On the road, on the road

Left Denver yesterday and drove to Lincoln (photo of state capitol above; does this look priapic to anyone else?) where I had mapped out a bike trip on their extensive network of bike trails. It was hot and sunny and I was able to go for 32 good miles through surprisingly rolling landscape. Most of the way was on paved trails, though their signage was basically non-existent and I had only a reduced map I downloaded from the web, so I got off-trail twice. Managed to do the basic route and it was actually fun that I ended up biking through what must be one of the nicer residential areas of Lincoln, past the capital.

Had a blow-out just in the first two miles and used my spare and C02 cartridge, which made me very nervous that it would happen again and I would be stuck. I kept my eyes open and passed right by Polkadot Bicycles. Despite having only $8 with me, the very nice owner, Paul Knoff, sold me a new cartridge and tube for that amount, which was really nice of him and let me relax the rest of the time. He has a nice shop and is a very nice fellow, so if in Lincoln, stop by and say hi (and look at his custom Bob Jackson bikes from England)...

Today I drove from Lincoln to Naperville, IL (just outside Chicago) and was able to get in a 22 miles round. No paved trails, but my hotel is only a mile from a rails-to-trails gravel path, so off I went. Took that to a large natural preserve, with marshes, lakes, fields, etc., and a nice gravel path around. Beautiful ride, despite the cloudy day (actually, more comfortable than the very hot ride yesterday).

So two days into my road trip to Chicago, where I was worried about getting enough chances to ride, I have already put on 50+ miles. I will be staying in the Loop in Chicago starting tomorrow and hope to be able to get a number of rides along the Lake Shore Drive.