The Coolest Biking Illinois Photo?
Yesterday I was thinking that since I'm not working much these days, I should be adding to the Biking Illinois Web site that I intended to finish years ago. I had forgotten about this photo of the Bald Knob Cross of Peace from Ride 55 "Climb to the Cross":


This was actually a mistake. My camera lens fogged up when I pulled it out of the air-conditioned car on this hot, humid morning nearly four years ago (I scouted the route by car before I pedaled it). The fogged lens gave the cross a freaky, mysterious, sort of Biblical look. I wouldn't say it's the best photo from Biking Illinois, but I think it's the coolest.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 12:39 PM 0 comments

 
Dear Self in 2005:
It looks like Jennifer started a meme, which makes her way cooler in Bloggerland than she probably thought she was.

Dear Self in 2005:

Don't stop exercising and start pigging out to mourn Teddy.

Lard-assedly,
Your Self in 2008

P.S. Watch that travel budget; you'll never sell enough books to cover it.

Her letter is thankful while mine is loaded with regret, but I'll leave the analysis to someone else.

Labels: Biking Illinois, dogs

- posted by David Johnsen @ 5:05 AM 0 comments

 
Biking Illinois at CBF Events
Speaking of sponsorships, I am donating books again for numerous Chicagoland Bicycle Federation events. Signed copies of Biking Illinois will be among the raffle prizes at Bike the Drive and the Bicycle Commuter Challenge in the coming weeks.

Labels: bicycle advocacy, Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 12:18 AM 0 comments

 
More BikingIllinois.com Updates
Adding to BikingIllinois.com is my excuse for not posting much to this blog lately. Here are the newest additions:

11 - Ride the White Elephant
12 - End of the I & M
19 - Des Plaines River Trail
33 - Bring YourQuiver to the River

Please let me know if you find bad links, missing pictures, etc.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 12:51 AM 0 comments

 
BikingIllinois.com Updates!
Two years after Biking Illinois was published, I still haven't "finished" the BikingIllinois.com Web site. I originally intended to put up photos of every ride along with a write-up of my experiences planning and pedaling each one.

After a flurry of work over the past week, I can at least say that I'm halfway done. I also added ride numbers to the main page and the individual pages. I'm sure I had a reason for omitting them before, but I've forgotten what it was.

The latest narratives aren't up to my usual level of verbosity. Frankly, I did these rides nearly three years ago and don't remember much beyond what I wrote down at the time (which is already in the book, of course). The new rides include photos and some background about how I chose or named the routes, but don't expect details like those in the day rides and tours at DJRider.com.

Here are the most recent additions to BikingIllinois.com:

18 - Busse Woods
34 - Goodbye Norma Jean
39 - Havana
49 - Greenville
50 - Watch for Wild Turkeys
59 - Lucky Horseshoe
60 - Give Peace a Chance

I also added an unfortunate update for Ride 13: the Chester Gould-Dick Tracy Museum in Woodstock will be closing in June 2008 due to a lack of visitors.

There's more to come, of course, but I know better than to set any firm deadlines.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 11:20 PM 0 comments

 
Rolling the Tollway
Well, it looks like my book will be rolling on the tollway without me. Roll the Tollway is a Bike the Drive-style event that is part of the Veterans Day* opening ceremonies for the southern leg of I-355 between I-55 and I-80. Last week I dropped off two copies of Biking Illinois for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (CBF) to give away at the event.

I was planning to do this ride, but by the time I got around to taking my credit card upstairs to my computer, it was sold out. To be fair, a CBF e-mail warned me last Wednesday when the ride was 80% full; I just waited too long. I suppose I could try to scam an entry through my CBF connections, but I don't do that sort of thing. I could volunteer, but things always go wrong when I volunteer for something. Besides, on the morning of November 11, I'll probably be happy to sleep instead of driving out to the southwest suburbs. I guess they'll just have to open the road without me.

* For anyone inclined to add an apostrophe somewhere in Veterans Day, don't!

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 2:59 AM 0 comments

 
Trying to Hit a Moving Target
I drove down to Matteson Friday afternoon to ride the Old Plank Road Trail (OPRT). As I headed south on Cicero Avenue from the Lincoln Highway, however, I felt disoriented. There was a sign for a Target on the east side of the road along with a JC Penney. Hmm, my starting location in Biking Illinois for Ride 32 on the OPRT is the northeast corner of the Target parking lot. And I'm sure Target is on the west side of the road.

Well, it was on the west side of the road. But sometime since July 2005, a bigger Target sprouted up on the east side of the street. Consequently, the Target parking lot where Ride 32 starts is now a big, empty parking lot in front of a vacant building with features reminiscent of a Target. I expected things to change after I wrote my book, but this caught me by surprise. I will add it to the "Book Updates" page soon. The built environment changes so much that writing a guidebook really is like trying to hit a moving Target.

