Crosswalks to Nowhere

At lunch today, Bill, Chris, and I walked over to Kozy's. The main purpose of the trip was to see if they would match a price Bill found on the internet for some new tires for his bike. The more insidious purpose of the trip was so Bill could talk me into buying a new road bike.

Some of you know that I have a 1990 Schwinn Woodlands mountain bike as my main summer ride. The bike has served me well over the years. Admittedly, there was very little mileage put on it between 1992-2000, but the past four years have more than made up for it.

This year, I am doing the MS150 ride between Waubonsee State College and NIU. That's 75 miles per day over the weekend of June 26-27. (Here is a link to my pledge site at the MS Society-- if any of you are so inclined-- and here is a link to our team's site.)

The idea is that my old Schwinn may not be up to the challenge, or moreso, that nothin's better than a new, lighweight toy to ride through the cornfields.

So in we walk to the bike shop, and the first thing I see are road bikes in the $1500-3000 range. Now, I can appreciate fine machinery as much as the next guy, but I have an issue paying more for a bike than several mortgage payments (hey, I got a good rate, what can I say?). You get my point, though.

The salesman led me to this bike, which actually seems pretty nice. I rode it around inside the store (it handles beautifully on oak flooring), almost knocking down a guy who was looking at a $3500 number. There's a discount for MS150 riders, plus they've got this six-month-no-interest thing happening, which makes it tempting.

So, we'll see what happens. I've got to make sure the priorities are set straight since I still have the painter scheduled for early June (I'm completely used to the splotches by now-- it'll be strange to have them gone) and there are some other things I wanna do.

Well, I went ahead and ordered the new bike I told you about the other day. It's supposed to be ready next Thursday, which will be a very cool thing. I was able to take a demo model out on the street today, and despite the awful weather I put it through its paces.

Glenn asked me if the bike was going to be a male or a female. I think I'll have to wait until I "meet" it to determine its gender. And maybe a name, too-- "Allez" is okay, but we'll see if this thing has a personality.

Last night, Bob and I enjoyed a couple of Harp lagers at Peggy's. He also provided some new knives for his web site, which I'll be updating soon. (The Friends finale was on in the bar, and at one point one of the bartenders yelled, "Is anyone watchin' this?" and turned the channel.)

Tonight: shopping to fill that beverage-laden fridge I showed you guys the other day. I may even take another picture just to prove that I am on more than a liquid diet.

I mentioned there was an altercation at Emma's soccer game on Saturday. Here's what happened:

At the end of almost every kids' sporting event I've seen, the kids from each team line up and high-five the kids from the other team. This is designed to be a show of sportsmanship. After high-fiving, the kids run back to the side of the field where their parents and coaches are.

The kids on Emma's team had barely made it back to their side, when one of the moms on the other team came across the field, dragging her crying daughter behind her. "Who punched my kid?? What kinda team are you running over here?" (The answer that morning, by the way, was a losing team.) A couple of the parents from our side tried calming this lady down to see what the problem was, but she was spun 'way up. Her kid was crying, then some of the kids on our side were crying, and this lady started lunging at the kids individually, saying "Did you do it?!" (Side note: this would be a good spot for an interrobang.)

The coaches, for some reason, stayed out of it, and the referees said they saw nothing. The other parents were trying to explain that if someone on our team did something, we'll find out what it was, but her screaming and upsetting the kids wasn't helping the situation. By the time it was over, we had a bunch of really upset 9- and 10-year olds and nobody knew what really happened.

I've seen parents screaming at the refs and their own kids, including "moms on the mat" and a dad who was thrown out of a basketball game when his insults to the ref were called a technical foul against his son's team, but never have I seen a parent come after the kids on another team. That's just wrong.

And this in a community that teaches the kids about Character Counts. At least only one parent lost her head.

"Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world." -Grant Petersen (Thanks to Bill for this one.)

I took the new bike through Busse Woods last night. I caught the trail at the north end (conveniently located one mile from my door) and buzzed through the entire loop in about 45 minutes, which is a new record for me. That was 15 miles from my door back to my door.

