July 1 thru the 4th

July 4,2012
We went to Tampico for Breakfast and then drove down to Illinois route 92 to get on the path, we started here because it is paved here and there is a rest room here. Before we headed out there was a couple who rode up coming from the north, they stopped to ask some questions and we found out they are from the Chicago area and wanted to ride the Feeder Canal, so they stayed in Rock Falls last night and started out this morning. we gave them some advice and they headed south to continue their journey. We soon followed but they were way ahead of us. We finally met them again just north of bridge 62 they were headed back north, we continued on to bridge 64 and used the rest rooms there and headed back north ourselves. Our car waiting at Rt 92 was a welcome sight, we had ridden 20.12 miles and we averaged 10.3 mph, with a maximum speed of 18 mph, the heat was starting to get to us. It was in the upper 80's by the time we completed our ride.

Here is an interesting shot of the Green River Aqueduct from my Garmin site

July 3, 2012
We rode down to Fargo again, but rode home by going east on Fargo to Hickory Hills Road up to Buehl Road which took us back to the feeder canal where the path is paved. Easier riding on the county roads than on the gravel path. So we made better time and beat the worst heat. Total distance was 26.18 miles and we averaged 10.2 mph with a maximum speed of 19.2 mph. 






I went over to Mead's Bike Shop to wrap up my bike shoe purchase. After trying two different types of shoes, one practical with the ability to add pedal clips and the other a Mountain Bike clip shoe which fit like a glove, but in a 12 was too big and in a 11 was too small, and it didn't come in a half size, she convinced me to go with a shoe that meets all my needs. Clipped in riding here I come.
                                                        http://meadsbikeshop.com/



                                                 Here is my shot of Mead's Bike Shop

July 2, 2012
We rode down to 1/2 mile south of Star road and back for a 20 mile ride. It was hot by the time we were done.



July 1, 2012
We rode 20.14 miles at an average speed of 9.9 mph down the canal to a half mile south of Fargo Road and back. We were home by 8:10 and the heat wasn't too bad yet.