I let myself sleep in a tad bit Saturday morning and when I got up, I got my things together (that I had obviously prepared the night before! If you know me at all!) to drive out to the South Barrington/Algonquin area. This is about a 1 hour 15 drive from my apartment.
It was going to work out nicely because my parents were having the family over for a belated Passover dinner that also worked out to be my birthday celebration.
Anyway, I got to Presidential Park and prepared for my 3 hour ride. I was a bit nervous because I had only been out there once before, last year, and I wasn't sure if I'd remember the loop and streets we had taken. Thankfully I did and there were a few small groups of riders around too. This made me feel a lot better because when I got there I realized that I no longer had a spare tube in my bike pack, having used it at my last tune up and bike fitting. Thankfully, I didn't need it! I sent my parents, who live somewhat close in Hawthorn Woods, a pin so they knew where I started and in the case, I got a flat and needed help.
I rode around the actual small park several times initially. It's flat and it was the first time I was using my new shoes and clips outside, so I wanted to make sure I felt comfortable before hitting the real roads. I started my timer for my warm up this way. However, I realized after about 20 minutes that I was in "run" mode, so had to change over to bike mode. ((This is why if you look at the attached charts, you don't see a full 3 hours.))
I think I rode the loop 4-6 times. I haven't figured out how to measure the miles in the loop itself, but here it is:
In between each loop set, I also would ride around the park so I could insure I would hit 3 hours, but also be done with those three hours near my car and not half way back through the loop!!
After the first hour, I kept thinking, "Oh my gosh, this is going to take a long time", but then I got into a rhythm and it wasn't too bad.
It was going to work out nicely because my parents were having the family over for a belated Passover dinner that also worked out to be my birthday celebration.Anyway, I got to Presidential Park and prepared for my 3 hour ride. I was a bit nervous because I had only been out there once before, last year, and I wasn't sure if I'd remember the loop and streets we had taken. Thankfully I did and there were a few small groups of riders around too. This made me feel a lot better because when I got there I realized that I no longer had a spare tube in my bike pack, having used it at my last tune up and bike fitting. Thankfully, I didn't need it! I sent my parents, who live somewhat close in Hawthorn Woods, a pin so they knew where I started and in the case, I got a flat and needed help.
I rode around the actual small park several times initially. It's flat and it was the first time I was using my new shoes and clips outside, so I wanted to make sure I felt comfortable before hitting the real roads. I started my timer for my warm up this way. However, I realized after about 20 minutes that I was in "run" mode, so had to change over to bike mode. ((This is why if you look at the attached charts, you don't see a full 3 hours.))
I think I rode the loop 4-6 times. I haven't figured out how to measure the miles in the loop itself, but here it is:In between each loop set, I also would ride around the park so I could insure I would hit 3 hours, but also be done with those three hours near my car and not half way back through the loop!!
After the first hour, I kept thinking, "Oh my gosh, this is going to take a long time", but then I got into a rhythm and it wasn't too bad.
Afterwards, I went to my parents house, had a snack, a nap and a shower and then celebrated Passover with the family until about 8:15pm when I drove back to the city.
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