I was surprised at how fast I was able to move. It could be because I've been used to riding a mountain bike, or maybe those cycling classes are doing a lot of good, but when I pushed the pedals on this thing, maaan, the bike just went.

Now, if this was a couple years ago, I'd be tempted to stop at Maggiano's right off the trail and get an order to go. I didn't, though.

I'm starting to write my entry for this. It seems like a good way to channel some of that springtime energy.

This coming Sunday morning is Bike The Drive. This is a very cool event where the City of Chicago closes Lake Shore Drive to cars so that 25,000 people and their bikes can take it over.

Having grown up in Chicago, this is a real trip. Lake Shore Drive is a 15-mile (or so) stretch of road that offers an unobstructed view of the lake on the east and a view of the city on the west. It's very scenic (it's featured in a lot of movies), but most of the time you miss the view because (a) if you're driving you have to look out for the other insane drivers; and/or (b) if you're a passenger it can pass by too quickly. Riding on this road at an average of 14 mph at 6:00 on a Sunday morning in May on a bicycle gives you a completely different perspective.

This will be the third year for the event, and also my third year doing it. Some of the members of the Bitems team will be there, warming up for the MS150 next month. My riding partner will be a very cool chick named Becky.

I'll have the camera with me, so expect some photos on Sunday.

4:30 am. I was dreaming I was in a bar in Mexico, listening to a raven-haired singer crooning a song in her low, sultry voice. I was waiting for someone to join me. In fact, the name was spoken at one point.

Then I opened my eyes, and I realized it was my alarm clock going off, and I had incorporated a radio program called Voz Latina into my dream. Cool radio show, and a really nice way to wake up.

I looked out the window and saw that it wasn't raining. This meant it was time to get ready for Bike The Drive.

With three bikes loaded on my car, I went inside to wake up the girls. A little bleary-eyed, we got downtown at about 6:15 and crossed the starting line at 6:30. Thousands of people were already out, so I suppose the hazy skies and the threat of storms from the weather dudes (for the past three days) didn't deter most riders.

The scenery was great. And while we didn't get to see the sunrise over the lake, it was pretty cool to see bikes on LSD instead of cars.

With the wind at our backs (remember this for later), we made the 8.5 miles from Grant Park to Hollywood Ave in about 45 minutes. At the turnaround, there were muffins, bagels, bananas, water, and some sort of dried fruit-leather thing. We enjoyed the break.

The return trip was a bit more challenging. With the wind at our faces, Emma started to tucker out. We walked part of the way, but we crossed the finish line almost two hours after we started, which was pretty respectable for a leisurely ride.

(Although I suppose I should say that we would have crossed the finish line, had there actually been one. There was just this mass of people in the park when we hit the end of the ride.)

We didn't stay long for the after-ride festivities. There was very little free swag to be had this year, and while they were serving a pancake breakfast, we decided to head back to the car, load up the bikes, and head for home. Good thing, too: it started pouring as we were heading out on the Kennedy just 10 minutes after this photo was snapped.

An awesome event.

(And I apologize for the bad pun in the title. I didn't get much sleep last night. :-)

I was feeling ambitious this morning, so at 7:00 I was on the North Branch Trail. I picked it up just south of Touhy Avenue (location "I" on the map), and went all the way north to the Botanic Gardens (location "A"). I actually tried to get over to the gas station at Lake-Cook and Skokie Highway for a refreshment, but traffic was deadly so I gave up.

My entire ride, from start at my car to finish at my car, was 35 miles. I did the whole thing in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Not too shabby if I say so myself.

This was the first paved trail I ever rode, and that was many years ago. An interesting (well, to me) thing about this ride is that since I lived in that area for a while, the soundtrack playing in my head as I ride always falls to songs from the mid to late 1980s. At one point, I was pushing my cadence to Siouxsie and the Banshees' version of Kraftwerk's "Hall of Mirrors" from their Through The Looking Glass album.

It also gave me a couple of musical ideas for the "Dude, I Forgot About That!" category. (Later this week, I promise.)

