Galena Trip

For the past 3 1/2 days i've been in Galena with the family. It was a great time of just hanging out together and decompressing. On monday and tuesday mornings i was on the bike at the crack of dawn to enjoy the roads this area has to offer. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate as well this time. Monday morning the temps were in the low 40's and it was very windy. The loop i rode is below.


One of the highlights of this loop is the gravel section on clark road. It feels like you're riding a part of the Monte Paschi Eroica in Italy.
The winds were really bad. Even on the descents the wind was so strong that it felt like you were on the flat sometimes if it was a headwind. When it was a cross wind you had to work really hard to keep the bike steady. It was pretty draining.

This route also features Blackjack Road which has some pretty killer climbs in it.

On tuesday morning i rode the following route.


It was about 10 degrees warmer which was nicer but it was still windy and rain was on it's way. Up by Scales Mound on Stagecoach Road is a huge rock that somebody painted all white and the painted "Jesus Saves" in red letters. While i agree with the message it's too bad that somebody thought that they could do a better job at proclaiming the Message better than God's own creation. it's a pretty big eyesore if you ask me.

Once i was back in the Eagle Ridge resort i came across this.

I'm pretty sure i was here last august and there was no falls so this was a surprise. About 5 minutes after this it started raining hard. For the last 20min i got pelted by heavy rain and high winds. Thankfully after a couple minutes it became just a steady rain and nothing to heavy. I got back completely soaked but there was bliss waiting for my bike.

The Bike Spa.


For more pics of some of the roads i was on click here. It's a motorcycle blog with some very nice photos.

Also on monday we went on one of the craziest family bike rides we've been on. Someone at the resort suggested that we ride on the golf cart trails since the courses were closed. We did that and had a ball for about 20min. It's like riding a rollercoaster. Pretty crazy. I was pulling Neil with the tag along and about 15min in said he wanted to come back here again. Then it started raining. We tried to get back as soon as we could but Neils comments turned to, "i don't ever want to do this again."