Day 1 - Leaving Chicago
11/06/13 21:14
Everyone was worried about this part of the trip. Worried both about the dangers of the traffic in downtown Chicago, and maybe more so about the likelihood of getting shot in some of the areas that we would be riding through!
The first problem we addressed with an early start, aiming for 05:30 and actually achieving 06:30, which if you know anything about how I am at hitting deadlines in the morning, was nothing short of a miracle.
Starting out at Lakeshore Drive
The risks from the second issue were brought down to a tolerable level by the time of day. If you take a look at the map and listing of shootings here you can see that most shootings take place between 22:00 and 02:00, with the odd body being discovered around 4am, and most people taking a break from shooting in the dawn hours!! Having Michael cycle along with me for the bulk of the first day, helped to make us a bigger target, and his local knowledge helped with providing encouragement “not to stop for anything other than a solidly red light” over one particular 15 block part of the route.
Once we were out of the downtown, having Michael alongside was a terrific help with navigating and just establishing the confidence in what I was doing. He was using a regular bike, and put in a great effort to stay with me for the first 50 miles despite his lack of practice and the considerable pain in large areas of his body that an unrehearsed long distance ride caused, I would have had a terrible time getting started without his support.
The last 13 miles I did on my own, which proved a very sensible decision on Michael’s part as the trail beside the I & M canal was the worst terrain we had encountered all day, mainly compacted gravel, but with great sections where it had been repaired with deep areas of sharp stone into which my tyres would sink, making progress extremely slow and tiring, and with a considerable risk for a puncture. The experience was topped off by a rainstorm, with some thunder and lightning which did give me the chance to try out my new Gor Tex rain jacket, but also made the trail even more demanding, as you can see from the heart rate trace on the day’s GPS track.
All day long Bridget had done a great job of providing the sag wagon for us, and I was delighted when she and Michael picked me up at the Dresden Access Point.
The first problem we addressed with an early start, aiming for 05:30 and actually achieving 06:30, which if you know anything about how I am at hitting deadlines in the morning, was nothing short of a miracle.
Starting out at Lakeshore Drive
The risks from the second issue were brought down to a tolerable level by the time of day. If you take a look at the map and listing of shootings here you can see that most shootings take place between 22:00 and 02:00, with the odd body being discovered around 4am, and most people taking a break from shooting in the dawn hours!! Having Michael cycle along with me for the bulk of the first day, helped to make us a bigger target, and his local knowledge helped with providing encouragement “not to stop for anything other than a solidly red light” over one particular 15 block part of the route.
Once we were out of the downtown, having Michael alongside was a terrific help with navigating and just establishing the confidence in what I was doing. He was using a regular bike, and put in a great effort to stay with me for the first 50 miles despite his lack of practice and the considerable pain in large areas of his body that an unrehearsed long distance ride caused, I would have had a terrible time getting started without his support.
The last 13 miles I did on my own, which proved a very sensible decision on Michael’s part as the trail beside the I & M canal was the worst terrain we had encountered all day, mainly compacted gravel, but with great sections where it had been repaired with deep areas of sharp stone into which my tyres would sink, making progress extremely slow and tiring, and with a considerable risk for a puncture. The experience was topped off by a rainstorm, with some thunder and lightning which did give me the chance to try out my new Gor Tex rain jacket, but also made the trail even more demanding, as you can see from the heart rate trace on the day’s GPS track.
All day long Bridget had done a great job of providing the sag wagon for us, and I was delighted when she and Michael picked me up at the Dresden Access Point.