April Fools

Sunday, April the 1st. We start our ride as usual from Highland College hoping for a thirty miler. But the wind builds out of the southwest, and clouds begin to roll in.

We ride west down Pearl City Road to Block Road, then south on Mill Grove Road through Owl’s Glen across the Yellow Creek. We work together to shelter each other from what is now a ferocious southern wind.

Turning right, we ride west along Loran Road. Andrew “the Psych” Soria reveals that the tech thing on his handle bar says it is a balmy 57 degrees. I scarcely believe my ears which are now freezing. The cold wind blows up my left nostril giving me a great pain in the sinus.

Ominous dark clouds continue to mount ahead in the west, and it begins to drizzle. It is time to bail.

Our fellow Honeywellers, Bill Leibman and Andrew Soria, have psycled in all sorts of nasty weather. Neither protests shortening this ride. So, we dodge north on Route 73 and time-trial it back from Pearl City beating our peddles in retreat. On the way, Andrew’s tech thing reads 49 degrees F. And this wind is out of the south??

Such is the promise of early April. Opening day at Wrigley Field brings nothing but rain and cold wet hot dogs. Shouldn’t we wait another month and go back to play in the palm trees and citrus groves?

Instead, we move daylight savings time forward, as hope ever springs eternal in the Upper Left Hand Corner of Illinois.

Monday, April 2nd finds us licking our wounds from yesterday’s spoils. Chuck Beichel and I meet at 4:15 in the afternoon to try again at our thirty mile ride. Today, the temperature has moderated along with the wind which is now a light northwest breeze.

We point our P-38 recumbents down the new tarmac on Pearl City Road. “Rush hour” traffic on Pearl City chases us on to Babbs Grove Road. We climb the long hump and plummet gleefully down the steep western slope.

Sunday’s episode is all but erased. Today, we are on a good roll.

From Pearl City, we ride west on Goldmine Road up the long lazy incline. The wind is barely a factor, as Chuck and I work together. Our reward is a grand descent into one of our favorite valleys in the Upper Left Hand Corner. At the bottom, we turn left off Goldmine onto South Kent Road.

Now, we’re in the big gear following our peddles and rolling effortlessly alongside the East Plum River between the ridgelines. With the wind pushing, South Kent Road is two and a half miles of wunderbar cycling.

At the church at Loran Road, we turn back east and climb the steep long hill with the wind at our backs. Then, it’s back down the east slope to Lott Road where we turn right.

Now, we reverse last month’s Marztag route following Lott Road over the rollers to Saben Church Road and back east towards home. This is a fine thirty mile ride out of Highland College. But ride it on a good day when the wind is light and westerly and in your favor.

We all have been two kinds of April Fools. We’ve wimped out and stayed at home when we should have been outside with our face in the wind. And we’ve beaten ourselves to death against a relentless cold gale. Today, Chuck and I got it right.