Shameless plug. This past summer I came across a posting on one of the cycling web sites I frequent requesting articles about cycling. Although I wrote a technical manual many moons ago, I havent really written anything since college. I thought, what the heck. I will write a story about a bike trip Dan Edwards and I tried to do the summer of 2012. I wrote the story (it did take lots of time) and submitted it to the editor. I received an e-mail back stating that I would be published! in her e-Zine. (My 15 minutes of fame is slowly being used up!) I received the printed copy in the mail today. The pictures posted here are the cover of the e-Zine (Jelly Legs) and the article. Perhaps I should leave behind the world of technology and look into the arts? In case it s too small to read here is the text of the article: The Big Plan (AKA: The Bike Trip from H#ll) My friend Dan challenged me to start cycling in 2011. I had not been on a bike for 40 plus years! I spent 2011 riding with Dan as much as I could on my younger sisters unknown model, 40 pound road bike: The Beast. We rode mostly short rides around the area trails such as the North Branch Trail and the Lakefront path. My Big Plan was to ride 50 miles (A half century!) to Kenosha Wisconsin via the North Branch Trail, Skokie Valley Bike Path, Robert McClory Bike Path and then the Kenosha County Bike Trail into Kenosha. We rode pieces of all of these trails but never the entire route. As summer turned into fall and fall into winter, the riding stopped but not my dreams for the Big Plan. As the warm riding weather of spring came in 2012, we made arrangements to execute the Big Plan. We would ride to Kenosha with carefully planned rest stops along the way. Once in Kenosha my wife (who loves to shop in Kenosha) would meet us and drive Dan, myself and our bikes back home. Friday, May 04, 2012 was the day! I met Dan at his house and ate a very healthy cyclist breakfast to fuel our long ride. My GPS tracking software was loaded on my Blackberry ready to record the ride for posterity. Not to mention being able to post it on Facebook for our non-cyclist/non-believer friends and family. We left Dans house around 7:00 AM. The weather was a bit chilly but we did not want to deviate from the Big Plan. About 5 miles into the ride I wanted to stop and check my Blackberry to make sure it was recording. To my dismay, the Blackberry had fallen out of my bag somewhere back on the trail. We doubled back to locate the missing Blackberry. No luck. Even though we would not be able to record this epic event, we decided to press on with the trip. A few miles down the trail, I got a flat tire! Even though we had the tools to fix it, I could see that my Big Plan was a bust. Dejected, I called my wife to pick us up. My wife had her heart set on shopping in Kenosha so she suggested I fix the flat and she would drive us (and our bikes) up to Kenosha and we could ride around the Kenosha area while she shopped. I reluctantly agreed. I fixed the flat and off we went to Kenosha. We rode around Kenosha for a while and then, another flat! ARRRGGGH! Again, my wife picked us up and took us home. The “Big Plan” ended with little fanfare, a lost Blackberry, two flat tires and no Facebook posting. One would think that this would dissuade us from ever thinking about another Big Plan but every die-hard cyclist knows there will always be another “Big Plan”. As for us, it may just be “A Little Smaller Plan.” Tony Swantek (Dedicated cyclist and Big Planner)
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 01:02:54 +0000
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