Believe it or not, the 44th annual FOS Spring Fling on Sunday June 8th actually had good weather. There was no rain at all during the event, and the weather was picture-perfect!! The sunshine brought a good deal of walk-up riders in addition to those who already pre-registered.
This year’s ride was not without its hiccups. While marking the roads on Saturday, Prez JoDell & her team discovered that there was major construction on IL-394, which interfered with all the route, except the 25-mile route. The construction was so intensive & lengthy that JoDell had no choice but to re-route the other 3 planned routes plus change some of the signage & markings that had already been done previously that day. She went through the laborious process of re-routing and re-marking well into the night.
But Sunday morning came and happily there were several riders waiting for registration to set up. Everything was ready for them, and JoDell gave them all a personal “heads-up” about the construction. Riders got through registration quickly. Other clubs were present for the ride. Major Taylor club had an impressive number of their members, JBC & Evanston Bike club members were present. Paul from JBC even helped at registration (thanks Paul!). All in all, 92 riders registered for the event.
The Dog Park rest stop was a welcome sight for the riders of the longer routes, and many stopped for sandwiches and cookies. So many came that Kathy (who oversaw the Dog Park) had to get SAG support to bring them more bread.
The morning and early afternoon was idyllic, with happy riders who were finishing their rides and regaling the volunteers about the challenges of the terrain and how they enjoyed being out in nature/countryside. Around 2pm, people started to disperse, and it started getting very quiet as the parking lot emptied out. Before you knew it, there was only one more rider. By 3:30, it was over. Thanks to all who rode, so glad this year’s weather was outstanding, and thanks to all the volunteers who pulled off another wonderful Spring Fling.