The Cue Sheet

The Newsletter of the Elmhurst Bicycle Club
Riding Strong for over 31 Years

November
2009

EBC Self Contained Tour of Finger Lakes, NY

By Susan Sperl

A big wonderful thanks to Richard Diebold for planning and organizing our 7 day Finger Lakes, NY self contained trip!

Such beautiful scenery! Great waterfalls! Great weather! Great group of comradery!

On one ridge overlooking a long finger lake and viewing the other ridge .... just gorgeous! One morning found us making a huge U turn but the 5 mile downhill was well worth viewing the scenery (a perfect error) .... fantastic!

This was almost an everyday happening. Hearing comments of the scenery reminding them of Germany and France .... WOW!

As Richard kept reminding us, to see wonderful scenery you have to have hills. The hills were unending but most were doable. Ithaca had the steepest. Their maps showed 8-10% grade and over 10% plus failing to mention the steepest grade so as not to scare anyone away?

All greatly appreciated this trip not being all about biking. We hiked some of the most beautiful gorges. I thought I was on 'Fantasy Island'! I was sure at 'Rainbow Falls' I would hear the call, "The Plane, The Plane!"

All the falls were so special. Watkins Glen (a mile long gorge), Fillmore had a 'lace' waterfall that was mesmerizing and 8 bridges, and Buttermilk had waterfall after waterfall each with it's own pool and a 450' climb.

Unfortunately, all the swimming was shut down .... darn!

The sightseeing was great, too! The Corning Museum with glass blowing demos, flame forming, and a guided tour of a huge glass table, floor lamp, vases and paperweights was so interesting! The ancient glass was a very informative learning experience. The town of Corning and Steuben glass had so much history. Many of us enjoyed the maze on the 'ole bridge'. Some of us enjoyed some great shopping, too.

We were fortunate to experience the great sight of old vintage sports cars parading up and down the main street of Watkins Glen. We had no idea that was the biggest weekend for them with an reenactment of the Vintage Sports Car Race through town. We had them camping next to us, as well. On the our ride out of town, many paraded speedily past us on their way to the race track outside of town .... what a show! Cars I have never even heard of.

Tom had to have a new derailleur in Auburn. The bike shop was so efficient that they had him on the road in no time. Unfortunately, his cable broke the next day and he could not shift out of high gear. Tom was able to have his repair done in Ithaca, have lunch and still beat us to the campground.

We enjoyed lunch at Moosewood in Ithaca. A vegetarian restaurant .... one of 2 in the US.

Sam was the only one who had a flat even though we saw so much glass!

On the 3rd day out the campgrounds called. Sam had left his windows down and they were expecting rain. They were nice enough to tarp his car so the inside didn't get wet.

We met some wonderful people. One lady was hiking with a dog for animal adoption.

Another single woman with her dog had sold her Veterinarian business to enjoy life .... bike and hike .... before returning to work, again. She entertained us one whole evening in the campground. She told us about warmshowers.com for bikers only.

We all enjoyed the great food .... at times, too much of it.

Thanks, again for a super trip and we are looking forward to more of these!

Centennial Century Ride Recap

By Art Frigo

Monday, October 5, dawned cool and crisp. The Centennial Century hopefuls began to gather at the Columbia Woods trail head in Willow Springs. Yours truly (Art F) was the first to arrive, having awakened before the alarm clock with anticipation. Soon, others began to arrive – Chuck Z, Cheri O, Joanne D, Mary Jo B, Sharon D, Carol N, Paul E (a brand new member), and Maria and George K. Maria established the goal for the day with a sign she affixed to the back of her bike stating “100 miles or bust.” George had taken great care the previous night checking and loading his and Maria’s bikes in their car. Of course, when he pulled his bike out, he had a flat tire – Was this a bad or good omen? In addition, the forest preserve district decided to not let any other cars into the lot after we were parked because of “maintenance activities.” So, we had the entire lot to ourselves.

After dealing with George’s flat and the parking situation, we finally began our ride, heading west on the Centennial Trail. The Trail is currently about 12.5 miles long, so four loops would give us 100 miles. The trail is very scenic and the leaves were just starting to turn colors. It is part of the I & M Canal National Heritage Corridor. As we rode, we were rewarded with wonderful views of the canal, lakes, woods, and prairies. We saw many different types of birds, including great blue herons, egrets, coots, and various types of ducks. Deer were also seen along the trail. We were able to check out barges, torpedo-like devices, old bridges, and other structures along the way. At the west end, we took a quick diversion to check out the Isle a la Cache Museum, which is closed on Mondays, but is worth a future visit. We then prepared to head back east to complete our first 25-mile loop. Bill and Karen S, who had to start later because of baby-sitting commitments, caught up to us and I waved them through so that they could ride at a faster pace. One of the reasons for choosing a four-loop, well-documented trail route was to allow riders to join or leave the ride at various times depending on the schedules and abilities. It also allowed us to sag at our cars every 25 miles.

