Another day another 40 kms.

We have been averaging about 40 km (25 miles) a day. It doesn't sound much and for a single day it would not be that tough. We often ride that distance at home. However day after day the miles add up and exhaustion starts to set in. We haven't had a cycling free day for five days now. I think we have both just about reached our limit - I know I have!


Tomorrow we leave St Charles, just outside Chicago, and head north into Michigan. It is a short drive - about three and a half hours. We could easily fit in a ride - but that is not going to happen. I need a break! I don't care if I have to navigate us via Texas, if D so much as mentions cycling I'm going to turn that three and a half hours into an entire day in the car. There will absolutely be no time for biking!

Don't get me wrong. The cycling around St Charles is great. There are miles of scenic trails. The Fox River Trail in particular is magical. For most of it's length it hugs the Fox River passing through historic town centres as well as parks, woods and wetlands. We could spend months here and never tire of the scenery.

My exhaustion has probably not been helped by the fact that it turns out David's bike was not the only one damaged on our flight from Sydney. (Click here for my post on "How to turn a bicycle into a pretzel.") Normally my bike rolls faster than David's. It has a larger wheel size and smoother tyres. The result is that I can keep up without having to put in extra effort. This holiday though I have found the going tough.

I knew that one wheel was dragging a bit but I didn't think it was making that much difference. A couple of days ago we called in at a bike shop to get it looked at. I think David was finally fed up with constantly having to wait for me. The guys at All Spoked Up were so helpful I have to give them a free plug. Not only did they fix my back wheel but they discovered the front wheel was also dragging and fixed that too. No wonder I was cycling so slowly.

Don't expect any more cycling posts for a few days - it will be strictly driving and walking for the next little while.

Wetlands on the Fox River Trail

Perfect weather - Fox River Trail

Fox River Trail again - I thought this old station was really cute.

The Fabyan Windmill - Fox River Trail

Looking across the Fox River

For the next post in this series click - here

For all my posts in this series click - here

5 July 2014

2 comments:

  1. your trip sounds wonderful..more so i imagine you will appreciate it as you will be driving for the next few days!glad you got your bike fixed!!!!

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  2. My bike wasn't damaged badly. The rotor on the back disc brakes (I think - a sort of metal wheel) was bent. The bike shop guys just bent it back with a pair of pliers. I'm not sure what they did to the front wheel.


    We went into the whole flying bikes thing with our eyes open. There are lots of internet comments by people who have had their bikes damaged by airlines. You can get hard protective cases but our bikes, being mountain bikes, are too big for them and then there's the problem of what you do with them when you arrive.


    D still prefers flying our bikes to buying cheap ones. I'm not so sure.

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