The other significant thing about the trail was the fact that parts of it looked like they were covered with snow, despite the 80-degree temperature. The cottonwood trees are shedding like mad, and inhaling these things while zipping along at 20 MPH can be hazardous.

Two weeks to the MS150.

12 hours from now, I will be at Waubonsee College in Aurora, taking off the starting line on the 2004 Tour de Farms for the MS Society. I'll be riding with the BITEMS team.

All those cycling classes and rides through the woods should pay off, and I've been carbo-loading for the past couple of days (in other words, pigging out of the stuff I've been going light on).

Thanks to everyone who pledged their support. If you want to pledge, there's still time to do so by following this link.

Being a benefactor has its benefits. At least one of you knows this.

I'll have a full report and photos early next week.

On Sunday afternoon, I finished the final piece of the MS150. My total mileage was around 110.

(Here are several members of BITEMS at the very end of the ride on Sunday:)

I did the 75 mile route on Saturday from Wabonsee to NIU. The first 40 miles were pretty easy, and the rest stops were a great way to pace myself.

The first challenge came in around 35 miles when we stopped for lunch in (appropriately enough) Sandwich, Illinois. Glenn mentioned that my rear wheel looked funny and it turned out my tire was about to blow. There were mechanics at each stop, so I bought a new tire and continued on my way.

Somewhere on the stretch where I crossed the 40 mile mark, my legs and butt started to complain. The rest stop at the 50 mile mark was more than welcome. The rest of Saturday's ride was a bit more challenging, but we made it to NIU sometime in mid-to-late afternoon.

Irshad and I set up the tent and we all went for showers in the dorms, followed by dinner and then a couple beers (okay, one Rolling Rock and two sips of a Bud Light for me). We crashed by 9:30.

The next morning we got up around 5:30, got dressed, had breakfast, and started on our way back. I'd already decided (well, certain parts of my body decided) that I was going to do the 35 mile route back. By 1:00 in the afternoon, the whole thing was complete.

One of the coolest things about the end of the ride was the fact that there were massage therapists there to work the knots out of the riders' aching muscles. I probably would have been a lot stiffer had I not done the massage.

Thanks again to everyone who sponsored me. I haven't quite decided if this will be an annual thing yet. :-)

More photos, including our official team photos, will be up at www.bitems.org as soon as we get them.

The BITEMS team website was updated tonight. You'll see lots of photos of the team on this year's MS150 bike ride.

I had every intention of doing the 7:15 am cycling class today, but it was just too hard to get out of bed. Instead, I took out the Schwinn and went for a ride. This is a shot of Sunset Meadows at about 8:00 this morning. In the distance behind the guy walking his dog, you may be able to squint out another guy practicing on the driving range.

The 2005 MS150 is coming up, and once again the BITEMS team is riding. Lisa is a member of the team this year, and so is Becky. In order to participate, we need to raise donations.

If you'd like to contribute to my fundraising effort for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, click here. (There's also a link under the "About Me" heading on the right.) Contributions to my name credit both Becky and me.

We appreciate your support!

Since 2002, I have found myself on a cool Sunday morning each May looking at exactly what you see in the picture above.

Today was the annual Bike The Drive event in Chicago. Becky and I left the house at 4:45 this morning to join the festivities. We met up with Glenn and Lauren at the starting line.

The ride started on Balbo just east of Columbus, and riders had a choice of doing the longer North leg or shorter South trek. The entire route is about 30 miles and we were planning on doing the whole thing, but my rear tire was heading downhill (in the figurative sense) and we decided to end our ride after the first section. Out total distance was almost 18 miles, which took us from Grant Park to Bryn Mawr (where Becky made a call on her banana phone) and back to the start. There was a pancake breakfast in the park, which was a nice ending to the event.

The weather cooperated perfectly: very little wind, few clouds, and a lot of sunshine.

And now that Becky has the cycling bug, we're off to look for a new bike for her.

On Monday, we went to Kozy's and got Becky a new bike. She got the Giant Sedona ST, which is what they call a comfort-mountain bike. (Evidently, now there are subcategories in the comfort bike range; they also have a comfort-road bike series.) The bike in the photo is the men's version; Becky got the women's.

