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Saturday, June 5, 2010
Syscon 2010 Double-Century (Almost) Bike Ride 2010 - Here we Come! When: Saturday and Sunday, June 5th and 6th, 2010 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 2010 Double-Century (Almost) Bike Ride. These pages contain the current information regarding the ride.In addition to the fellowship, fun, and health aspects of this ride, we 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. This year, we have added two weeks of training to the schedule which will help those of us that have let the winter fat store up just a little too much. 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 from the 2007 ride 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. Training There is a training schedule posted, and there is a significant time requirement to get in shape. This is a significant effort and you need to be ready for it. However, everyone that actually follows the schedule and does all the training rides will be able to do the double century without a problem - at least that has been our experience to date. 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 have had two crashes where my helmet has prevented significant injury to me, so I 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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Saturday, June 27, 2009
Syscon 2009 Double-Century (Almost) Bike Ride2009 - Here we Come! When: Saturday and Sunday, June 27th and 28th, 2009 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 2009 Double-Century (Almost) Bike Ride. These pages contain the current information regarding the ride.In addition to the fellowship, fun, and health aspects of this ride, we 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. This year, we have added two weeks of training to the schedule which will help those of us that have let the winter fat store up just a little too much. 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 from the 2007 ride 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. Training There is a training schedule posted, and there is a significant time requirement to get in shape. This is a significant effort and you need to be ready for it. However, everyone that actually follows the schedule and does all the training rides will be able to do the double century without a problem - at least that has been our experience to date. 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 have had two crashes where my helmet has prevented significant injury to me, so I 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: daybreak, Double Century Bike Ride, syscon
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
June 26th and 27th - The BIG Ride!The 2009 Double-Century Ride Saturday Sunday The weather looks hot for Saturday, so we are trying to get an early start and beat most of the heat of the day. On Sunday, the weather looks perfect. Before the ride, please download, print, and sign the waiver form. Syscon 2009 Double-Century Fact Sheet General Release and Waiver FormLabels: daybreak, Double Century Bike Ride, syscon
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Friday, June 19, 2009
June 20th and 21st Training Rides - COMPLETEDThe Rides for This Weekend Saturday When: Saturday, June 20th - COMPLETED Starting Location: Caribou Coffee - Downtown Wheaton Starting Time: 6:30am Target Distance: 50 miles Route: Fermilab and then West through Aurora Sunday When: Sunday, June 21st - COMPLETED Starting Location: Caribou Coffee - Downtown Wheaton Starting Time: 6:30am Target Distance: 50 miles Route: Fermilab and then West through Aurora A Little Exploring Normally, we do a short ride the week before the Double Century. However, this year we have had more than our share of weather and scheduling issues for various riders and some of us have missed some of the longer rides. So we are going to do two medium length rides this weekend. Not too much so we are exhauste for next week, but a decent training ride. For our destination, we are going to do some exploring in Aurora. We have a good route from Elmhurst to Utica for the big ride with the execption of getting through Aurora. This weekend, we will start from Wheaton, go through Fermilab and do some exploring going south through Aurora to find a new route for this segment of the ride. Labels: daybreak, Double Century Bike Ride, syscon
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
June 13th and 14th Training Rides - COMPLETEDThe Rides for This Weekend Saturday When: Saturday, June 13th - CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER Starting Location: 296 E. Van Buren, Elmhurst Starting Time: 6:30am Target Distance: 70 miles Route: West into Glen Ellyn, Fermilab, Batavia - then North to South Elgin, and Return Sunday When: Sunday, June 14th - COMPLETED Starting Location: 296 E. Van Buren, Elmhurst Starting Time: 6:30am Target Distance: 70 miles Route: Wherever the mood takes us! The Last Long Rides This is the last week that we will do a long ride for training. It has been fun building up to riding these distances again. I'm looking forward to our big weekend! Labels: daybreak, Double Century Bike Ride, syscon
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
