Arduum sane munus

Here is my recipe for a great Tour da Chicago Prologue, albeit it one with poor temporal results.:

Go to bed at 2:30am on Saturday night, dream yet again of the Last Frontier, and get up at 4:30am. Drive to Chicago at 5:15am and stop for coffee at the Des Plaines Oasis, where you purchase a cup of coffee.

I never drink coffee (for no discernible reason – I drink Green Tea if anything) so the half dozen times a year I have a cup I really get a boost out of it. Sunday is the perfect example of a day when I needed that boost, so I opted for the most intimidating and interesting flavor available – “Dark Thunder.” I found this emasculating, but also the kind of raw power I needed. It was pretty much strong, dark coffee. Perfect.

I felt that I rode faster than in the past, and I know my fitness level is higher than in past years, but my result was pretty piss poor – even compared to past results. I only added on about ¾ of a mile of extra distance so that shouldn’t have been too much of an anchor to my time. Oh well. I had a good time, the weather was great, the vibe excellent, and I’ll be back for more.