Another Day Testriding The Illinois Mountains

A cloudy, tryst rainy day with a few rays of sunshine.

View from the saddle on yesterdays sunny but windy ride

After working for a few hours in the morning I took another ride into town. It had stopped raining but it was wet and windy when I started. riding the bike is like switching on a furnace, heating up from the inside out, and breaking a sweat in no time. I already see that one big challenge of this ride will be to stay at the right temperature, not too hot and not too cold, just right. Whats seems to be called for is going clothing optional beneath your rain gear and then put on some nice warm and dry cloth, when I do a stop.

While most of my body tends to heat up the one part, which seems not be impressed by the warmth are my feet. Close to the ground and in danger of getting wet, they got a lil bit cold today. enough for me to have the best intention to head back into town later this week to look for one of those awesome GoreTex socks and rain gear for my shoes.
Any suggestions for which socks, shoe raingear may be the best?

The Illinois Mountains

After gearing up and mounting all my new toys and accessories I went straight for the road to test and adjust and fit and make things as comfy as possible.

The ride took me straight west out of DeKalb. Riding the bike in this cool, cloudy, partly rainy weather I did my first stop after about 3 miles to remove most of my cloth. Impressive the heat one outputs when pedaling. Stripping to the underwear beneath my rain pants and a T-shirt beneath my rain jacket I was comfy pedaling onward. The next two stops were both a couple of miles down the road, tightening and adjusting the aero bar to better fit and providing me with a comfy ride.   

The ride overall should be a nice easy ride along these gently rolling unevenness of the Illinois plains as it is viewed from a car. From the saddle of your bike the view changes and these gently rolling unevenness turns very quickly into some Illinois Mountains.

One of the great things of the Illinois plains is that there is nothing which stops air movement, which is great for alternative energy and great exercise riding your bike against the wind. You really love the rolling hills, as the wind is less on the ride up-hill while it blows on the top and down hill. The best of all however is if you do a loop, heading out against the wind on the first leg and cruising fast on the way back in. Yeah rocking fast.
That's all for today.
Have a great night everybody, I will sleep blissfully

Gearing Up and First Test Rides

The past couple of days I spent among other things gearing up my bike for the big Trip. New acquisitions are a Surly front rack and a center kick stand from the local bike store North Central Cyclery here in DeKalb , an T1 aero bar from REI, new Ortlieb Front Bags, and a rear view mirror.

Current Configuration without the front rack

The Surly Front Rack

The Center Kick Stand

While choosing the large components was easy and relatively straight forward I am still testing the mirror. Mounting the mirror on my road bike handle bar the mirror itself if mounted at the end of the bar is not in my direct view when biking. Mounting it on the end of the aero bar I would look straight into the mirror however I also would be blocking the view. Mounting it at the end of my curved handle bar the mirror is not in view and I have to look sidewise down to check on traffic. Still this may be better than having to turn your head all the way around. At the end I choose the CatEye rear view mirror because of the size of the mirror itself. The negative about the mirror is that the mounting is a little bit flimsy and I need to adjust the mirror frequently. 

What's still missing are a small bag for the front, something for inbetween the handle bars and I am still debating about the right bike computer.  more on this in another blog.
 

All packed up and ready to take off to new Adventures

After returning from the US in mid/late March I had a busy busy schedule in Germany. Preparing for my BIG Move I sorted through 30 years of live in Germany.

What's the good German saying

Das Gute ins Töpfchen - das Schlechte ins Kröpfchen
The good ones in the bucket the bad ones will be eaten.

Following this advice half of my belongings were packed up in boxes ready for departure to Australia, the rest received a final glance, may be a picture and than put to good use in the recycling bin.

Some of the highlights were old love letters, pictures from childhood, receipts of purchases, and lots of my travel pictures, which I carefully separated the negatives from the pictures, part of which I am hand carrying and the other part will be shipped.

I will post a couple of highlights on my Ocean Rock Picture Blog.

At the end I reduced my belongings in Germany to about 14 boxes, my apprenticeship master piece - a slide sorter secretary, a few other smaller furniture items from my carpenter years, a couple of picture frames and large photo albums. All of which I hope to ship after I settled down in Tassie. I am also shipping my motorbike, Honda Africa Twin XRV 650, which I hope to ride extensively in my new homeland.

Now off to my latest adventure 4200 km bike ride from Vancouver to the Polar Ocean.
More in my next Blog