May 9th and 10th Training Rides - COMPLETEDThe Rides for This Weekend Saturday When: Saturday, May 9th - COMPLETED Starting Location: 296 E. Van Buren, Elmhurst Starting Time: 6:30am Target Distance: 42 miles Route: West into Glen Ellyn and then Winfield. Sunday When: Sunday, May 10th - COMPLETED Starting Location: 296 E. Van Buren, Elmhurst Starting Time: 6:30am Target Distance: 42 miles Route: West on St. Charles Road into Carol Stream I Blew It! I think this is the first time I ever did this, but I forgot to send out a notification to everyone last week and so there was a little confusion. However, we still got our rides in. Saturday we did a nice 42 miles. Sunday, we had a new rider and we ended up going a little bit short. Besides, it was Mother's Day and we all wanted to get home a little early. Labels: daybreak, double century, syscon, training
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Thursday, April 16, 2009
April 18th and 19th Training Rides - COMPLETEDThe Rides for This Weekend Saturday When: Saturday, April 18th - COMPLETED Starting Location: 296 E. Van Buren, Elmhurst Starting Time: 7:00am Target Distance: 30 miles Route: West into Glen Ellyn and then Wheaton. Sunday When: Sunday, April 19th - COMPLETED Starting Location: 296 E. Van Buren, Elmhurst Starting Time: 7:00am Target Distance: 30 miles Route: West into Glen Ellyn and then Wheaton. Saturday was a good riding day. Although it was a bit cloudy, it was reasonably warm and there were times when the sun was visible. Fortunately, we did not have any mishaps this week like last. We extended our typical ride to Wheaton with a loop around the College of DuPage and completed just under 30 miles. Sunday was cold and raining. No one showed up to ride, so I rode by myself starting about 2 hours after our original start time of 7:00am. I kept hoping the weather would clear. Finally I just struck out. I did a decent 32 mile ride to Winfield. Labels: daybreak, Double Century Bike Ride, syscon, training
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Thursday, April 9, 2009
April 11th and 12th Training Rides - COMPLETEDThe Rides for This Weekend Saturday When: Saturday, April 11th Starting Location: 296 E. Van Buren, Elmhurst Starting Time: 7:30am Target Distance: 25 miles Route: West into Glen Ellyn and then Wheaton. Sunday When: Sunday, April 12th - CANCELLED Starting Location: 296 E. Van Buren, Elmhurst Starting Time: 7:30am Target Distance: 25 miles Route: West into Glen Ellyn and then Wheaton. A Good Weekend to Ride It was cold on Saturday, but four struck out at 7:30 and started riding. One of our new riders, Mike, had a little crash but survived. Fortunately Mike does not seem discouraged about continuing the ride. Sunday was even colder in the morning. The cold, combined Easter events, killed this ride. Hopefully some of you had a chance to ride in the afternoon which turned out quite nice. I'm still getting a lot of people talking to me about riding, but not everyone seems to be getting out and doing it yet. The weather is warming up and the mileage is getting longer, so come and join us as soon as you can. Labels: bike ride, daybreak, double century, syscon, training
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Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April 4th and 5th Training Rides - COMPLETEDThe Rides for This Weekend Saturday When: Saturday, April 4th Starting Location: 296 E. Van Buren, Elmhurst Starting Time: 7:30am Target Distance: 22 miles Route: West into Glen Ellyn and then Wheaton. Sunday - Cancelled due to weather When: Sunday, April 5th Starting Location: 296 E. Van Buren, Elmhurst Starting Time: 7:30am Target Distance: 22 miles Route: West into Glen Ellyn and then Wheaton. The Ride It was a good ride on Saturday. A ride out to Wheaton, a cup of coffee, and back. Although it was a bit cool (about 37 degrees when we started out), the sun was warm and as long as we kept moving, we were fine. Sunday - on April 5th - it was cold, raining and sometimes snowing. We had to cancel riding to due to the weather. What to Expect Since last week was cancelled due to weather, it looks like this week will be the first. I have repeated the "what to expect" information from last week here. The first rides of the season are always the most painful. We have a couple of extra training weeks this year, so we are starting with a short ride of 22 miles, but if you don't make the full distance, don't worry about it! Trust me, if you stick with the training schedule, you will be in shape to make the full ride on June 27th and 28th. Also, everyone misses some of the training rides - we are all busy. That's OK, particularly if you make up the lost mileage on your own during the week. For these first few rides, there are several places we will be able to stop and rest. If you need to, you can rest while the other riders go further and then come back to pick you up. We generally ride regardless of the weather. If it is cold, make sure to wear several layers and long biking pants. Below 45 degrees and a face mask is a big help. We have found that Under Armour Cold Gear is the best layer to start with in cold weather. My personal rule of thumb for layers is: Below 45 degrees - Under Armour Cold Gear (long sleeve turtle neck), a biking jersey, a cotton or fleece sweater or sweat shirt, and finally a wind/water-proof windbreaker jacket; long-fingered biking gloves; face mask. 45 to 55 degrees - Under Armour Cold Gear, a biking jersey, windbreaker jacket; regular gloves 55 and Up - biking jersey and a windbreaker jacket. The jackets that have removable sleeves are really nice because we experience quite a range of temperatures when we start early in the morning and ride into the late morning. Other key equipment: A good helmet is a *must*!
