left-hand Corner of Illinois. We'll add routes and destinations in Northwest Illlinois as we progress-- perhaps a photo or two-- as we figure this blog thing out.

So join us. Share your joy of riding. Every day on a bike is a good day.