Yesterday, I did my "Ride My Age" challenge. Today I am doing my "feel my age" aftermath! I think next year, I'm going to dump the American Imperial System, and totally go METRIC! I took a somewhat safe choice for my route this time, just going on the Goshen and Schoolhouse trails. If I went to St. Louis, I was afraid that the gates of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge would be closed, and I'd have to call someon for the Pickup Of Shame. I started off a bit later than I planned due to printer installation issues for a friend, but not much later. My first stop came after I realized I needed some help down below, if I were to finish the ride without regretting it later, so stop at the bike shop and blow $25 on "DZ-Nuts Pro" chamois cream. Glop-Glop, Swish-Swish, oh what a relief it is! After this, it's just smooth sailing on mostly flat and half shaded bike trails, with occasional stops at parks for a potty break (thank goodness the restrooms are open again) and to eat some peanut-butter/chocolate-chip-cookie sandwiches. I was planning to stop and eat at the Culver's in Collinsville, but when I stopped there on the return leg, it was closed to indoor dining. That suxxored muchly, but I still had two cookies and some peanut butter, so I just kept going while eating my bitter disappointment. At the further end of the Goshen Trail, there's an exit that takes one right into the parking lot with a craft beer establishment, a SugarFire BBQ, and the place I actually went to; the Chicken Salad Chick restaurant. Three guesses what their specialty is... I had the Barbie-Q Chicken Salad sandwich on Croissant and cup of loaded potato soup, which came with a complimentary pickle spear and buttercream frosted cookie. Then it was back on the trail and the final stretch to get back home. I did stop at the Aldis near my house to stock up on soup, but then it was straight home. I had left at 10:00 am, and got back at a little after 5:00 pm. Since I took enough sports-drink-water and sugary snackage with me, I got back home without cramping or bonking. But boy did I feel like a limp noodle when I woke up this morning! There wasn't anything of note to take pics of during the trip, and my phone was in a sandwich baggie to keep out moisture... aka, my own sweat... so taking it out for pics was too much hassle. Just imagine half "trail + trees" and half "trail + fields" with a bit of "trail + city", and you will have imagined my entire trip. I made a list of all the Cities I passed through on my trip, in order: Wood River Edwardsville Glen Carbon Troy Maryville Collinsville Granite City (maybe) Pontoon Beach Madison Edwardsville and Glen Carbon had the best parks, I think. And with that, my report on my non-adventure is complete. Next year, metric. Kilometers for the win!
Laddie, the use of metrics by Americans is against the natural odor of things. Arr, a late Happy Birthday to ye and congrats on the ride! Ahoy.
Going metric in America just isn't worth it. Move to almost any other country, except Brittan they have some messed up hybrid system.
The electric company gave me a present (sarcasm). Last month, my electric bill was $220, so I signed up for budget billing, so I'd only have to pay 120 every month, with a settlement at the end of the year. So this month I got the notice of "Thanks for signing up for budget billing!" along with a bill, stating that my settle-up month is AUGUST, oh and here's the $250 you owe now... Seriously...
