MNR!

The day was nice and I couldn't wait to get outside. But now I'm sore and achy all over and can't get warm. This happened to me when I rode last Monday in less than 30 degree weather, but with today being 60 degrees I figured that I would be fine!

Somehow she was smiling. I was not. Gravel and smiling don't go together!

Anyway I took the old school Schwinn out for a ride. Coaster brakes and single speed are killer in the streets of Waterford!

Pretty cool considering it was 60 degrees out

This past Saturday Elise and I decided to hit the good ol' Dutch Hall Road for some gravel fun. Except we went to the zoo earlier that morning. And she had a show that night. Saw the treads in the gravel from Paul, Linda, Brian and Doug. Made it for a round trip of over ten miles. What was actually worse was riding the mucky trail around Prairie View Lake. Sucked your energy and wheels into the softness. The hills seemed easier this year, but it might have been because we rode a little bit slower. I could actually catch my breath for once!

Elise and I in Chicago

Elise recently tried out for the Voice out in Chicago. Was it cold out? Yes. How about standing at Navy Pier for two hours at 5am cold? Yes, very cold. We can bike in 10 degree weather with -6 windchill, but standing and not moving is the most terrible feeling. Needless to say, once she went inside to audition I was off to my cousin's condo to go back to sleep!

Poutine from Goose Island Brewery

My cousin Eric and I drinking soda flavored adult beverages!

And so begins the wait at 5am. Thermals, blankets, and even a sleeping bag around us to keep us warm!

I was waiting for an awesome sunrise but it never happened

The line went all way, and even off the pier

We had fun. We hit up Goose Island Brewery along with Revolution Brewery. Did some shopping on Michigan Avenue, had a big family dinner in Chinatown, then it was back home after that! Fun times with Elise and my family. So much fun in fact that my cousin came down this weekend and stayed with me one week later! Crazy good times in Benson, Alpine Inn, downtown, and even made it out to Desoto NWR to see the sunsent.

Inside of Eataly

It's like a food Ikea

Popcorn!

Crate and Barrel

And more eating!

Pops and I doing a selfie at the restaurant!

Squid. It wasn't all smiles after she bit into it! HA!

Now those are some big tires! Probably 40s?

SURLY on tap!

Was at Binney's in Chicago and came across these beers on tap. Anybody recognize the names??? Did some research and turns out the two companies are not related. Boo.

They turned this old warehouse into a bar, which is owned by a huge liquor store, which is too close to a school so they can't open their doors in the summer!

Polaroid cube

Lots of new action cams are out, small, shockproof, waterproof, ready for your adventure. Came across this Polaroid cube. Kinda cute. Haha. Any good? Looks like its $100 which isn't too shabby. I know Sony, Garmin, JVC, ion and many others have gotten into the action, but for double the price.

http://youtu.be/ePO6OKYyOec

Picture from internet

Win a State Bicycle Company fatbike!

Contest. Enter. If you win, you can thank me later!

Sent from my iPad

All alone...

Not a single rider or car at Tranquility on a Monday night at 7:30 pm. How sad. But then again, it was 17 degrees with a slight bone chilling wind coming from the north. Can you blame the riders for staying indoors tonight?

Nobody on the trail tonight, kinda nice actually. But it was bone chilling cold. My finger had gotten really cold while my glove was off to take a number of pictures. 

We got a dusting of snow last night and today during the day. Just enough to make it slick while riding one handed and taking photographs with the other. Its become second nature to me. Heck, when else am I going to get my photography fix in?

The temps have gotten much much colder since Christmas day (which was in the 40s if I remember right). Its now 20 degree highs, if that, with -20 windchills. And this is during the day with the sun out and shining. One of those breathe in real hard through your nose and it freezes the inside of your nostrils! Good stuff right there. Hope everyone had a good NYE. I stopped by Linda's for a party, then went to Perry's Place after picking up Cody and heard Elise sing with her band. Good times. Nothing too crazy, amateur night out there on the road with cops galore.

New Year's Day ride with some friends. That sun felt so warm and great!

Paul was umm...testing out the trail for us as we watched from below!

We rode bikes on New Year's Day at Tranquility, good 12 miler on singletrack to start 2015 the right way. Then proceeded to drink and took an all too long of a nap for the rest of the day. Happy New Year to everyone and I hope that 2015 brings lots of joy and happiness!

Jenny's Xmas party!

So I'm cheap. I started making my own costumes. Made one for Halloween. Made one for a Christmas party last night at Jenny's new house. I had originally planned to buy my costume from Nobbies or the party store. But for $30, all you got was the elf tunic and a hat. No shoes, no tights, no satisfaction in that! So looking at a $50 costume at the least.

Well my supervisor said, buy the fabric and make your own. That got the hamsters in my head spinning. Yeah why not? Stopped at JoAnn fabrics and found the fabric. $5 a yard. Cheap! I took a number and waited to be helped. How much fabric do you need? I have no clue. Its for an elf costume. I chuckle. The older lady laughs, well this will be a first as she holds the fabric up against my back and measures out 7/8 of a yard. Cool. Got some half priced red holiday fabric and I was good to go.

I don't have a sewing machine, and have only really sewed once in my life (home ec in 7th grade doesn't count). I had to fix part of my grill cover and wow, the sewing job I did on that was horrendous! Time to learn the trade! I traced my scrub top from work to get a sizing, and my supervisor suggested that I take it in a little bit to make it look better. Okay. So I cut it in a little bit.

Well I had cut too much. It would be a tight fit. Oh well, I'll make it work. I cut, I sewed, and tada, I was done! I told my supervisor about the fit. She said just take it out a little bit. Ahh...no room to take it out. Why not? Because I had cut it to size. Ha, guess I'm suppose to cut it and leave about an inch a half of extra fabric. No clue. You live and you learn. Anyway, found some striped tights. Found some funky glasses and suspenders. Costume done!