I remember buying Becky her first bike-- it was a little pink Barbie bike with streamers and a pink and white basket on the front and training wheels. I got it one night at Service Merchandise in Crystal Lake, and I remember assembling it in the garage until about 11:00 at night. She outgrew it before she gave up the training wheels, so her second (another pink bike) was the one on which she became truly two-wheel-mobile. Now that she graduated to a real bike-shop bike, it's only a matter of time before I find myself handing over a set of keys for a four-wheeled vehicle to her.

Becky's new ride means that Emma moves up to Becky's old 18-speed mountain bike, so I expect we'll be out there riding a lot this summer.

On Saturday morning I got up early to take the Specialized out for a spin. (I've been riding the Schwinn so far.) It's been inside since I got it back from its end-of-year tuneup, so it should have been in top working order.

Wrong. Nearly every gear grinds, except for a few when I'm on the middle ring in front. And the knocking in the left pedal that I noticed on last year's MS150 is still there.

As a result, I drove to the office today with the bike in the back, and this afternoon it'll be time for another Kozy's run. This is probably the most inconvenient facet of buying the bike in the city. They claim they'll be able to turn the bike around in a day, which is good.

We did a good deal of riding yesterday with the kids, and I put new speedometers on Lisa's and Becky's bikes. Next weekend, maybe we'll take on the forest preserve paths.

We did not do the MS150 this weekend; the kids were exhausted, plus Becky was not feeling well and I felt that riding between cornfields in 90-plus degree / high humidity weather was not the best thing.

I understand from speaking with my teammates who did ride that it was fairly brutal out there. Some of the other younger members of the team didn't make it through the second day.

The contributions we received will still go to the MS Society and will go in support of the BITEMS team who did ride, so thanks to everyone who gave to the cause.

Here are the White Sox outfielders during a pitcher switch at today's game against the Seattle Mariners. That's Jermaine Dye, Aaron Rowland, and Scott Podsednik taking a short break.

Rowland had the defensive play of the game when he snagged Richie Sexson's fly ball by bouncing off the center field wall, and it happened just a few feet from us.

I got my hands on some great tickets-- front-row bleachers in center-left field-- and Becky said they were the best tickets she ever had at a baseball game. I think this was the first time I've been in the bleachers since I was about 13. Of course, back then it was old Comiskey Park and Harry Caray would come out the the bleachers and lead the Seventh Inning Stretch surrounded by fans with stacks of Falstaff Beer Cups.

Times change, and the old park and Harry are gone (I never thought of Harry as the "Cub Man"-- real Chicago fans know that title belongs to Jack Brickhouse-- to me, he'll always be the guy slurring his words through a staticy picture on channel 44).

We had a great time. It was a perfect day, too: the only clouds in the sky were the ones created by the fireworks that went off after each of the Sox' home runs. When it got a little too hot, fans were cooling off in the shower booth just beneath the scoreboard:

It was also Carlton Fisk tribute day, so we each got oversized baseball cards with Fisk's stats on them:

The Sox beat the Mariners 3-1, and are now in a commanding lead, with the best record in baseball as I write this. Chicago fans need to look south if they want to see a winning team in their own front yard.

"Win Or Die Trying"-- those were fans in the bleachers at the White Sox-Mariners game we saw last August. It looks like the White Sox won.

Today's quote comes courtesy of Scott Podsednik.

Our intention last night was to walk over to Harry's or Peggy's to watch the game, but once we got settled in with an order from Chipotle we were pretty much glued to the TV. When the last out was called, there was yelling above us and fireworks blasting in the street.

Yes, it was a long time coming, but at last we have a winning baseball team in this town. Somewhere, Harry Caray is walking between towers of empty Falstaff cups, singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame..."

Big homecoming parade tomorrow for the Sox. Tune in for an update.

The White Sox had a motorcade from US Cellular Field to the north end of the Loop today. Here's Ozzie Guillen at the front of one of the buses.

