Me and my friend Brain checked out the Rend Lake bike trail today and rode about 15 miles total on our mountain bikes. I never wanted to go there before because I thought it was short. I was wrong, the trail is awesome and quite long. There are even some hills that will make you feel the burn going up them and then be happy going down them. It is mostly concrete as well so road bikes would be fine too. There is about a half mile of gravel though and me and Brian named that stretch, dead man’s land because there are dead fish and stink all over that section, lol but still worth the ride.

The path goes right by the Sandusky beach as well, imagine a long tiring hot bike ride to the beach!!! That sounds worth it, IMO!

I highly recommend the trail! In a couple of weeks, I am going to go camping there (tent) and ride the entire trail and back, then go to the beach to cool off and then fish at night!

P.s. 25 miles on the road bike done on Saturday

20 more miles can be added to my 2013 mountain bike ride tally!

I went to Tunnel Hill again this previous Sunday (Vienna to Tunnel Hill portion) and took someone who has never been there, my old friend Dallas. He got him a GT Hybrid bike and we took a nice 20 mile ride. He enjoyed it! I enjoyed it! It was a good day and I think I may of got him hooked on the trail now.

So I was looking at the timeline on my Facebook today and happen to see an image shared on there by a page I follow known as Favorite Run. They posted the following picture on their page’s wall:

Fitness is not about being better than someone else…it’s about being better than you used to be.

I agree with this statement. I don’t post my ride and run reports to tell you all that I am better than you. I’m not better than anyone because we are all unique beings in this world and in this life. I post all this because I get to look back and read about what I have done to make myself better than what I was at one time. I win every time I go on a 5K or and bicycle ride. No, I don’t win the first place race, I win because I actually do it and finish it. That is winning! If I was not into fitness, I would just be letting myself get more overweight and more out of shape. Fitness has turned me from an aging man to a growing young man and that, that is my win, that is victory.

So if you ever see me in a race beside you, don’t worry about trying to beat me because I have already won and so have you!

So I just got back from a 53 mile road bike ride starting from Du Quoin to Tamaroa to Waltonville to Sesser and back to Du Quoin (Illinois). I forgot to turn my Map My Ride app on from the start so it only recorded a bit over 41 miles of it. This ride was a brutal ride! The wind was extremely gusty and we (me and my buddy Steve) was riding against it. My buddy is much stronger than me as a cyclist so he was quite ahead of me quite a few times during the ride but I never stopped to rest until we both stopped! I am proud of that because usually I would stop and pant and whine about the wind, lol. The day I rode 70 miles in the hilly extreme southern Illinois part, I bet I stopped every mile or so because it wore me out so much!

Map My Ride, I think is wrong on the calories burned, I bet I burned way more than that because of riding against the wind and all. I am getting quite a few miles of the road bike this year and really the season hasn’t even started yet!

We got back just in time too, it kind of got really cold after the sun started going down.

I am pretty wore out and sore right now so I can imagine tomorrow will be a day of being in pain, LOL!

Traffic wasn’t bad, everyone got over really well (except for some Florida jackass) and besides the hideous wind, it was a great ride… and really in a way, I am glad it was that windy because it was a MUCH MUCH much better work out!!!

23.1 Miles – Road Bike

I just got back riding from my new route and it was a good time! Today it was much more humid than the first day I did it. I sweated quite a bit but I am not complaining as I want to sweat as much as I can. It was a decent ride today! The little bit of hills are just right for me to practice on. Once I can go up them extremely easily, I will make a new route more to the south for better hill climbing. I got to say this though, semi truck drivers must all be blind because they don’t get over for cyclists even when they have plenty of room. So maybe when they are trying to merge on the interstate or on the side of the road, maybe I shouldn’t get over either… I am sure not all truckers are like this but all the ones I saw today acted as if I wasn’t even there. Well sorry truckers, but you don’t fucking scare me, I am going to keep riding on the road and not even acknowledging you when you damn near run me down, how about that? Please note that isn’t a dis to all truckers, only the ones not taking consideration for cyclists who also pay taxes and have every right to be on the road as they do! All the other drivers, got over and were great!