As we completed the first loop, George H joined us. Joanne D and Mary Jo B departed the ride at this point because of other commitments, having logged 25 miles. The group sometimes separated as the ride progressed, but usually regrouped at the end points. Following the second loop, Sue B joined the fun. At that point, Chuck Z called it a day with a 50-mile ride. We took a lunch break at the 50-mile point, with Cheri spreading out her picnic blanket and Carol flopping into her beach chair. Sharon made some great banana nut bread that she shared with us and Carol shared some home-grown cherry/grape tomatoes.

Following lunch, Art gave his pep talk that all we had left to do was a simple 50-mile ride. Once again we headed west. The weather was beautiful – cool and very low winds. At the 75-mile mark, Sharon D called it a day. We were sure she could have finished, but other obligations were calling her. We then began the last lap with much anticipation. As we rode, Art started the countdown to 100 miles by holding up five, then 4, then 3, etc., fingers. At the 100-mile, trip-distance reading on Art’s odometer, he stopped his bike and made an “X” on the trail with small tree branches. We arrived back at the parking lot shortly thereafter and began the celebration.

Some key accomplishments:
1. Seven EBC members completed the full Centennial Century (Maria K, George K, Cheri O, Carol N, Karen S, Bill S, and Art F).
2. Three EBC members completed their first century ride (Maria K, George K, and Cheri O).
3. Maria K completed the century on her birthday and went over 1000 miles for the year.
4. George H logged 81 miles
5. Sharon D completed 75 miles
6. Chuck Z, Paul E, and Sue B rode 50 miles
7. Joanne D and Mary Jo B logged 25 miles
8. George K popped for dinner at Tracy ’s Tavern
9. A good time was had by all

Following the ride, six of us went to Tracy ’s Tavern in Clarendon Hills for a post-ride assessment, food (which was really good), and some liquid refreshments. The assessment concluded that the method used for this century, i.e., four loops with sags at our cars, was a very rider-friendly methodology.

How to Dress for Winter Biking

Selected Postings from the EBC List Server

From Mary Lee S.A.:
For those of us who are new to cold weather cycling and are trying to figure out the best solutions ...
How do you keep your toes warm in cold temps below 30 degrees (like this morning)? Wool hiking socks didn't do it.
How do you keep your fingers warm? Long fingered gloves weren't enough.
Those seem to be the biggest problems this morning among us newbies. We appreciate your experienced responses.
Thanks ... brr-r-r ... but still riding.

From Eric P.:
As it gets colder your extremities need more insulation.
For toes, that might mean two pairs of socks, thermal overboots, shoe covers, or even winter cycling boots.
For fingers, gloves with multiple layers, down or polyfill - they don't have to be bicycling gloves, although you do want to still be able to operate your STI shifters.
The key is to find the right gear so that once you warm up, you don't overheat, sweat, then get chilled. To some extent this comes with the territory on highly aerobic rides where you're working hard, but you can still try to minimize the effects.
Check out what others are using, and buy stuff that works for you.

From George P.:
Pussanee and I ride all winter long and are never cold (both of us hate to be cold). Regular long finger gloves are useless below 30 degrees.
From about 20 to 40 degrees we use good quality heavy Lobsters (gloves with 2 fingers and a thumb). See Example here.
There are few good solutions for the feet without investing some money. Shoe covers with Chemical hand warmers will work down to about 20 degrees, but it is not ideal.
The Lake Winter boot will make you enjoy winter cycling: info here. We have done riding below zero with these boots with a hand warmer in them and have been very warm.
Below 20 degrees the only way to keep you hands warm is heavy mittens with a handwarmer inside, you can spend $200.00 on gloves and your hands will freeze.
Mittens are your ticket to happy winter cycling and yes you can shift fine...road STI or mountain.
Also in cold weather (below 20) we wear downhill ski helmets and goggles, very warm and your eyes don't freeze. The Slideshow in the e-mail below was taken on the coldest day of the year last winter (Wind chill -45) and we were never cold at all: see e-mail below and click on slideshow link to see properly dressed winter cyclists.
Click here
and when you get to our website, click on start slideshow and turn up your volume.

From Kären S.:
Another option that Bill and I had to use this Sunday on the tandem on Roger's ride is to wear winter biking shoes. We've had ours for 3 years now and they really make a difference. They keep our feet warm in really cold temperatures. We got ours from one of our sponsors, Lickton's online shop. Here's a link to the product.
Also, I gave out some chemical hand warmers at the start of the ride Sunday. We get them from Menards or Home Depot as the construction guys need them for outdoor work. Finally, we use our ski helmets on our heads in cold temps instead of bike helmets. They will keep your head warm in any cold! L.L.Bean will carry these at a reasonable price, plus they are great for the cross country skiing trip to the UP that the club does. We reserved our rooms this last week. I hope everyone else in the club has too as this is a great trip and the price is unbeatable.