This was the first ticker-tape parade I've ever seen, and it was very cool. Here's the sky with a couple people on top of the LaSalle Bank Building tossing bagfuls of confetti (the picture is small, but trust me, they're there):

The morning was pretty cloudy, but by the time the Sox made it to LaSalle Street the sky had turned clear and blue.

I've heard several estimates of how many people were there (1.5 million was the last count). All I know is I personally saw hundreds just passing between the Sears Tower and the corner of Adams and Wells.

The parade ended with a rally next to the Chicago River. The crowds only grew thicker as we went north, so I went back to the office. :-)

It was a great day to welcome home the hometown winners.

This morning, we joined 19,996 of our best friends for this year's annual Bike The Drive event.

Like last year, we did the north leg of the ride (Balbo to Bryn Mawr). Unlike last year, Lisa and Emma joined Becky and me.

The kids weren't all that hot on getting up at 4:30 am and there was a bit of a mechanical problem on Lisa's bike rack on the way there, but in all it was a good time.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

The Twin Links Mini Golf Course in Mt Prospect is closing tomorrow after 42 years in business.

There will be a 24-hour care facility and imaging center on the site, which I suppose is better than another bunch of retail.

Having grown up about a mile east of Twin Links, I have a lot of memories of the place and its two 18-hole courses. Many of my early summertime days were spent at the course with my elder siblings (I remember how cool the scorecards and little pencils looked), followed by a visit to the McDonald's across the street.

Many days during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in high school were spent there-- my friends and I used to ride our bikes there, followed by a visit to the Ben Franklin and Tony's Hobby Lobby in Arlington Heights.

When I was a senior, my high school actually had a Miniature Golf unit in Physical Education-- they would bus us from the school to Twin Links, where we barely had enough time to play 10 holes before being shuttled back.

I had several dates there, as well. That was where I learned the fine art of how (and when) to miss sinking an easy putt.

In the early 1990s, now an adult and homeowner, I started visiting the new batting cages. I realized it was lot of fun and a good way to get rid of the frustrations of the day in both good times and not-so-good times.

I introduced my kids to Twin Links in the early 2000s, and they've been hooked ever since.

The other night's game under the lights was a lot like I remembered the place, but as you can see in the photo above the fluorescent "gas station" style lights weren't turned on-- their services were now provided by halogen lamps mounted on high poles.

Over the years, the place has changed a bit; some of the "hazards" were upgraded-- a new Statue of Liberty was installed in the 80s and a carousel was added in the 90s-- but it mostly remained the same, including the water hazard with its little blue pool on #8, the guillotine on #4, and the scorecard stands at each hole with their hand-painted lettering.

The girls, Lisa, and I played the North Course on Thursday night and the South Course on Friday morning. Here's the scorecard from Thursday night, filled in by Becky:

The event on Sunday is supposed to include giveaways of Twin Links memorabilia; we're not sure if we're going to attend, but we may stop by for one final time. In the event we don't make it, here are some scans of a blank Twin Links scorecard, front and back.

We'll sure miss the place.

We decided to spend a gloomy, rainy Labor Day at Putting Edge Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf in Hoffman Estates.

That's Lisa in her pink Chicago Bulls hat-- the logo was glowing eeeerily, much like everything else there.

Here's Emma with an octopus. Or a squid.

Man, blacklights really cheese off digital cameras-- especially the camera in my phone, which is what I used to take this. And you should have seen what these photos looked like when Photoshop tried to "auto-correct" them.

Details of our visit to Putting Edge are covered in our September 9 episode of The Cheap Date Show.

We went to the Cubs game today and watched them win over the Astros by a score of 7-6. (Well, you can see that above.) Lisa's brother got the tickets, and her folks came up for the game.

The photo was taken just before the "W" flag was hoisted.

And thanks to Lisa's new digital camera, you can even see the dude working the scoreboard. :-)

We spent Sunday on Tortuga, Liz and Bob's boat on the Fox River.

We launched at The Broken Oar, where the boat is docked, in Port Barrington (the town formerly known as Fox River Valley Gardens). We went south on the river to Fox River Grove, then back up north to lunch at Kief's Reef in McHenry.

