Now, that I'm all refreshed I've been handpicked to do some heavy lifting. As the gf's moving to DeKalb in August for school (about an hour west of here), she's been scouring craigslist for free furniture. Unfortunately, she's had a lot of luck, which leaves me hauling hefty couches, entertainment centers, etc... from people's houses to her garage. Bah.On another sad note, I'm not going to be able to attend the experienced rider MSF course on June 24th. Illinois only offers their teacher aptitude and content area test once during the summer and it just so happens that it's on June 24th.
Instead of a fun 2 hour ride for MSF, I get to be in testing from 7:30am-7:30pm. Yay!!!! Ah well, enough moaning and whining. Summer school starts tomorrow, and I've really slept 12-14 hours every day these last four so I feel quite good.Riding around the city the last couple days have been fun, and I've attempted to explore areas that I normally don't ride around in. There are a lot of riverboat gambling's in Elgin, which is north roughly an hour or so away. Somehow, even though I thought I was heading southwest, or what I thought was southwest for 2 and a half hours I wound up in Elgin. My sense of direction's never been very good.
Though I had a hell of a time riding up there. I've no clue which roads I took or if I can find my way back that particular route again. In any case, I went through several town main streets that had a quaint feel, reminding me of a lot of the High Streets I visited while in Northern Wales last summer. Man, I wish I had rented a bike there. The roads were just fabulous!Small town life has a distinct charm, which we city dwellers often forget exists. Riding through these narrow brick-laid streets, I saw an entire population not the least bit concerned with the nutty world around them, as kids played besides their parents who seemed to have no concern besides the errands of the day, and several people sipping coffee and playing a range of board games from chess to scrabble. It's very charming to see interaction between neighbors, while here the dozens of people who live in the same apartment building know nothing about each other besides their faces.
During these four days off, I've generally followed a pattern of riding in random directions with nothing but a book and full tank of gas. Once I hit the reserve, it's time to find a coffee shop and a gas station. In all honesty, the coffee shops have been notoriously bad for my waistline, as I've indulged in every devilish creation they offer. Normally, I spend an hour or so at the coffee shops, reading, eating, drinking, and just reveling in the freedom of it all.
I'm off for the last non-commuting ride for a while, since my summer school schedule looks something like M-Th 9:00am-9:00pm, with work F-Sun. Sounds horrible, but it lets me graduate a whole year earlier so it's going to be worth it next spring.
Never ever let me lead if any of us ride together. No matter how simple the route is, I assure you we will get lost.
Do they know that every other spot in the country proclaims their fudge to be real deal? Are we going to see a fudge war erupt across the States? Okay, I’m having a little too much fun with fudge, lol there I go again. To help ease the pain of the last few moments, here are some pictures from today’s ride. 
One of the trails I hiked along for a few miles while taking a break from riding. 
And here’s one of the bike, with the new saddlebags on. If you look real close, you can see my reflection in the helmet. 
to yourself!) we were supposed to meet at had been demolished, replaced with a gravel parking lot for the park district. Not being the least bit familiar with the area, I was about to turn around find the nearest gas station and give Ray a call. Luckily, just as I was making my u-turn I saw a motorcyclist with a white helmet looking rather perplexed in the gravel parking lot. Figuring he matched the description Raymond provided me over the phone, I rode in and introduced myself. After a few minutes of oohing and aahing each other’s bikes and a short refuel we hit the road. 
so don’t bother suggesting it as one of my friends did. My upper body on the other hand was relatively cool while we were going over 20mph. As we got off the expressway and crossed over the Mississippi I couldn’t help but notice all the river boats casinos. It instantly took me to Huckleberry Finn and his adventures on the river. For the minute it took to cross the bridge, I imagined living on a raft exploring the river as Finn did. Ever since I grew up reading Enid Blyton (British children’s author, not very popular in the U.S.) novels I’ve wanted to live on a body of water. Several of Blyton’s adventures took place on the English Canals, and involved houseboats. Whenever I think of them, I’m reminded of Huck saying, “It's lovely to live on a raft. We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened.” 
Having been brought back into reality, I started to notice the dozens of bikers around us. While we stopped to recheck our directions at the next gas station, there really was no need, as all the bikers were heading towards the event. The rally was located on the waterfront on a several acre grass field, which was filled with billowing tents. It was great to be waved past all the cars, since there was no admission fee for bikers. Though since the gate check ladies were women in bikinis I was slightly envious of cagers for a minute. 
