Three trails

Three trails in one day. The Stone mill trail then the Long Prairie Trail and lastly the Stone Bridge Trail.The below pictures are not in order and I am too lazy to put them in order. So I will just describe them as they are.

This is at the very East end of the Long Prairie Trail near Capron, Illinois.
Boone County Conservation District trail sign in the parking lot at the East end of the Long Prairie Trail.
Looking East on the Long Prairie Trail in Capron. I have seen people finding/placing Geo-caching items near or around that picnic table in the past.
Approaching a bridge West of Capron while heading East on the LPT.
Still approaching.
Parking lot at East end of LPT.
LPT sign at tfhe East end of the trail.
Looking East at the very end of the LPT.
Approaching the end of the LPT at the East end of the trail.
The Brown Conservation Area at the West end of the LPT and the East end of the Stone Bridge Trail.
My bike up against the wall of the restrooms at the Brown Conservation Area.
A sign on the Stone Bridge Trail.
A sign on the SBT at McMichael Road.
Map of the SBT.
At the Stone Bridge Observation Platform.
At the West end of the Stone Bridge Trail. If you look close, you can see the continuation of the railroad tracks on the opposite side of the street under the bridge.
A couple of miles from the West end of the SBT.

Stone Mill Trail sign at the West end of the trail.
Looking West on the SMT.At the Milk Days park in Harvard Illinois at the East end of the SMT.

Springtime flooding near FRT

Spring flooding on/near the Fox River Trail on 27 April 2013. Photo near intersections of Williams Place and Duncan Ave in East Dundee, Illinois.

Stooges

Hahaha!

New angle on bike blog

Okay. So I didnt really blog much this year about biking. But I sure took alot of pics this year and the last few that never made it onto the blog. So I will attempt to post at least one (random?) picture per day this fall and winter. So here is the first picture(s):

Pictures from the intersection of Rte 31 and the Fox River Trail and its corresponding road(bike?)blocks.

This spring I found that a large project would be blocking the Fox River Trail for all of this year and the NEXT YEAR AS WELL due to piss poor planning.

A much needed bypass of the downtown Algonquin area would begin construction.

Along with all the unneeded related fallout.

Like this bridge that was taken out and won't be replaced for quite a random while for some random b.s. political reason.

And the side trail I found around the problem which only worked well in the spring due to the later overgrowth problem.

Down there where that building is in the distance is where the trail is.

And just circumvent the back of the ballpark over to the side trail and back onto the main trail to Crystal Lake. A fun ride but a deterrant to riding that direction sometimes this summer. :(

Biking this summer

I have not ridden on any new trails this year. Too many things have gotten in the way of new trails and rides. So most of the year of biking has been spent on local stuff like the Fox River Trail and the McHenry County Prairie Path and the Illinois Prairie Path. I currently have logged 1,185 miles for the year.

Below are a couple of pictures I took while riding on the FRT today in Algonquin.

Flooding on the Fox River trail

There has been quit alot of flooding along the Fox River already this spring. And the FRT is no exception. The pic below is looking South on the FRT near Bolts rd. in Carpentersville.

The last picture is of the flooded park in Algonquin at the intersection of rte 62 and rte 31.

First Ride Of The Year Outside

Yeay! It was nice enough, AND I found time, to ride outside for the first time this year!Got done with some doctors appointments early and decided to cover the ears and hit the Fox River Trail for a few miles.

Looking South a few hundred yards from the old trestle over the Fox River in Algonquin.

Looking North at the trestle over the Fox River in Algonquin.

On the trail at Goose Hill in Carpentersville looking down at the Fox River.

And while I was taking my folding bike out of the car to use for the first time since fall, I noticed that this thing is dirty as all heck! I am going to have to clean that thing up. And I bet it takes a while to do so! First, I have to find a nice spot to mount the Park Tool Universal bike clamp I bought over the winter. Then let the games begin.

Back After 4 Months Of No Posting

So I am finally back after four months of no blog posts. Managed to get some mileage in November and December in order to reach my 1500 miles for the year 2012 goal. Today I have biked for the second time since my Gall Bladder operation. I am hoping to now start ramping up the miles and the frequency now that the rush of neglected work at the job has been taken care of and some normal days can be planned. While its nice to be able to get bike miles in at home on the rollers, I sure do miss the trail and the nice warm sun.

    Oh yeah! Almost forgot to tell you about these kewl bar end handles I got from one of the local bike shops. They are called Bar'n Mirror by Topeak. They cost a cool $39.99. They should be a nice addition to my Montague Swissbike TX folding bike. I will share a pic when I get them attached to the bike.

NEW(OLD) BIKE ACQUISITION

A relative of mine has been discussing me taking their old bike off their hands for most of the year. So I finally agreed to take it after they convinced me that the only way they will ride a bike again is if it is brand new and sparkling clean. That is definitely NOT what this bike is. So that excludes this bike from their future.

This is an almost twenty year old Ross road bike. But the years of garage time have been harsh.

The rims are rusted. Whatever the coating is on the rims is bubbling and flaking. The seat is drying out.

The cables are brittle. The cable shields are marred and brittle.

There is an old combination cable lock all rusty and frozen wrapped around the seat tube. The combination long since forgotten.

There is rust on the forks.

The chainring and chainring guard and crankset and pedals are all weathered to a dull lusterless shine.

The Ross decal seems to be the only thing untouched by weather.

Even the paint job has permanent marks in it.

The translucency of the plastic cassette gives the appearance of looking thru dirty dishwater. 

The handlebars soft protective foam is dry rotted and split.

The handlebars, stem, and gear changing levers are all dull and rusty.

And last but not least, the inner tubes and treads are dry rotted. So I am going to take on the task of fixing or repairing or replacing parts on this bike all winter until I have a nice road bike to ride. I started by using a wet rag to wipe the frame down.

As you can see in the above picture, I have managed to get a bit of a shine on the bike seat again with some leather wipes. Some permanent marks can be seen on the surface. I will try to use this seat until I don't like it anymore or it splits. I have the old seat from my folding bike that will work just fine in that case.

I have removed the front wheel so that I can clean it and remove the old tube and tread.

I went to the local bike shop and picked up some tubes and treads and a few other things.

The other things I bought are brake cables and cable housing. A few crimp ends and stand offs are in the bag.
     By the time I have gotten to the end of this blog posting I have finished cleaning the front rim and installing the new tube and tread. An up close look at the rim has shown flaking and rust. I am not sure if I want new rims. And if so should I get something like those plastic rims or maybe some colored rims? So far the bike has cost me zero and the parts listed above were $125. The treads were $45 apiece. I guess that the rims that came with the bike will have to do for now until I at least can establish the working condition of the rest of the bike. More updates later.

Visual guide to nomenclature of bike parts

I got this picture from Jim Langleys website.