Today was the first bike ride on the seaon I did with the Cantian Ryders. We went from St. John Cantius after choir practice, and it was raining with a hard wind coming out of the north at about 15-20 mph, so the first 9 miles along the lake front weren't to great. Juan, a new rider, had a really bad bike (heavier than mine, with low tires) so he was going REALLY slow. Eventually Joe, and Juan were left behind with Sean and John looking after them, while Bill, Richard and I cruised ahead. We made amazing time after that, because the wind died down a bit and we weren't hindered by the slow ones. Our average before then was about 11 mph (even though we rode ahead and stopped frequently, Juan's was probably about 8), but after that it picked up to a respectable 14. We even found a shortcut near Ravinia that took us though Highland park and saved a mile going to the Swees. We arrived at their house for a Barbeque with frozen feet and hands, only the find that they expected better weather and had prepared cold lemonade and ham sandwiches...ah well, it's the thought that counts, and they did have a nice warm fire. :D After dinner we had a meeting and discussed our plans for the season, Bill, Sean, and John were trying to get me to go on the GITAP, but i don't know if I'll be able to spare the time or money. Then Joe, Juan, and I played 007 on the Swee's gamecube, which was very fun, and we were fairly evenly matched, even later when John came and replaced Juan. It was a pretty good day.