🏥 Health Exercise thread - Fitness, Recreational, etc

[DanJ]

I know very little about distance riding. I’ve read up on nutrition a bit. I need 30-40 grams of carbs an hour, and then I have a drink mix with sugar and electrolytes in it to replace what I sweat out. I did 30 miles to st Charles and back last month and felt pretty good. Average speed was only 13mph because I got lost in downtown aurora and again in Batavia because the signage wasn’t so good.

I have a buddy down in Florida who’s done 100 a few times and just did 130 something last week. I have to talk to him.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

To me distance riding is over 60 miles. I just can't go beyond that with all pedal-power, but I'm old and bad knees and a bony ass. I know a few people with electric/battery-assist that will do 75-150 miles at a stretch.

Also, look into a bicycling computer. About two years ago I went entry level, and it makes a huge difference in tracking my rides. I know what you mean about navigating through towns. If you're on the Fox River Trail, going through Batavia and Geneva aren't too bad. St Charles is not very well defined, and Elgin is far worse. If I am going to ride somewhere that I haven't been before, I'll create a course and send it to my cycling computer, which will give me basic navigation.

I have this, along with the HR (Heart Rate strap), and the cadence/speed sensor. The speed sensor is for when there is no GPS signal, otherwise it's not needed. It's quite small, like not much larger than a Zippo lighter. It comes with a mount for your bars. Battery life is a solid 8-10 hours, and can be recharged while it is in use (I have yet to need to do this).

Garmin Edge® 130 Plus | Bike GPS Computer

The Edge® 130 is a compact easy-to-use GPS bike computer that has everything you need to navigate your ride, monitor stats, and stay connected with loved ones.

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Since I have had this for a while, I might consider upgrading, but I stay as far away from roads as I can, so don't really need "true" maps. You can go nuts and get pedals that measure and track power as well.

Bike Computers | Bike Radars & Bike Light | Power Meters | Garmin

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I did eventually get the headlight that syncs with the computer. I turn it on, make sure it is connected, then ride. The computer will control the light based on speed and lighting conditions, plus a few other options.

Another two places to ride if you want to go a bit further without much interruption, is the Great Western Trail from St. Charles to Sycamore. It's about 17 miles each way, and relatively flat. There is a fire station in Lily Lake a few hundred feet west of 47 that has a tool tree and water fountains.

One more that I used to do is the Wauponsee Glacial Trail. It goes from Joliet to Custer Park (Kankakee River). That's 19.25 miles from Laraway Rd to the river itself. It was okay, then they made it horrible with large rock gravel. From what I have read they (the county) has gone back and filled in the sections with crushed limestone, and it is an excellent ride again. I'll probably do that this coming weekend to see how it is.

 

[DanJ]

I have a Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt with a speed sensor on the front wheel and cadence sensor strapped to the cranks. I like it a lot so far. Same thing, can create a map on Strava and then send it to the computer.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

And this time rode up to LITH. Made much better progress than I thought since most of it is uphill.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

8 mph wind? Yeah, right. Forecast was for 5 mph from E-SE. By mid afternoon it was a solid 15mph from the N-NE, if not more. Probably a tick over 90° too.

Of course I didn’t warm up, or stretch out when I got back to the truck. I 100% expect to feel that tomorrow.

More data.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

So, the Wauponsee Glacial Trail. I rode it because reviews said that it was much improved since about this time last year. All of the large loosely packed rock gravel has been covered with crushed limestone. There are a few small areas where the rock gravel is exposed, and some areas where the crushed limestone is quite soft. Overall much better. However the first few miles heading south from Laraway Rd were brutal. Since it is used by horseback riders, the front of the horse's hooves left divots all over the place, across the width of the trail. It was like riding over a washboard with a million pot holes. I was about to turn around it was so bad. New trail already ruined.

 

[bimmer4life]

Well stomach was bugging me today. So the runner took out the mountain bike . Have not road this thing in 8 months probably. Enjoyed the dusty paths of the Forrest preserves. Not a bad little stroll paths were already crowded.

 

[sickmint79]

if my stomach was bugging me i'd be scared of having to take a massive shit at mile 10 of my mile 20 ride

went to the gym today after my breakfast place (a walk across the street) - but i had to skedaddle back to my place first to drop a deucer. i do not consider my thai gym a safe space for the poopins

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

Well stomach was bugging me today. So the runner took out the mountain bike . Have not road this thing in 8 months probably. Enjoyed the dusty paths of the Forrest preserves. Not a bad little stroll paths were already crowded.

