Sadly, my health the past few years has been total shite. Barely rode at all; I've only had to do an oil change twice, and since I have a garage dropped the insurance to save $$. This has not made for a happy Darren 🤬 Looking back at that time I realized it was a complete waste. So three months ago I decided it was time to quit being a douche and do something about it. I got my shit together, and even though we're still in pandemic mode stopped isolating so much.
Most importantly, I'm attending to my Little Suzy. Incidentally, my ex wife's name is Susan and never appreciated my 400# bike was the 'Little" Suzy Yea no, not apologizing! Anyway, the first course of action was to get my curvy sweet thing to the shop. For some reason (vodka) I thought it was a great idea to do an oil change at two in the morning last November and being somewhat (very) inebriated I dropped her on the garage floor. Handlebar bent to non-euclidean angles, and my being the guy who when seen by friends with tools in hand, said friends run for cover, I got her to my local shop this week (Arlington Motorsports in Arlington Heights, IL- good guys deserving free plug.) With new bar and safety check, I'm looking forward to putting in some real miles this year.
Now, riding around the flat-lands of northern IL offers little in the way of entertaining riding. I have an hour long local loop that's meh, but better than nothing (and often involves a stop at Penny Road in Barrington for lunch.) If I want to make an afternoon of it I have a 3.5 hour loop that takes me up to Muskego via Burlington. This one is nice but still not very exciting. When I want to make a weekend of it, I have a few choices to base my rides out of (cheep motels) Savanna, IL (actually Clinton, OH. Riding is good but hotels are expensive in Savanna.) Boscobel, Prairie du Chien, and Mt Horeb- all three beyond the cheddar curtain. And all offer infinitly better riding than my locality. The exception being the late night Chi-town run. Actually, a morning ride- I love heading into the city at around 1am on a Monday morning. Riding down LSD, bombing lower Wacker, Cruising up Clark, and stopping at one of the many yummy 24hr taco joints, or breakfast at Hollywood Grill, North & Ashland. Then home before the morning rush. Open roads and minimal threat from drunk'n douche-bags and other caged menaces makes for a great ride!
As soon as she's back, and weather not to gnarley, I'll be cranking on the miles. If you're in the area give me a shout-out here or via email- daddyd2k@yahoo, and we'll get a ride out. It would be great to get some group outings this season too. I should also check the local thread that we used to use to try and get rides going. Haven't checked that in some time.
Be well, stay safe, and let 'er rip!
Most importantly, I'm attending to my Little Suzy. Incidentally, my ex wife's name is Susan and never appreciated my 400# bike was the 'Little" Suzy Yea no, not apologizing! Anyway, the first course of action was to get my curvy sweet thing to the shop. For some reason (vodka) I thought it was a great idea to do an oil change at two in the morning last November and being somewhat (very) inebriated I dropped her on the garage floor. Handlebar bent to non-euclidean angles, and my being the guy who when seen by friends with tools in hand, said friends run for cover, I got her to my local shop this week (Arlington Motorsports in Arlington Heights, IL- good guys deserving free plug.) With new bar and safety check, I'm looking forward to putting in some real miles this year.
Now, riding around the flat-lands of northern IL offers little in the way of entertaining riding. I have an hour long local loop that's meh, but better than nothing (and often involves a stop at Penny Road in Barrington for lunch.) If I want to make an afternoon of it I have a 3.5 hour loop that takes me up to Muskego via Burlington. This one is nice but still not very exciting. When I want to make a weekend of it, I have a few choices to base my rides out of (cheep motels) Savanna, IL (actually Clinton, OH. Riding is good but hotels are expensive in Savanna.) Boscobel, Prairie du Chien, and Mt Horeb- all three beyond the cheddar curtain. And all offer infinitly better riding than my locality. The exception being the late night Chi-town run. Actually, a morning ride- I love heading into the city at around 1am on a Monday morning. Riding down LSD, bombing lower Wacker, Cruising up Clark, and stopping at one of the many yummy 24hr taco joints, or breakfast at Hollywood Grill, North & Ashland. Then home before the morning rush. Open roads and minimal threat from drunk'n douche-bags and other caged menaces makes for a great ride!
As soon as she's back, and weather not to gnarley, I'll be cranking on the miles. If you're in the area give me a shout-out here or via email- daddyd2k@yahoo, and we'll get a ride out. It would be great to get some group outings this season too. I should also check the local thread that we used to use to try and get rides going. Haven't checked that in some time.
Be well, stay safe, and let 'er rip!