The Adventure Begins-Welcome To Cairo!

You know you're in for an exciting trip when after stepping off the train in Carbondale, the ride director says "We have a problem!" I'll come back to that later.

We have arrived in Cairo (pronounced Kay-ro like the syrup) to hot humid southern Illinois weather. The Amtrak train ride down was pretty cool! I got to revisit (albeit briefly) the neighborhood I first lived in when I moved out on my own (Hyde Park) and the neighborhood where I spent the majority of my formative years (Rosemoor) on the far south side of Chicago. Ah the memories! I slept, ate in the snack car, talked with some of my fellow participants, slept some more, ate some more, lather, rinse, repeat. It was an uneventful trip until just south of Champaign the train conductor announced our arrival in Carbondale would be delayed due to flash flood warnings in Carbondale. Oh joy! We were supposed to arrive in Carbondale at 1:45 PM. We actually got to Carbondale at 3:00 PM. And when we stepped off the train, is when Rob Layton, Bicycle Illinois director made the aforementioned announcement. The truck with our bikes and regular clothes had the radiator malfunction in Champaign and could not go any farther. So Rob rented a car to bring our luggage to Cairo and that should arrive by 8:00 tonight. Our bikes however won't arrive until sometime in the wee hours of Sunday morning. So our 1st day ride start will be delayed by half an hour. No big deal. It just makes things that more interesting.

We took a tour of the City of Cairo after we arrived. It is a fascinating place. It's a city trying to make a comeback in the midst our economic downturn. Yet in spite of this, the people are very friendly and welcoming. I also got to see the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Pretty cool stuff!

As I write this, dinner is just about to be served and then we'll have our opening meeting to go over the experience that is about to become Bicycle Illinois 2009.

I will have pictures starting tomorrow and may have an additional post later on tonight.

On Your Left!

I Hate Packing!

I really do. And for a trip of this nature, it's taken a herculean effort just to get everything organized and into my regular suitcase and cycling bag. When I go to a TNT event, I usually have two of each item (jerseys, pairs of socks, shorts and the like) which is fine. For this trip, I have to have six of everything. My Trek cycling bag weighs close to fifty pounds! Yikes! I better check Amtrak's website to see if they have a weight restriction for bags!

But I am done packing (WOOHOO!). Now I get to tidy up around the house, (hopefully take a nap) and pay some bills before it's time to head down to the Chicago hotel I'm staying at tonight.

I also want to thank everyone for all of the kind comments about the blog! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!

More to come - Stay tuned!

I Can't Believe It's Here Already!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my blog which will detail the adventure that is known as Bicycle Illinois 2009. It's a six-day 600 mile bike ride from the southernmost tip of Illinois (starting in Cairo) to Northerly Island in Chicago. I know what you're asking. Why on earth would anyone sign up to participate in such an event? Uh..because it was there? In all honesty, I really don't know what the H - E - double hockey sticks I've gotten myself into. On the one hand, I'm very excited to attempt this. On the other hand I'm scared out of my mind to attempt this. I guess it balances out in the end.

So you'll get to read my thoughts and incoherent ramblings as I traverse the great (almost bankrupt) state of Illinois on my trusty Trek 2100 road bike.

Before I go any further, I want to thank Campbell Street Bicycle Shop in Arlington Heights for making sure my bike is in tip top shape for this ride. I also want to thank Rachel Erlichman of Able Bodies Training in Buffalo Grove for making sure I'm in tip top shape for this ride. Finally, I want to thank the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program for helping me find a passion for riding a bike.

The rubber meets the road starting Sunday July 12th!

More to come.....Stay Tuned!