Has Spring finally arrived? (I hope so!)

It's been a couple of weeks since I updated my blog. As you can see, I've been out and about :-)

Last weekend (April 1) I was in Chicago for the Higher Learning Commission Annual Conference. The Higher Learning Commission accredits colleges and universities in 19 states in the United States. On Friday, I attended peer reviewer training, and Sunday - Tuesday were general sessions of the conference...which meant I was free to ride on Saturday.

I took my bike with me to the conference, since I enjoy riding my bike, and went off on Saturday for a 41 mile ride. Obviously, I stopped by Wrigley Field, but also rode on the Lakefront trail, and went north and rode on the campuses of Loyola and Northwestern universities.

As you can see from the pictures, it was a sunny day, and IT WAS NOT WINDY! It was a little brisk (in the 50's,), but I was dressed for it and enjoyed the ride.

Yesterday I went out on 50 mile ride. I decided to head south from Fort Wayne to Decatur, IN. I did that to take advantage of winds from the south. I rode to Decatur into the wind, and then took advantage of the tailwind back from Fort Wayne. It was a beautiful day yesterday as well; with temperatures in the 60's. It was good to bike in shorts!

My rides were:

March 27 - 10 miles
March 29 - 11 miles (on exercise bike - extreme heart rate interval)
April 1 - 41 miles

April 4 - 11 miles (on exercise bike - extreme heart rate interval)
April 6 - 14 miles
April 8 - 50 miles

I'm looking forward to riding this week. I'm going to go on my first group ride with some members of 3 Rivers Velo Sport on Tuesday. While I like riding solo, I need to work on my speed, riding in pace lines, etc. I also plan to go on a 55 mile ride on Saturday as I work toward riding the Great Allegheny Passage May 18 - 20, and the American Diabetes Association Metro Detroit Tour de Cure Century Ride in June. Speaking of the Metro Detroit Tour de Cure...

The Metro Detroit Tour de Cure Century Ride is a fundraiser. I'm trying to raise $200 for the American Diabetes Association. I'm 55% of the way to reaching my goal, and I would greatly appreciate your help. Even five dollars will move me closer to reaching my goal. Please consider donating. Here's the link:

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/?px=13157476&pg=personal&fr_id=11730

Thanks for continuing to read my blog! Have a great week!

Shawn