Biking, Day 27: August 12, 2009

Day 27: Hoffman Estates, IL to Tinley Park, IL
Distance: 30 miles
Route: One that my mother wouldn't approve of
Lodging: La Quinta, $50, Priceline

Today was scheduled to be my quick jaunt from Hoffman Estates, where I visited Shri, to Westmont, IL to visit my friend, Melissa. Shri and I said our goodbyes this morning. Staying with her was lovely. It was great to see a familiar face after being on the road for so long without seeing anyone I knew.

I left Shri's around 9AM to go first to a bicycle store. I had no more bike tubes and my patch kit is out of commission. I got there before it opened, so I went across the street and had a coffee. I met a guy there who asked me about my ride. We ended up talking about cars, like you do. I've been really into Mercedes lately, he has a thing for Corvettes. We lamented the death of manual transmission, particularly with the Mercedes SL class. So it goes.

I went to the bike store and got 2 tubes and a patch kit. I also had them fill my tire to get some pressure. They asked about my trip, we chatted, and I went on my way.

I rode through the suburbs to get to my friend's office - Hanover Park, Addison, Elmhurst. I got to the office and locked up my bike. I threw on some normal shorts over my padded biking shorts and a jacket because Melissa wanted to introduce me to her office.

Melissa works for Recycled Energy Development. RED works in energy development, particularly in developing energy solutions with industrial clients and developing biomass and other alternative energy plants. They do both operations and efficiency improvements and M and A activity.

It was an interesting office - relaxed, but with intensity. I got to meet the CEO, CFO, lobbyist, policy folks and others. Melissa explained the business to me later at dinner.

After the intros, Melissa and I decided to go spend the rest of the day catching up. We got a hotel out in the suburbs since I wanted to start my ride tomorrow from outside Chicago and because her apartment in Chicago is less than visitor-friendly.

We checked into our hotel and then went out for dinner. The suburbs of Chicago are sprawling masses of two lane highways and strip malls. It seems to go on forever. it's like no city I have ever seen. I have no idea how far we are from the actual center of Chicago.

Dinner was lovely. We went to a restaurant called 'Cooper's Hawk', which fancied itself both a restaurant AND a winery. It was actually quite nice. All of the wines are made by the restaurant. I had my first glass (I had half the glass) of wine in weeks. It was a white wine. And yes, a half glass was about all I could handle. Note to potential suitors: I am now a cheap date.

Melissa and I caught up about everything. She is one of those friends who I feel comfortable talking to about life, goals, love, etc - I'm honest with her in a way that is rare, putting my ego and self-consciousness aside. I know she doesn't judge and I know she gives good advice.

We enjoyed dinner and went back to the hotel. I planned my route for tomorrow - I will be going to Culver, IN, where I spend 5 summers of my life at Culver Military Academy. Culver always brings back positive memories and it's a gorgeous campus.

Today was my shortest day. It felt good to rest my legs, but strange. My ridiculous hunger hasn't subsided, which reminds me of a funny story from today. I keep snacks in my panniers. I like keeping lots of snacks. You know, in case I get caught in the middle of nowhere, cant move, and need snacks to survive. Anyway, when I came out from Melissa's office, someone had BROKEN INTO my bike panniers, in particular, the snack compartment. They had rifled through my snacks eating anything they could find. The culprit lacked the civility to open my pannier with the zipper, instead choosing to CHEW through my bag and pull my snacks through the hole that he or she had created. The whole thing was very bizarre, but certainly commonplace for such an unsavoury location as Westmont, IL.