Days 52+53 – Savoring my hometown of St. Charles, Illinois

I grew up in St. Charles and moved to San Francisco after law school. Every visit since has been via O’Hare Airport … until yesterday when I rode my bike into town. 

The Route

Once again, my excitement had me choose a direct, but dangerous road. From Sycamore to St. Charles, I made the mistake of taking Route 64, an extremely high-traffic, no-shoulder road. When the dump trucks and semis started to screech around us, I quickly re-routed us down country roads. While it took a bit longer (and revealed some uncharacteristic for IL, 7% grade hills), it was a beautiful side of St. Charles that I had never experienced, especially on a bike. The weather was striking, and the humidity was low. (I had Rob climb in the last cornfield before we hit the strip-malled suburbs.)

When Rob and I rode into town, we stopped at Starbucks on my way to my mom’s and I got tremendous joy out of telling Phil, the barista (whom I have seen over the years) that I had just biked from San Francisco. His expression was priceless.

Visiting my Family

I always love spending time with my family, but this week especially. I had never worked so hard to see them before. First Cousin Lynn met us at Starbucks before racing off to the airport for vacation. Then my sister Darcy drove out from Chicago with her husband Diego and my nephew and niece. (Here’s a picture of the delicious duo, Joaquin and Lulu, at dinner on Tuesday.)

Interviewing Diego

My brother-in-law is a Senior Manager at Accenture. When I asked him what he loves about his job, he shared an incredibly thoughtful answer that had us all captivated (OK, Joaquin and Lulu were less captivated…). Diego identified 2 things he loves: (1) the high caliber, ambitious people with whom he works, and (2) the opportunity to constantly grow, experience, and experiment. Diego’s bosses influence his success by encouraging his growth, offering him new challenges and opportunities to impact the business, and by driving a cohesive vision for the cmpany. When the tables are turned, Diego influences his people’s success by discovering what is important to them and why they care about a project, and then helping them succeed. (With that approach to managing, I surmised that Diego had probably already read my new book…)

Al, the News Editor at the Chronicle

I received a call from Al Lagattolla, the News Editor at the Kane Country Chronicle. Al came out to interview me today about the Moxie Ride. (I just might be in the local paper on Thursday!) When I turned the interview tables and asked Al about his job and what he loves about it, he graciously shared. He used to be a Night News Editor, which made him responsible for making the paper look great before going to print. Now that he’s the News Editor, he has a greater impact on the direction and vision of the paper.

Day 52/53 Stats

Day 52 miles: 26.12 miles

Total miles: 3,221.62 miles

Total interviews: 87

Road kill count: 1,170
(added only 7 yesterday as a result of riding on desolate country roads – the animals have a better chance of crossing the road out there – and so did we …)

Destination for Day 54: one more day off in St. Charles before heading to the East Coast (can you blame me? look how fun my family is in these pictures!)

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