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Sunday, June 8, 2008
Syscon 2008 Double-Century (Almost) Bike Ride GENERAL INFORMATION - DONE!When: Saturday and Sunday, June 7th and 8th, 2008 Where: Elmhurst, IL to Utica, IL Who: Friends of Syscon Why: To help people less fortunate than us, for fun, for health. Check out the 2008 Ride Picture Gallery.  Welcome to the general information page for the Syscon 2008 Double-Century (Almost) Bike Ride. These pages contain the current information regarding the ride.This year, we are using this ride to raise money for an excellent cause - truly helping transition homeless families to self-sufficiency through Daybreak of Elmhurst. This is a demanding ride and requires some preparation and training, but anyone can do it who has the heart and the interest. The Ride On the first day we ride approximately 100 miles. We then stay at a hotel and reverse the route to return the next day. Most of the ride is along Illinois country roads. See my comments for a more detailed description. We are doing this ride for helping those less fortunate than us, fun, fellowship, and exercise. That is all there is really to it. Syscon is going to cover the cost of lodging, breakfast and dinner on Saturday, breakfast on Sunday, and a SAG van with a driver to carry our supplies and give a respite to anyone who may need it. To make this a bit more fun and beneficial, in addition to the training rides, the riders will meet together twice before the actual ride. Once to share training ideas and the second time to do an orientation on the route and schedule a week before the ride. Do What You Can You don't have to commit to the full ride if you do not wish to. If you don't want to train for 200 miles of riding in one weekend or you don't think you can make it the full ride, plan to do one of the two days - or even just a partial of one of the days. Join us for one of each of the two training rides each weekend or just stop a little earlier during the training rides. What is important is to get out and ride! Requirements Since I am going to suggest a route and Syscon is going to sponsor some of the expenses of this trip, we are going to have to deal with the legal side of things - namely a waiver of liability. It will be required that all of the riders on this trip sign a waiver prior to leaving on the trip. Secondly, I'm going to ask everyone that rides to wear a helmet. I took a very bad spill last summer riding and am personally convinced of the value of having something of a buffer between my skull and the concrete on the road (or a tree, rock, etc.). I'm asking everyone to commit to wearing a helmet during the training and the ride just so I don't have to worry about anyone getting hurt. Labels: bike ride, daybreak, double century, syscon
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2008 Picture Gallery - Syscon Double-Century (Almost) We started out on Saturday with four-and-a-half riders. From left to right - Chad, Matt, Tim, Larry, and Joe (our half rider). Joe said his ankle was broken and he was still in recovery, but it looks fine in this picture to me.  Our first stop was for breakfast in Oswego, IL. Here Chad looks relaxed a comfortable. Hmmm, that might change in the next 60 or 70 miles. South of Oswego, we have a water break. Here is Chad who trained with us last year but did not get to do the ride and Tim who is new to biking. Below is Larry (with a few ominous clouds in the background.)   Pete was our SAG van driver. He was fabulous - staying ahead of us and providing us with fresh water and food. At the end of the ride, he greeted us with cold beer at the hotel.  This is the rest stop in Morris, IL - about 68 miles into the ride. Joe is mugging for the camera and looks nice and fresh because he hasn't ridden a single mile yet! (Remember - he is the one recovering from a "broken" ankle.)  Loading up on water for the last 40 miles of the trip. There was cloud cover, but the temperature was in the low 90's. It was hot and we had to drink continuously.  This is on a great little bridge on Old Stage Road between Morris and Seneca. This is one of the best stretches of road on the trip. It is a small two-lane road that winds along side the Illinois river, although there are only glimpses of the river here and there. Matt had a little trouble with some dog poop stuck in his shoe cleats. Here he is just west of the bridge trying to clean them out. We still all tried to ride upwind of him for the rest of the day A half-mile further west from the bridge we came upon a car accident that had just occurred. A Chevy Impala had somehow flipped over into the roadside ditch. Although the emergency response had not yet arrived, another motorist had extracted the young woman who was driving and she looked OK. I suspect she will slow down in the future. It was Matt's claim that if he hadn't had to stop to clean his cleats, the driver would have taken a few of us with her.  We have arrived in Utica!  Joe - who rode the fewest miles of the day - was the first to make himself comfortable at the Willow Inn... (Not a pretty site.)  Ironically, Joe, who rode only 37 miles on this day, and Pete who rode only the van on this day, were the first to head to town for dinner.  Duffy's Tavern - best darn Prime Rib in the state. At least, that is what it tastes like after 100 miles of riding. They also have an impressive collection of beers to wash it down with. Joe seems to know somebody everywhere! We walked into Duffy's and the table next to us was one of Joe's old tennis buddies We were in quite the mood - boisterous and hungry when we came in to eat. The server was gracious and joined in the fun.  Here we are heading out for Day 2 - sore butts and all. The conditions were fabulous for the first 65 miles of the ride home. The wind at our back, the sun was out, and open road. Unfortunately, we were hit with very severe weather just outside of Oswego and had to get rescued by Larry's wife, Cathy.  Following the ride on Sunday night, Joe and his wife Sheila graciously offered to host a reception for the riders and all the Daybreak people at their house. Here, Joe is telling Matt how difficult it was to ride for 37 miles on a broken ankle...  Tim, a new rider with us this year, is a runner and clearly in great shape. However he discovered a few muscle groups used in biking that are not used in running.  The end of the day - Matt and his wife Pam head home with many more stories to tell from this years ride. Labels: bike ride, double century, picture, syscon
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Saturday, June 7, 2008