View attachment 165823
View attachment 165822

If my stomach was bugging me i'd be scared of having to take a massive shit at mile 10 of my mile 20 ride

This is why I have a few wads of toilet paper in a ziplock bag in my hydration backpack. Never know when you might have to take a power dump on the side of the trail. Fortunately I haven't had that occur, but I know I'm prepared, and that I won't have to sacrifice a sock to wipe my ass

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

I'm gearing up to go do the Great Western Trail, from STC to Sycamore. Too nice of a day to be inside, and my shoulder is in bad shape, so being on a motorcycle would be really painful. The bicycle doesn't really bother it.

 

[bimmer4life]

if my stomach was bugging me i'd be scared of having to take a massive shit at mile 10 of my mile 20 ride

went to the gym today after my breakfast place (a walk across the street) - but i had to skedaddle back to my place first to drop a deucer. i do not consider my thai gym a safe space for the poopins

Felt ok on the ride. But the thought of all the movement and pounding when running is another story.

 

[bimmer4life]

This is why I have a few wads of toilet paper in a ziplock bag in my hydration backpack. Never know when you might have to take a power dump on the side of the trail. Fortunately I haven't had that occur, but I know I'm prepared, and that I won't have to sacrifice a sock to wipe my ass

I have carried wet wipes before on a long run. You would be surprised how many runners are dropping drawers in the forest ?

 

[1quick]

I know very little about distance riding. I’ve read up on nutrition a bit. I need 30-40 grams of carbs an hour, and then I have a drink mix with sugar and electrolytes in it to replace what I sweat out. I did 30 miles to st Charles and back last month and felt pretty good. Average speed was only 13mph because I got lost in downtown aurora and again in Batavia because the signage wasn’t so good.

I have a buddy down in Florida who’s done 100 a few times and just did 130 something last week. I have to talk to him.

I haven’t done anything super long 50ish miles but I drink some sort of hydration drink before and have 2 water bottles with Gatorade water mix for carbs and hydration on the bike, I ride in that upper teens to low 20’s pace as well but my bike is a skinny tire road bike

 

[bimmer4life]

I haven’t done anything super long 50ish miles but I drink some sort of hydration drink before and have 2 water bottles with Gatorade water mix for carbs and hydration on the bike, I ride in that upper teens to low 20’s pace as well but my bike is a skinny tire road bike

You have them nice country roads to blast on without playing frogger with animals kids and peolple using walkers ?

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

You have them nice country roads to blast on without playing frogger with animals kids and peolple using walkers ?

That’s why I like the GWT going west. Once you get a few miles out there’s very little trail traffic. I’ll go a few miles without seeing anyone.

Same with Wauponsee Glacier Trail. The section that goes along Midewin is usually a ghost town.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

I have carried wet wipes before on a long run. You would be surprised how many runners are dropping drawers in the forest ?

Oh I’ve seen stories where the marathon and ultra distance runners will have liquid shits running down their legs. I think they actually overdo the electrolytes just so they don’t have solid matter to deal with.

Only took 29 pages to literally start talking shit ?

 

[1quick]

You have them nice country roads to blast on without playing frogger with animals kids and peolple using walkers ?

Nice flat roads just have to dodge the cars occasionally, and if there’s any wind you know there’s nothing to block it just corn fields lol

 

[1quick]

Been doing 3-4 2 mile runs a week trying to stay in the 8:30 mile average range, and lifting a 3-4 times a week as well, I need to start doing more cardio again I’ve put on a few lbs

 

[bimmer4life]

Oh I’ve seen stories where the marathon and ultra distance runners will have liquid shits running down their legs. I think they actually overdo the electrolytes just so they don’t have solid matter to deal with.

Only took 29 pages to literally start talking shit ?

Oh yaaaaa. Honestly. I have trained my morning ritual to a T. I will not go for a run without the movement done . Body is pretty much like clockwork.

 

[bimmer4life]

Nice flat roads just have to dodge the cars occasionally, and if there’s any wind you know there’s nothing to block it just corn fields lol

Oh I knows it! Need to get out by my buddy and ride the road bike. 15-20mph winds in the open country absolutely destroy the quads. But I love that feeling

 

[DanJ]

I'm gearing up to go do the Great Western Trail, from STC to Sycamore. Too nice of a day to be inside, and my shoulder is in bad shape, so being on a motorcycle would be really painful. The bicycle doesn't really bother it.