My ride was excellent. For the first time since 2000, I rode west beyond the segment I used for Ride 32 . Needless to say, much has changed as development has run rampant in northern Will County. The OPRT has more street crossings now, and the streets that existed in 2000 are much busier. I continued to the west end of the trail in Joliet and turned around. On the way back, I had time for a couple of detours. First, I pedaled around the north side of the lake in Frankfort Prairie Park. Later I rode up the bike path/sidewalk along Schoolhouse Road to the Hickory Creek Trail. Although it's only three miles long, this is one of my favorite paths. After 43 miles Sunday on the DPRT and 36 miles Friday on the OPRT, I am getting my biking legs back.

Labels: bicycling, Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 1:33 AM 0 comments

 
My Beatle Moment
We were walking Rosco this afternoon when someone called out my name from behind and ran up to me. It was David Turrentine, the guy who does my taxes. Someone gave him Biking Illinois for his birthday, and he wanted me to sign it. It's the first time someone has approached me on the street for an autograph.

Okay, so it wasn't a horde of screaming teenage girls chasing me à la Beatlemania, but it was pretty cool anyway.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 3:13 PM 0 comments

 
Pantagraphic Reading Material
Way back in February, Scott Richardson of the Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph interviewed me about Biking Illinois. Since Scott is a fellow cyclist, we talked for well over an hour. It was refreshing to converse with an enthusiast rather than someone who was merely assigned to write a story. Later, I sent him a handful of photos to publish with his article.

Once spring arrived, I searched the Pantagraph Web site every few weeks to see if it had been published yet. Nothing. Then today I was checking my sales figures as an Amazon.com associate. After a quiet June, I sold a bunch of copies of Biking Illinois in the first few days of July. I could only imagine one reason for that, and sure enough, this time when I searched the Pantagraph Web site, I found a lengthy feature about my book.

Alas, here is how the article begins: "David Jansen made a sharp turn in his life after he pedaled alone across America five years ago." Jansen? All my life people have misspelled my surname as Johnson (my worst nightmare was that it would be spelled that way on the cover of my book!) but Jansen is a new one.

It's an interesting read because I blabbered on for so long that I touched on a lot of things that I never talked about in an interview before. As the lead hints, you'll get to read about my transition from computer geek to DJWriter. You'll also read a couple of anecdotes that I never got around to writing on the Biking Illinois Web site. Not everything came out exactly the way I intended, but I suppose my biographers will sort that out after I'm gone.

Scott mentions that I described the Grand Illinois Trail as a "misnomer." But I wasn't referring to it being a collection of trails so much as I was referring to its location. I said it was really the Grand Northern Illinois Trail. As I recall, Scott had a good laugh when I said the trail fit a typical Chicagoan's definition of Illinois (some Chicagoans act as if anything south of I-80 is in a different state).

As for the part about counties (a properly focused interviewee never would have "gone there," but I did)... Although I have visited all 254 counties in Texas, the article makes it sound like I visited all of them in one trip! I was referring to our November 2006 road trip when we visited the last dozen that I needed to finish the state (I also finished Oklahoma then). Again, I babbled on for so long that things were bound to get a bit confused -- if only I could edit my speech like I edit my writing. Oh well, I appreciate the coverage so I won't get bent out of shape over the details... except my last name!

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 9:46 PM 0 comments

 
Notes from the North Branch
I went for a bike ride Tuesday on the North Branch Trail for the first time this year.

I finally saw our region's famous 17-year cicadas (Brood XIII), and just in time. They won't be around much longer. Unmanly as it sounds, I am not fond of bugs. Frankly, I feel the same way about bugs as Republicans do about minorities -- I'll allow that they serve a purpose, but I would rather they did not live near me. In the media build-up to the day the cicadas were supposed to crawl out of the ground, I feared the worst. But the cicadas never came to Lincoln Square. A handful of sightings were reported, but nothing approaching the predicted carpet of insects. Even in the forest preserves along the North Branch Trail the cicadas were not overwhelming. Only a few groves had the telltale buzzing drone (or is it a droning buzz?) of the males hoping to get lucky in their brief time above ground. Though I am not enamored with these characters, I consider the arrival of the periodical cicadas as a way to mark the passage of one's life, like Halley's Comet but more frequent. It's hard to imagine myself being 54 years old the next time the cicadas come.

Aside from the cicadas, little has changed since I rode the trail last year. I even saw the same characters, including "grim-faced man," a recumbent rider whose stony expression shows no hint of the joy of cycling.