Map My Ride

I installed Map My Ride on my iPhone today. I had it on the Android but it never worked so I figured it wouldn’t work for the iPhone either. However, it did! Yay for technology actually working! I am liking the app. It tells me my average speed (13 mph), the miles I rode (23.1), how long it took (1:40) and how many calories I burned (1,800+). Plus I can post it on Facebook, Twitter and email it and that is pretty nifty I do say!

Until next time, ignore the truckers and keep on pedaling!

So I have created a new 22 mile road bike route on Google Maps for cycling on the road. I just tried it out today since mountain biking plans fell through. I got to say it is a very nice route for road biking and I recommend it to others who are looking for a new route. I started from Gossman Bikes here in Hurst, Illinois and got on 149 to Royalton, then headed to Ziegler and got on 148 towards Herrin. Then I took a few back roads and passed by the World of Fitness Center on Weaver Road. I then got on the Herrin/Colp blacktop and headed to Blarisville where I went back to Hurt when I got to the T crossing. It was a total of 22 miles and it took me about an hour and a half. It was the first time I had my MP3 player with me…I know now to start bringing that with me, lol. All the motor vehicle drivers were fairly respectful though there were a few that didn’t give me much room especially some semi truck drivers but then again they own the roads right? (rolls eyes)… The 148 ride and the Herrin/Colp black top had some pretty good hills. It was enough to make me feel a little burn in my legs but not too much. For the most part, I was able to keep a steady pace of probably about 25-30 MPH. I will be doing it again and again and again!!! Its a great ride from my house so I don’t have to waste any gas going anywhere to start my ride

Well, its time for this cyclist to hit the shower! Until next time, slap on some lycra and get to pedaling!

20 More Miles

I can add 20 more miles to my 2013 ride report with the new Trek Marlin 29er. Me an a friend went to Tunnel Hill (Vienna to Tunnel Hill route) and rode to the Tunnel and back. I let my buddy use the old 2012 Gravity mountain bike. It was a good ride but it was kind of cold. The weather was supposed to be sunny with highs near 70. As a weather nut myself, I predict (by feel) it was about 60 and mostly cloudy. The sun came out for about 30 seconds at one moment but that isn’t enough to darken my cyclist tan, damn it! Funny as it may seem though, there was a lot of riders out on the trail that day! When its nice and warm, there are very few people on the trail but when its kind of chilly, its like Highway 13 during rush hour, LOL! You would think that would be the other way around.

Anyways, here are a few photos of me and my buddy Brian that day

My first business!

I am proud to say that I had my first bit of business at my new bicycle repair shop that I just opened. A big thank you to Karen for doing business with me! I am really loving having a bicycle repair shop and I charge a lot less than others around southern Illinois because its more of a hobby for me than a profit maker! So I am looking forward to working on more bikes! If you need a bicycle tuneup or repair, look me up! www.GossmanBikes.com

Until next time, get on that bike and ride!

23 Miles

I can add 23 more miles to my 2013 ride reports. I rode 23 miles in Perry County (IL) with a buddy of mine this past Saturday. It was a good loop from Du Quoin to Route-14 to Route-127 and back to Du Quoin. I rode again with the new pedals and it was a lot better that without them. I plan on doing that route again as time goes on. I have also created a similar route for this area that I plan to start riding in the summer months. Start from Hurst and go north into Royalton and then Ziegler, then to Herrin and back to Hurst on the Herrin/Colp highway route. It is about 20 or so miles total and everyday, would be a good ride. The hills are not too terrible but there are a few that will help make me stronger The roads are also good to ride on and it should be pretty safe.

Shop Update

Gossman Bikes is officially open as of today! Please call me 618-694-7034 to make an appointment if you need bicycle repairs. I can change tires/tubes, got all different sizes of tubes, change parts, adjust parts, true wheels, assemble/disassemble bikes, clean bikes and so on. My prices are very fair and I don’t charge that much for labor. Replacing a tube is about $4.50 including the new tube and the labor, that is cheaper than any other place around here. Please note that at this time, I only accept cash and I do give receipts.