2008 Training RidesTraining ConceptsWe are going to use the weekend training rides to build up to the distance we need to do the double century. Using a common recommended approach of building up to 75% of the target ride, we will do two long rides each weekend using this target schedule:  Make sure to get in the additional miles on your own during the week to stay on training. If you don't think you can train for both days of the trip, just train for one day (Saturday) and then you can ride home in the SAG van. To train for one day, do one of the two long weekend rides per week and train do half of the remaining days mileage during the week days. Training Links Here are some of the good articles and links on endurance training and long-distance biking: A good basic guide from Ultra Cycling Magazine. Other good links from Ultra Cycling Magazine: Nutrition for a Century or a Double Eating for a Century, Brevet or Double Century Water and Salt Intake During Exercise Labels: bike ride, daybreak, double century, syscon
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3:30 PM
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Daybreak of ElmhurstDaybreak of Elmhurst - Helping Families be Self-SufficientIf you really believe in the hope of the United States and changing peoples lives, read on... From Homelessness to Self-Sufficiency Is there anything more honorable than to reach out and help someone out of the endless cycle of poverty, homelessness, and welfare into a self-sufficient, productive, and valued member of society? I spent a month in two of the most difficult and turbulent countries of Africa - Mozambique and Rwanda - for World Relief when they were a client of Syscon. It was there that I had the life-changing realization that it is absolutely unique to the United States and a very few other Western nations that a person - if they truly want to and have the desire, self-discipline, and a little bit of luck - can lift themselves from poverty to self-sufficiency. Our ride this year will honor and support this irreplaceable freedom and opportunity. When one of our Syscon Team riders, Joe Berkemeyer (Siemens), suggested that we support Daybreak of Elmhurst with our ride, I was enthusiastic. Here was an organization whose sole purpose was to help people break free of the welfare cycle. Participants in the Daybreak of Elmhurst must pass rigorous criteria with financial budgets, work ethics, and reliability to qualify for the program. In return, they receive free housing for up to two years in apartments paid for by Daybreak of Elmhurst as well as mentoring by two volunteer mentors. To date, Daybreak of Elmhurst has helped over 35 families move from the welfare system to self-sufficiency. The entire organization is staffed by volunteers - including the mentors. Every dime collected goes directly to supporting the participants of the program. This is a good solid organization with no fluff or frills - just a fundamental idea that they execute extremely well. Please consider supporting this organization with a donation for our ride. Syscon is paying all of the costs of the meals, lodging, and jerseys for the riders. We will all ride about 1000 miles in an eleven week training period to get ready. On June 7th and 8th, we will ride 200 miles on our bikes from Geneva, up and around DeKalb and then down to Utica, Illinois by Starved Rock State Park and we would appreciate your help. Joe Berkemeyer - the driving force behind this effort and one of the riders - is challenging us to triple our effort from last year. Our goal for this year is to raise $18,000 for Daybreak of Elmhurst. E-mail me, Larry Wendt, if you are willing to support us with any donation or if you would like any further information. Some examples are: $0.50/mile = $100; $1.00/mile = $200; $5.00/mile = $1,000 However, we will gratefully accept any donation of any size. Checks should be made out to "Daybreak of Elmhurst", PO Box 2033, Elmhurst, IL 60126. You may mail the check directly to Daybreak or send it to us here at Syscon and we will forward it to the organization. If you do send it directly to the organization, please let us know so we can track our progress towards our goal. Larry Wendt President, Syscon, Inc. Rider in the 2008 Syscon Double-Century Labels: bike ride, daybreak, double century, syscon
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Friday, June 6, 2008
Training RoutesThanks to one of our riders - Chad - we are now able to post maps of our training rides. Over the past four years, we have found quite a few good routes through the busy Chicago metropolitan area. I know that I have always appreciated tips and routes from riders that take the time to post them for others to see.The data was collected with a Garmin GPS and posted to trail.motionbased.com. The links will take you to Google Maps and from there you can click on the trail.motionbased.com link which provides elevation information as well as some other nice statistics. Chicago to South Elgin - 60 Miles This route starts in Elmhurst in the Butterfield Park area, but the route is easily accessible from anywhere in Elmhurst. This is a great "any time" route as it avoids major roads (at least where they are the most busy) but also does not have an unreasonable amount of stop signs and lights. Google Maps - Chicago to South Elgin - 60 miles Labels: bike, double century, routes, syscon, training
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5:37 AM
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Wednesday, June 4, 2008
June 6th and 7th - The BIG RideThe 2008 Double-Century Ride Saturday Sunday With a little luck, we will slip the ride in between rain on Friday and rain on Monday as currently predicted. Last weekend we had two beautiful days and a couple of nice easy rides. We went 25 miles on Saturday and 45 on Sunday. Sunday we pressed a bit and averaged 18mph for the entire ride. This is a decent pace for us as we usually average between 16 and 17mph as a group when we are riding. If you cannot be there for the ride, please consider coming to the reception. Joe Berkemeyer, one of our riders, and his wife Sheila are hosting a “Welcome Home” reception for the riders this Sun evening, 5-7 PM at their house. There will be drinks, sandwiches and snacks as well as several prizes given away. The weather is expected to be a nice which will make for a very pleasant evening. Please try to come to welcome the guys back. Labels: bike, daybreak, double century, syscon
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3:44 PM
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May 31st and June 1st Training Rides - COMPLETEDThe Rides for This Weekend COMPLETED Saturday Sunday Labels: bike, double century, syscon, training
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3:35 PM
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