Interesting. There’s a great western trail from west chicago to elmhurst also. Besides the dust I really like the prairie path. Did 54 miles aurora to Wheaton, then Elgin branch to Elgin and took the fox river trail home. May try to ride it all the way to Maywood next.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

Interesting. There’s a great western trail from west chicago to elmhurst also. Besides the dust I really like the prairie path. Did 54 miles aurora to Wheaton, then Elgin branch to Elgin and took the fox river trail home. May try to ride it all the way to Maywood next.

View attachment 165924

I have no idea why they used the "Great Western Trail" for both sections, seeing as how they're not connected, like at all. All of the "old" paths/trails follow what used to be railroad lines, as the ones that branch out of Wheaton, which you rode today. Even the GWT from STC to Sycamore follows an old rail line, and when you get out to a few miles from Sycamore you can see the old mile marker signs. I have photos of them, somewhere.

The ride you did today is the "big" triangle, which I did back in 2014 before I had any kind of tracker. The "little" triangle is taking the GWT from West Chicago into Elmhurst where it ties into the Prairie Path, the ride the Prairie Path back out to Wheaton, and then take the Elgin spur back up to West Chicago. I've done that a few times, but the further you go east the more road crossing you have (like every block), and the more trail traffic there is. It gets really annoying, really fast.

I've taken the Prairie Path east all the way to the terminus, at the Forest Park train station.

If you want to go for distance, take a look at the I&M Canal Trail going southwest. I usually start at the Hollywood Rd park, instead of where it actually starts (that branch) in Rockdale. Much bigger parking area, seems more safe. You can ride that all the way to La Salle-Peru, about 110 miles each way. The section from Morris to Marseilles quick degraded though. It started nice at Gebhard Park, but quickly turned into a single file path, about 12" wide, with weeds hitting my knees. The area was cleared for a good 14-18', but the trail was not maintained. At some points there was pretty much no trail, you were just riding on grass. West of Seneca was terrible, large and loose rock gravel. Eventually I abandoned my ride at Marseilles, crossed the river, got some ice cream in Illinis State Park, and rode the country roads back to Morris. Added a good 10 miles, but it was better than the shitty trail.

No idea if it has been improved since then. That was summer of 2021, IIRC.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

Nothing like a headwind for the trip out, only for it to fizzle out for the ride back. Trail was incredibly dusty, can't wait for some rain to come through to help out with that. I really thought I was moving faster than i was. Seemed like my average speed should have been closer to 14mph. What probably didn't help was I had auto-pause disabled, and took a good 10-15 break just west of Lily Lake to troubleshoot why my cadence sensor wouldn't connect. Was a dead battery, even though it read "OK" just last weekend.

 

[DanJ]

I have no idea why they used the "Great Western Trail" for both sections, seeing as how they're not connected, like at all. All of the "old" paths/trails follow what used to be railroad lines, as the ones that branch out of Wheaton, which you rode today. Even the GWT from STC to Sycamore follows an old rail line, and when you get out to a few miles from Sycamore you can see the old mile marker signs. I have photos of them, somewhere.

The ride you did today is the "big" triangle, which I did back in 2014 before I had any kind of tracker. The "little" triangle is taking the GWT from West Chicago into Elmhurst where it ties into the Prairie Path, the ride the Prairie Path back out to Wheaton, and then take the Elgin spur back up to West Chicago. I've done that a few times, but the further you go east the more road crossing you have (like every block), and the more trail traffic there is. It gets really annoying, really fast.

I've taken the Prairie Path east all the way to the terminus, at the Forest Park train station.

If you want to go for distance, take a look at the I&M Canal Trail going southwest. I usually start at the Hollywood Rd park, instead of where it actually starts (that branch) in Rockdale. Much bigger parking area, seems more safe. You can ride that all the way to La Salle-Peru, about 110 miles each way. The section from Morris to Marseilles quick degraded though. It started nice at Gebhard Park, but quickly turned into a single file path, about 12" wide, with weeds hitting my knees. The area was cleared for a good 14-18', but the trail was not maintained. At some points there was pretty much no trail, you were just riding on grass. West of Seneca was terrible, large and loose rock gravel. Eventually I abandoned my ride at Marseilles, crossed the river, got some ice cream in Illinis State Park, and rode the country roads back to Morris. Added a good 10 miles, but it was better than the shitty trail.

