[Ubuntu Chicago] The Great Ubuntu Bike Ride: Part II

[Nathan Handler]

On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 10:06 PM, Steve Woodruff <swoody at ubuntu.com> wrote:
> Well, it sounds like everyone had a great time during our first bike ride! I
> thought it was about time we start organizing another one so we can get it
> in before this nice weather is over. It's a rare thing for us to have
> weather that's neither humid or freezing, so we should take advantage of it
> while we can.

Yep, the last ride was very enjoyable for the four of us who attended.
You and Steph would have enjoyed it, Steve. Thank you for starting
this thread to discuss our next ride.

> I know the idea had been tossed around to put together another bike ride -
> this time maybe in Chicago. I just wanted to kick off the discussion, I'm
> not a city-guy so I'm not familiar with good paths or routes we can pedal,
> or where we could find some great stops along the way. If you have any ideas
> on good trails, please let us know. We can start a brainstorm like we did
> before and pick a route that we feel would fit the group best. Let's also
> start thinking about a time frame that would work out with everyone. We need
> to keep the weather nice, but give enough time for everyone to make plans to
> attend.

For the last ride, it was helpful that Rich was familiar with the
route. He knew where we were riding and several places where we were
able to stop and rest. If someone on this list frequently rides in the
city, it might be best if they propose a route that they frequently
ride and would be willing to lead. Some things we should probably keep
in mind are:
 * We will want to time the start/end time/location of the ride to
allow people to take the train as well as drive (and park).
 * Not everyone is at the same athletic level. For the last ride, we
averaged below 10 mph the entire ride. The route should be an
appropriate length to accommodate this.
 * Since we will probably be riding for a few hours, we should plan on
stopping a couple of times. We should locate a few potential rest
stops. On the last ride, we stopped at an Ice Cream parlor, which was
very refreshing. We also stopped at a few other places that had water
for our water bottles and air conditioning to cool off.

> What would everyone think about September 5th? Any later and I fear we may
> be starting to tempt this Chicago autumn. If the weather doesn't look so
> fortunate, maybe we can have the following Sunday (12th) as a backup-day?
> Opinions, thoughts, comments, rants, annoying sounds, all welcome! :D

We usually do not get snow until early November. In late October, the
weather starts to cool down, but it should still be warm enough
(especially in the afternoon) to ride. I would not be able to do a
ride on the 5th, but the 12th would work for me.

Nathan