Today Neighbor Jim and I took off in the heat of the afternoon on a 15 mile trek along the McHenry County Prairie Trail system and down to the Fox River. I also stopped at the Crystal Lake Ski & Bike shop as I needed two small screws for my water bottle cage. To my surprise, the screws were given to me free of charge, no questions asked. I didn't buy my bike from them -- but that bit of friendly service might lead me to have the Trek serviced there in the future.
The sun was hot, but after 3 miles we were on the prairie trail system and once we got past the gravel pits, we were under the cover of trees and following the creek down towards the Fox River valley. We saw lots of people biking on the trail today, which was different from my last trip when it was mostly walkers instead of bikers. However, one thing that Neighbor Jim and I both noticed was that most of these people were either very into their ride or just plain unfriendly. We said hello to everyone who biked past, but only a handful of people actually smiled or said hello back.
When we got to the stop light to cross busy Rakow Road, there was a a group of about 6 bikers (kids and their parents). They asked us if we saw the turtle... and we were like, "What turtle?" Apparently about a quarter of a mile back, there was a large turtle on the side of the trail. We'd ridden right past there so perhaps the turtle had moved into the weeds by then.
Just a week to go before the Harmon Hundred... so this might be my last "long" ride before the Harmon! Hopefully I'll get in a few more 5+ mile rides this coming week after work.
Total distance: 15.03 miles, ride time: 1hr 23 min, avg speed 10.86 mph
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