I just completed the 2003 Illinois AITC ride and it was a great one.
The ride started at the Radisson on John Deere Commons in Moline,
Illinois, Tuesday, Sept 2nd, after a kick off banquet the previous
evening. I rode the long route, which followed a southern route
through Rock Island, Mercer, Warren-Henderson, Knox & Henry Counties,
and ended up back at the Radisson after 113 miles. The roads were
generally very good to excellent and the terrain was quite hilly and
challenging but a group of 8 of us, including 3 bents, rode a pretty
fast pace. Afterwards, we enjoyed a great reception at the John Deere
Pavillion, complete with plenty of liquid refreshments and appetizers,
and then had an equally great pizza and pasta buffet at Finney's.
After that, I joined some of the other rider's for a soak in the
hotel's spa, along with a few beers, before a well deserved night's
sleep.

The next day, the long route went east and north, through Henry,
Bureau and Lee Counties. The organizers had planned to load the bikes
on trailers and then bus the riders 25 miles from Moline to Geneseo
but a group of 14 of us left early and rode there instead. No sense
in in putting a perfectly good bike on a trailer when you can ride!
From Geneseo, the route continued to Dixon and then to Rock Falls,
where we spent the night. 108 miles for the day and my first back to
back centuries. The roads were again very good to excellent, pretty
hilly, although not as much as the first day, and the winds generally
favorable, so it was another fairly fast paced day. However, the last
16 miles, from Dixon to Rock Falls, were right into the teeth of winds
over 20 mph. I, on my Baron, and another rider on a homebuilt lwb
lowracer, easily pulled away from the lead pack as we were able to
comfortably maintain 20-21 mph while the lead pack struggled to
maintain 16 mph in a paceline. That evening, we were again guests of
John Deere Company, who bused us to the John Deere Historic Site, at
Grand Detour, where we enjoyed a great bbq supper & a tour of the
site. After returning to our hotel in Rock Falls and enjoying ice
cream, compliments of Culver,s, and a few beers, I hit my bed and
slept like a baby till the next morning.

The final day, from Rock Falls back to Moline, was supposed to be an
easy day, with only a few hills, mostly flat to rolling terrain for 58
miles and light winds. However, the roads were again excellent and
the longest leg between stops, for most of the day, was 14 miles.
Those riders that rode centuries the previous two days, including
myself, had every intention to ride an easy pace and were doing so, at
about 18-19 mph, when a group of about 8 riders, whom had ridden the
short routes the 2 previous days, blew by in a paceline. Well, we
could not have that so a group of 5 of us, including the 2 lowracers
and a faired GRR broke out, reeled them in and then continued to put
them well behind us. My legs were feeling pretty good so I continued
to push the pace and pulled away and hammeered the the last 10 miles
to the rest stop. The rest of the ride that day continued to follow
the same pattern and turned into a series of long sprints, culminating
with a 20 mile stretch on the bike trail from Port Byron to Moline,
where I joined a group of 5 DF riders and we hammered all the way to
Moline, back to the Radisson. A wild ride and quite fun. A
particularly memorable event was when the group passed by a very large
group of about 30 golf carts full of senior citizens, which was parked
by the trail, apparently getting ready to head out on it in their
carts. Tom Sherman, what is the deal with these golf carts on the
path? The funny thing was watching them whip there heads around as
the group of bikes when flying by. After a hot shower, some
refreshments and farewells to the other riders, I, and two friends
carpooled and drove the 140 miles back home. My favorite ride was
over again for another year.

Out of the approximately 100 riders in the AITC ride this year, there
were 7 bents, my Baron, a homebuilt lwb lowracer, a GRR, a Tour Easy,
a Rans Rocket, a Cycle Genius STX-24 and a Volae Club. It would be
great to get some more bent riders involved in what I feel is the one
of the best supported, most fun multiday rides in Illinois. It is a
midweek ride, follows a differnt format because of the school stops
and presentations and is mainly a fund raiser for the AITC program,
but most new riders that do this ride end up coming back the next
year. The route changes every year but it is always somewhere in
Illinois and always takes place the 3 days following Labor Day. There
are options for 1, 2 or all 3 days. Think about it!

Harry Jiles