Kevin and I set out early Saturday morning into a light rain.  We drove out onto the western edge of Elgin.  The amount of suburban sprawl amazes me sometimes and the speed at which it spreads is mind boggling.  I forgot the cue sheet at home, but since I had made it up that morning I felt confident that I could lead us around in somewhat of a respectable fashion.  The rain stopped just before we set off from the parking lot and the ride and roads were perfect.  We made about three turns before I realized we were way off course.  Not that bad though, we were able to ride a couple miles of dirt road, another couple miles of the smoothest and straightest dirt rails-to-trails trail that I have ever seen and got to see the Sycamore Speedway.  Put in about 43 miles at a good pace.  Got to see a large number of smashed furry critters.  We only made one wrong turn that required a phone call to Julie to help us navigate back to the car.  We avoided the rain up until this point near the very end where we sped through a brand new sub-division, carving through the round-a-bouts and my mind quickly placed me at the front of the pelaton in some race in France.   We could have just ridden the path for a while and not needed to drive, but these weekend rides out in the sticks allow my mind to escape.  The ride seems more pure and uninhibited.  Coupled with the great guys I have been riding with and the friendships that are resulting, I do not think there is any better of a way to ride.  There are not any pictures because I was afraid of the rain and my camera. Oh and I had a short conversation with Paul at Rock Lobster and I am so freaking excited, things just keep getting better.  As a bonus he is also swinging through town next month, so i will get to meet my team manager / frame builder, which is going to be pretty sweet!