14.8

 

Tonight's ride was the Bunny Route. There was a previous attempt to ride this route but it was sort of unsuccessful so we were trying it again.  Scott brought a new initiate to the group, a guy named Rick from Newtown, whom he met at Newtown's Earth Day celebration last week. 

Rejoining RC Ilumenati

I kind of fell off the face of the earth with RC Ilumenati, , my local night riding group, due to the Give-a-Shit meter being pegged with all the cold weather and snow that this winter brought. Tonight, though, I came back. I thought it was going to be warmer evening, but it was far from it  

May the 4th be with you!

RC Ilumenati's Tuesday night ride on Thursday started in Fairfield from the Metro North Station near Archie Moore's for a Rings and Wings ride.  We started a bit later due to traffic and meetings at the end of the day and you couldn't have asked for a nicer day. Although the weather apps were saying that ride was likely this evening.

We made it!

 

Daylight Savings kicked in over the weekend which means the weekly RC Ilumenati rides will have more light!

Wednesday Ride after Work

I headed out from my Aunt's house at 5:30 and it was surprisingly still light out. I took the same route north as I did for Monday's ride only it was overcast and didn't look the same.

BCLC Monday Night Recovery Ride

On Monday evening I walked the dog early and gave her a big treat before heading out to Lake Bluff for the Bicycling Collective of Lake County's Monday night recovery ride. I had 45 minutes to ride 12 miles to get to the start of the ride and I am hammering the whole way since I left a little later than I should have.

Riding on a New Engloomy afternoon

Just another cold Sunday morning leading to another abortive attempt to ride to Oven's of France. I waited till noon to head out and since I was solo, I headed north with a vague idea of the route I wanted to ride.  I left my house thinking it was a lot colder than it actually was and by the time I was halfway to Bridgewater I had to shed clothing.

Welcome back Tadej and Dry January

Tadej makes his 2023 debut to the Ilumenati but requests that we do a flat-ish ride this evening because he was riding his gravel bike. The Ciocc was down for repairs.  The only problem with that was on Monday I had ridden down to Trumbull on the Rail Trail and it was really soft. I tried to come up with something flat.

RC Ilumenati's NOMP Season Opener

Our fearless leader, Mat O, came out for this one along with John K and myself.  We started by heading south towards Trumbull so I could get a few more Wandrer Miles and then pushed north along our usual route.

RC Ilumenati's first ride of 2023, SOMP

 

It looks like we are going to have two Season Openers for RC Ilimumenati. Tonights is a ride South of the Merritt Parkway and the next one North of the Merritt Parkway, and our usual riding area. To make this matters just a little frustrating for me tonight's ride started from the Gaelic-American Club and I am doing Dry January so there will be know Black and Tan's for me tonight. If I can abstain tonight then I won't have a problem going the full 31 days.

Mom's Joke of the Day, revisited

I met up with the Monday night riders again in Lake Bluff because this was going to be my last outdoor ride for the next week because there was a cold front coming in where the highs weren't going to get over 25 degrees for then 6 days. After my Show and Go ride on Saturday I found a CycleOps dumb trainer on Craigslist for $25!

Mom's Joke of the Day

Meetups are a wonderful thing. I found the Bicycling Collective of Lake County who puts on a night ride in Lake Bluff every Monday night. They meet at the Heinen's Grocery Store lot at the corner of Waukegan and Rockland. They have an A/B ride that goes out for around 18 miles and a C/D ride that does around 12 miles.

SOMP Big Ring Circus

Another RC Ilumenati Tuesday night ride on Thursday and it's 52 degrees on November 3rd! Since this was going to be my last group ride with these fine men we started from Archie Moores in Fairfield and the route was contained South of Merritt Parkway (SOMP). 

And then she's gone

RC Ilumenati's Tuesday night ride on Thursday was somewhat of a let down as we rode out to visit to Hopewell Hannah only to find her already gone. I would have surely thought she would make it to Halloween.

Let's dance, this Last Dance Tonight

The last Tuesday night Riding Club Ilumenati ride for 2021 occurred on Thursday night. Temperatures had dropped again requiring bar mitts and heated socks.  

RC Ilumenati Christmas Tree Decorating Ride

 

The riding club started this tradition last year, which ironically started with the formalization with the club. They picked out a tree on one of the frequently used roads and decorated it last Christmas. The ride was livened up by adding ugly Christmas sweaters and holiday themed attire.

Night Gravel

A friend of mine, Andy, leads these Thursday afternoon/evening gravel rides from his house in Roxbury and decided to attend one of them and this evening we covered a lot of dirt, too.

Veterans Day, Part III RC Ilumenati night ride

I got back from New Paltz around 4 PM which was more than enough time to prepare for the third ride with RC Ilumenati. I charged my lights the night before so all I had to do was switch bikes, put on the lights and leave for Easton by 5:45 PM.

Tuesday Night Ride on Thursday

Photo Credit: Scotty D

Scotty D is officially back with Riding Club Ilumenati and couldn't have picked a better ride for his come back tour. Originally, I had suggested a Key Party Route (watch the movie Ice Storm) because Pete needed a ride closer to home but then he checked with his mother and she said she would love to have us stop by so that was settled. Also, we needed to get a picture with her this time. She even said something about it.

Ride Bikes, Hail Satan

I don't know if its the change of the seasons or that the end of the 2021 cycling season is quickly approaching but I feel like I have to get out there are ride outside as much as possible. There's always things getting in the way like family, work, and rest days. For some reason, I am dreading getting back on the trainer and riding Zwift for some reason but to stay in shape its a necessary evil.