This is our Bigdaddy—the Tour for Cancer Century. The route was originated by Dennis Robinson to touch nearly all the clinics in our health network, and it is one of the premier long rides in the Upper Left-Hand Corner of Illinois.

We start from our YMCA located on the Highland Community College campus and cycle north by northwest through the villages of Lena and Warren. The route then swings southwest down gorgeous Fiedler Road to Canyon Park Road—a wide blacktop which rolls south towards Stockton through a broad valley.

Our destination in downtown Stockton is Karen’s Restaurant for an early lunch. Our right of passage is a beastly 15% grade on Binkley Road which we call the Binkley Bonk. Pray that a dog doesn’t chase at your heels on the way up as it did me the first time I climbed the Bonk. Once on top, your reward is a spectacular westerly view from the summit.

Karen’s has humongous sandwiches and yummy pie. We tucked into piled high turkey clubs and bacon cheese burgers. Darrell Windell lured us to the rhubarb pie, and this prompted Andrew “Diet Right” Soria to proclaim that we were “an eating club with a bike disorder.”

From Stockton, our Century heads east over to the borough of Kent. My legs felt like lead with all that lounging and eating at Karen’s. But my tum was pleasantly full with fresh warmed homemade pie.

South of Kent, we tackle some big rollers and swing into another beautiful valley which meanders southwest along Loran Road towards Mount Carroll. We lovingly call this the Valle de Loran.

As we approached Mount Carroll, the pace quickened. Evidentally Karen’s pie wasn’t enough to satisfy our craving for sweets. Dr. Mike Perry and Chuck Garrett were locked in on Hawaiian Pineapple and other Blizzards at the Dairy Queen. Their flying P-38 recumbents set us up with a nice draft down to Mount Carroll.

Our route from Mount Carroll to Lanark runs off Route 40 onto Cyclone Ridge Road. Praise Almighty, the winds were out of the southwest. We set our spinnakers on Cyclone Ridge, and flew over the rollers to Lanark. From Lanark, it’s back to Freeport and Highland College via the village of Shannon with a short stop at Casey’s if called for.

Wanna ride this fabulous Century? Drop me a note. The course markers should remain visible for the next few months, and I’ll send you a map and detailed directions.

Better yet, come ride with us on June 28, 2008. All contributions go directly to our Ferguson Cancer Center here in Freeport.