From George H.:
If you are a cross-country skier, much of the way you dress for skiing will also work for cycling. Here's a few more tips on keeping warm while riding.
Wear lightweight long underwear made of a wicking material such as Capilene.
A fleece vest will keep your torso warm. And its easy to take off as the day warms. Make sure you wear a good windbreaker shell or jacket.
I'll use my Swix lobster gloves on cold days (get them from REI). If its really cold I'll put on a thin mitten shell over my gloves (it is thin enough not to affect braking or shifting). The main goal is to make sure the back of your hand is covered with a windproof material.
Cover your ears (I use my Swix ear muffs as the flat metal band doesn't affect my helmet adjustment). I also wear the same headsweat that I use in the summer.
A friend of mine uses duct tape to cover the front vents in his helmet. This is a low cost solution to keeping the wind off your head and it works.
I'll wear Smartwoool hiking socks with my bike shoes. I don't have room in my shoes for anything else. It is very important not to cramp your toes in your shoes or your feet will really get cold. I haven't had any success in the the toe covers that bike shops sell for shoes really working. The next step is to spring for real winter bike shoes, but I haven't done that yet.

From Tom M.:
So you want to keep your feet warm? I have a different philosophy on winter riding. Not sure if you use SPD, Speedplay or other types of clipless pedals but I would remove these during winter months and install standard MTB pedals on your bike. The pedals will cost you about $10-$20 and have small studs on the outside of the pedals to prevent foot slippage. Go to REI or Bass Pro Shops and buy some insulated winter hiking boots or perhaps you already have some. For me personally, I can't justify spending over $200 on winter cycling shoes that you use only 3-4 months a year. Winter hiking boots are half the cost and get much more use for the money. I have a pair of Merrill winter hiking boots ($110) that I use with wool socks and it works just fine. Do you lose a little power in each pedal stroke? Yes, but this is winter. You're not racing or doing high cadence spinning and probably want to keep your legs free when streets are a little slippery. It works fine for me even on the Sunday Morning Fast Rides and have been doing this the last 2 years. Again, winter is approaching. Keep it simple and enjoy your ride!

From Ted S., an article on the EBC > Helpful Information > Safety Tips Page:
We have all become familiar with the term ”layering”. For the benefit of those new riders who are new to cold weather activities the term layering does not mean adding more and more garments. Each layer serves a specific purpose of which there are three.

1. Next to the skin layer.
2. Insulating layer.
3. Wind and/or waterproof shell.

1. NEXT TO SKIN: This garment should fit snuggly against the skin—not loose—so that moisture can be wicked away. Most of the materials are stretchy so you may want to wear a size smaller than usual. Many materials are available. Some of the most popular are polypropylene and many blends of polyester. There are myriad trade names.
2. INSULATION: The most popular are Fleece (Polartech, etc.) in 100-200-300 weight. (There are many variations available.) Goose down is extremely warm versus weight. Fleece and down vests allow greater freedom of movement.
3. WIND AND/OR WATERPROOF SHELL: Gore-tex and similar breathable waterproof materials seem to be most in favor. However, they are expensive. New microfiber (tight weave) synthetics are flooding the market and have a durable water repellent (DWR) finish which works very well except in severe conditions. These are less expensive.

New Bridge

By Ed Curtin

Elk Grove has been awarded a grant to begin preliminary planning of a Bike Bridge over Rt 72 Higgins Rd. at I-290. Below is the information that appears in the Fall 2009 issue of The Elk Grove Villager the village's quarterly newsletter.

"The Village Board has been notified by the Federal Highway Administration that Elk Grove has been awarded a grant to begin preliminary planning of a Bike Bridge over Illinois Route 72 (Higgins Road) at 1-290 in the amount of $444,600.00! The funds will be used to design and engineer a bicycle bridge over Higgins Road to connect the north and south sections of the Busse Woods 11.2 mile bike path. The bicycle overpass will be used for both commuter and recreational purposes and is interconnected with adjacent regional pathways. The Busse Woods trail system links users of the Illinois Prairie Path and the Fox River Trail systems."

Membership Renewal

By Cindy Reedy

You can pay your 2010 dues now! All current memberships may be renewed for the next year beginning on October 1st. For new members, joining after October 1st continues your membership through the following year.

There is a new item on the membership form: agreement to have your name, etc., in an online directory. It is highlighted to help you notice it. Please complete this item so that the membership director does not have to track you down later for an authorization.

An online membership directory is not definite. We may or may not have one in the coming year. We just want to be prepared for it if the board decides to do it. If we do develop one, it will be in a password protected database.

Newsletter Editor Wanted

By Cindy & Sharon

Last December we volunteered to temporarily put up an online newsletter until an editor could be found. Well, "temporary" is over. The next newsletter (December 2009) will be the last newsletter that we will compile for the EBC website. If no member steps forward to fill the position of editor, it will be the last issue.

If someone would like to assume the responsibilities, please contact a current board member. We will be glad to assist a new editor in any way, including instruction and support for putting it online.

Please submit articles and/or photos for the newsletter to Cindy Reedy (cmreedy_prodigy.net) AND Sharon Hermach (ganskesh_hotmail.com). The deadline is the 15th of the month.

Note: The most current ride schedule can be found on our website at http://www.elmhurstbicycling.org/rides/currentRide.aspx.