Labels: daybreak, double century, syscon, training
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5:45 AM
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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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4:00 PM
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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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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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Saturday, June 9, 2007
Daybreak of Elmhurst - 2007 Fund Raising Results!Daybreak of Elmhurst - Helping Families be Self-SufficientThrough the generous support of many people, we earned over $5,600 for Daybreak during our 2007 ride greatly exceeding our goal of $3,000. Thank you all for your generous support! Read more about Daybreak of Elmhurst and our upcoming 2008 Double-Century ride. Labels: bike ride, daybreak, double century, elmhurst, syscon
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4:36 PM
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Syscon 2007 Double-Century (Almost) GENERAL INFORMATION When: Saturday and Sunday, June 9th and 10th, 2007 Where: DeKalb to Savanna, IL (on the Mississippi) Who: Friends of Syscon Why: To help people less fortunate than us, for fun, for health. Welcome to the general information page for the Syscon 2007 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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4:00 PM
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2007 RouteRoute DescriptionThe route has been determined with one or two sections yet to be confirmed. We will be starting in DeKalb. We will then head west through Oregon, Polo, Milledgeville, Chadwick, and finally into Savanna. Ride Details Saturday, June 9th 7:00am Meet in DeKalb. We will provide a parking location where we can leave our cars for the duration of the trip. ~7:30am On the road! ~10:00am Stop in Oregon for breakfast. ~2:30pm Stop in Chadwick for another meal. ~5:00pm Arrive in Savanna. Great dinner! Sunday, June 10th 6:00am Coffee and then on the road! ~7:30am Breakfast in Milledgeville. ~10:00am Oregon for rest stop. ~2:30pm Arrive back in Crystal Lake. 2:30 to 5:45m Drive to Larry's house in Elmhurst. Showers for all that want them, change. 6:00pm Dinner, Drink, and Party for all riders, friends of riders, contributors to Daybreak, and Daybreak friends. At Joe's house in north Elmhurst. Labels: bike ride, daybreak, double century, syscon
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2007 Route Map Labels: bike ride, daybreak, double century, syscon
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3:00 PM
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2007 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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2:30 PM
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2007 Completed Rides Labels: bike ride, daybreak, double century, syscon
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Larry's Comments on 2007 Ride The first time I made an attempt at a double-century (We call it an "almost" because a true double-century is completed in a single day) was in early October of 2005. I recorded 95 miles going down to Utica from Elmhurst with a total riding time of 6 hours and 43 minutes - an average of 14.2 mph for the distance of the ride. It was a good ride, but I had some trouble with my seat - both on my bike and my body. I stayed at The Willow Inn in Utica, which was a nice serviceable hotel. Dinner was at the local pub where I had an enormous prime rib dinner for twenty bucks. The next day I sat on my bike and knew I was in trouble with respect to sitting on that seat for another 7 hours or so. I gave it a try and ended up going about 35 miles to Morris, but that was it. I had to call in the cavalry (in the form of my son, Chris, who will be driving the SAG van for us this year) to get a ride home from Morris. My personal goal for 2006 was to make it there and back with endurance and "rear-end endurance" to spare. In the spring of 2007 several friends committed with me to train for and make the same ride. I realized that I had done a very poor job training. With a little bit of research I came up with an eleven week training plan slowly increasing the mileage by 10% each week to reach 75% of the total target mileage. We did the training rides back to back on Saturday and Sunday together and each rider was responsible to ride during the week. What became apparent immediately was that the first ride of the weekend was easy compared to the ride the next day. It was that second ride each week that toughened us up. The training was fun - and though demanding - within the reach of every rider. We had two riders that had never done any distance riding at all - Matt and Lou - and none of us were what you might think of as "athletes." Yet we made tremendous progress over the 12 weeks. We started barely able to make a 30 mile ride at an average of 13 mph. By the end of the training we could turn in rides in excess of 60 miles at 15 mph or faster. In addition, this year we will ride for a good cause, Daybreak of Elmhurst. We will take our time and stop often to enjoy the ride. This is a race everyone can win just by participating. (law) Labels: bike ride, daybreak, double century, syscon
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