No idea if it has been improved since then. That was summer of 2021, IIRC.

I did that a few days ago, maybe Monday. Prairie path was the old Chicago, Aurora and Elgin which ceased to operate in the late 1950’s I believe. I’m guessing it ends where it does because that old rail got taken over by someone there. The road crossings are a bit annoying. That elgin branch on the other hand I was starting to get nervous I wouldn’t find anywhere to fill my water bottles . I don’t plan this stuff that well. I have 2 water bottles and I start looking for refills when one gets empty. I carry my CC and a $20 in case I can’t find a water fountain. I haven’t done the geneva spur or the great western trail out there yet. I plan on mapping out a 75ish mile route for later this month. I need to get a bigger frame bag as my snacks were a little tight for 50ish miles.

So it’s not paved? I like that shit . Throw the wider tires back on and go. I’m on a 35mm textured/slick right now at 58/55 PSI but have 38’s and 43’s with some knob to them. I’ve seen the I+M on maps but haven’t looked into it that much. Part of the allure to me is just getting on at my house and going. I put a hitch on for a bike rack but prefer just leaving my driveway when I can.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

I did that a few days ago, maybe Monday. Prairie path was the old Chicago, Aurora and Elgin which ceased to operate in the late 1950’s I believe. I’m guessing it ends where it does because that old rail got taken over by someone there. The road crossings are a bit annoying. That elgin branch on the other hand I was starting to get nervous I wouldn’t find anywhere to fill my water bottles . I don’t plan this stuff that well. I have 2 water bottles and I start looking for refills when one gets empty. I carry my CC and a $20 in case I can’t find a water fountain. I haven’t done the geneva spur or the great western trail out there yet. I plan on mapping out a 75ish mile route for later this month. I need to get a bigger frame bag as my snacks were a little tight for 50ish miles.

So it’s not paved? I like that shit . Throw the wider tires back on and go. I’m on a 35mm textured/slick right now at 58/55 PSI but have 38’s and 43’s with some knob to them. I’ve seen the I+M on maps but haven’t looked into it that much. Part of the allure to me is just getting on at my house and going. I put a hitch on for a bike rack but prefer just leaving my driveway when I can.

On the GWT out west there is a 3-4 mile section that is paved, where snowmobiles can run. Going west it starts at Brown Rd, and stops at Wooley Rd, which is one block west of IL-47. For that route, at the trail head there is a water fountain/faucet right at the trail head, along with latrines. At the Lily Lake fire station is another fountain/faucet, along with a rack to hang your bike, and tools that are tethered to it. They just added a manual air pump. Then there is nothing all the way to Sycamore, which kind of sucks. Nothing at the trail head there, you have to ride the shoulder on IL-64 (north ave) towards downtown before you can find anything.

Now, on the GWT that's in DuPage county... Just east of County Farm Rd there is a spur that goes north. If you take that it will cross over St. Charles Rd, then continue into a park. If you go left at the park, cross the bridge over the creek, there is an out building, for when there are sporting events. Two water fountains and fully plumbed bathrooms (men's and women's). Going further east there are a few places right on the trail where there are water fountains.

Enhance!

Water fountain/spigot and tools in Lily Lake (southeast corner of building). Sometimes people park in the first parking spot, and it blocks the view of them from the trail.

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And to continue... On the Prairie Path Aurora spur, there is a fountain right in downtown Warrenville, about 10' off of the trail.

Enhance!

On my Garmin Edge 130 I can mark locations, so when I see water fountains or bathrooms/latrines I'll mark them, and make sure the icon reflects what they are. Then when I am riding they'll show up on my mini-map. I know where most are from memory.

Oh, in Wheaton, there is a fountain right at the confluence of the three spurs. It's behind a wall. There is also another just further north on the Elgin spur at W.W. Stevens Park (Lincoln Ave). Going further northwest on the Elgin spur, there is another fountain at the Country Farm Rd./Geneva Rd intersection (SE corner).

There are a few along the Fox River Trail between Aurora and St. Charles. It's just whether or not they're functioning.

I'm just a well of information (pun intended).