It was a great way to spend one of the last nice, warm weekends of the year.

Last night, the Rolling Meadows Mustangs defeated the Niles Notre Dame Dons 37-0. It was quite a game.

Next weekend, the Mustangs move on to play Lake Zurich on their turf. Let's see if RMHS can keep the momentum going!

The Rolling Meadows Mustangs were defeated this afternoon by the Lake Zurich Bears, 10-7.

After holding the lead for much of the game, the Mustangs finally went down in the second half.

It was a great season, and we're glad to see the Mustangs go this far.

The Rolling Meadows Mustangs Girls Basketball season has ended.

The sophomore team (shown above after their win over Wheeling on February 1) finished their season on Tuesday night at Palatine High School with an 8-7 record. Pretty impressive, and it bodes well for next year!

The team's final game, which was scheduled to be played at home on Wednesday night, was canceled due to weather. Becka and her teammates were heartbroken that their chance to end the season at home didn't happen.

1-2-3.. Mustangs!

On Sunday morning, we were part of the 20,000 people who swarmed Lake Shore Drive for the annual Bike The Drive.

We started out in Grant Park (Jackson and LSD) at about 5:45 am, and we completed the entire 30-mile path-- north to Bryn Mawr and south to The Museum of Science and Industry-- by 10:00 am. We took a leisurely pace because this is a family event, and there were a lot of people riding who haven't been on their bikes since last year's event. Our trip up and down the Drive also included a couple of rest and refreshment stops, along with taking advantage of some good photo ops. The good thing is that when we finished we weren't exhausted.

I've mentioned this here before, but there's nothing like riding along the lakefront with the cool air blowing around you and only the sounds of bicycle gears and tires in your ears.

Lisa rode her Raleigh C30 and I brought out the trusty Schwinn Woodlands. I haven't done any Spring prep on my Specialized Allez, but I have the feeling there may be an event in its future...

As always, it's a great start to the cycling season, and I'm sure we'll be on the bikes a lot this summer.

We got up early on Sunday morning to make the drive to Milwaukee and join the 2008 Miller Lite Ride for the Arts. This is a great ride through downtown Milwaukee and the surrounding areas, and it was a beautiful day for all 6,000 participants.

Our ride began in the middle of downtown Milwaukee and went in an almost-loop that ended at the Summerfest grounds. You'll see our post-ride refreshment below.

I brought along the Allez for this ride, and it did very well in spite of several potholes.

This is a ride that will be on our card for next year!

Even though it's early February, we've already registered for two events that mark the beginning of summer-- Bike The Drive in Chicago on May 24 and The Miller Lite Ride for the Arts in Milwaukee two weeks later, on June 7.

These are both awesome events-- I've done Bike the Drive every year since its inception, and last year was our first time at the Miller Lite Ride.

Bike the Drive features the annual closing of Lake Shore Drive so you can ride your bike along the lakefront from The Museum of Science and Industry all the way north to Bryn Mawr Avenue. The Miller Lite ride starts in downtown Milwaukee, runs south through several neighborhoods, and then back up to end at the Summerfest grounds.

If it stays nice here for the next day or so I may just get one of the bikes out for a quick spin.

As is our May tradition, we rode in this year's Bike The Drive event, and as always, it was a blast.

This year, Lisa, Emma, and I were up before dawn with our bikes on the back of the car, zipping down the expressway towards Grant Park. We arrived just after the start of the ride (5:30 am) and we rode the north 15-mile loop.

This year I rode my Specialized Allez road bike as opposed to the Schwinn hybrid I've used in the past. This was a good idea-- the Allez is significantly lighter and really rides well on the freshly-paved patches of Lake Shore Drive.

After the ride, we had breakfast at the White Palace Grill, always a favorite.

Next up: the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts in Milwaukee.

Actually, it was a newer ballpark.

Here, for your midsummer enjoyment, is part of the fireworks show that followed the Schaumburg Flyers - Winnipeg Goldeyes game at Alexian Field on August 1, 2009.

Enjoy!