In Biking Illinois, I chose to start Ride 20 (Going to the Garden) from Linne Woods because it's easy to find from I-94 and I-294, but I often second-guess myself. There isn't anything "wrong" with the south end of the trail that I excluded, and I wonder if I should have squeezed in the whole thing (as it was, I reached my word limit for the shortened route). Come to think of it, the North Branch Trail wasn't one of my better write-ups. Maybe my familiarity with the route led to an uninspired description. Oh well, there probably isn't a writer alive who looks back on his or her work as perfect; there's always room for improvement. As long as cyclists don't get lost, I guess my book does its job.

Labels: bicycling, Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 2:29 PM 0 comments

 
Biking Illinois After Dark
Biking Illinois heads for the dark side in July with a couple of nocturnal events:

• McDonald's L.A.T.E. Ride (L.A.T.E. stands for Long After Twilight Ends) put on by and for Friends of the Parks will feature up to 10,000 cyclists riding on the streets and paths of Chicago in the wee hours of Sunday, July 15. At 12:45 AM, just before the ride begins, cyclists will compete for Best Lit Bike and Best Decorated Helmet. The winners and runners-up will receive many great gifts, including an autographed copy of Biking Illinois! Check out their Web site under "Night-of-Event Schedule" for more info.
• If you'd rather ride beneath the stars than beneath the streetlamps, check out the Chase The Moon Midnight Bike Ride, which kicks off at 12:01 AM on Sunday, July 29. This ride starts at Marmion Academy in Aurora and traverses most of the roads in Fermilab. It is presented by the Conservation Foundation, a group working to preserve open space and protect watersheds. The organization is celebrating their 35th anniversary, which means they've been around almost as long as I have (that also makes them three years older than Friends of the Parks). Two copies of Biking Illinois will be raffle prizes.

Both rides are around 25 miles and non-competitive, so you don't have to be a hardcore rider to finish them. So grab a helmet and a headlight*, sign up for one or both of the rides, and maybe you'll win a copy of Biking Illinois specially signed to commemorate each event. You'll also be supporting great organizations.

* Both rides require helmets. Headlights are mandatory for Chase The Moon and optional but recommended for the L.A.T.E. Ride.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 11:15 PM 3 comments

 
One More Time at the Book Cellar
My encore appearance Wednesday at The Book Cellar was disappointing, but I had a good time anyway. Months ago I suggested to Suzy (the owner) that she should do a summer-themed event. Naturally, my own book figured in the mix, but I also suggested books about baseball, gardening, grilling, and other summer subjects. In retrospect, I should have figured that my repeat signing wouldn't generate much interest.

Suzy introduced the authors alphabetically. I got to go first despite the middle-ish position of my surname. In a word, I was rusty. I hadn't talked about the book much since last year, and it showed. I forgot nearly everything I had said at last year's signings to drum up interest in the book. On the bright side, I did my first reading. Last July at The Book Cellar, fellow author Noah Leiberman read a page or two from his book The Flat Stick. I declined to read, and I had been regretting it ever since. Reading from Biking Illinois is a great way to show that it's more than just "turn right, turn left." I chose the sidebar from the "Merry Miles to Maeystown" ride, which describes the founding of Waterloo, the town where the ride begins. The legend involves a "cheeky Irishman," and I got a lot of laughs with it.

Next Margaret Littman, who has written or edited a bunch of titles, talked about the new second edition of The Dog Lover's Companion to Chicago. The revisions were much more work than she expected; the task took nine months. One growing trend is that many park districts are opening up their pools to dogs the day before they close for the season. One of my mom's friends does the same with her pool.

The final author of the evening was Lucy Saunders. She talked about Grilling With Beer as a microbrewery representative poured free samples of a beer featured in one of the book's recipes. We don't often think about book design, but Saunders explained that she self-published because she had special requirements for this book. First she wanted a spiral binding so the book would lay flat, a common and useful feature for any cookbook. The problem with a spiral is that when the book is on a shelf in a store or at home, the title is not visible. She went to a Canadian printer to get what she wanted: the front cover wraps around the spiral spine to show the title. Grilling With Beer is available online but not through Amazon.com.

Afterward a couple of guys asked me questions but no one bought my book. I enjoyed talking with the other authors as I autographed a tall stack of books for stock. I hope Suzy can sell them; Biking Illinois has done well at The Book Cellar so far. Finally, Lucy Saunders bought a copy of my book so I wasn't shut out for the night.
Grilling With Beer

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 1:34 PM 0 comments

 
Participate in CBF Events, Win Biking Illinois
I am proud to announce that autographed copies of Biking Illinois will be offered as raffle prizes at four major Chicagoland Bicycle Federation events this year:

• May 27 -- Bank of America Bike the Drive
• June 15 -- Bike to Work Week Rally/Commuter Challenge
• July 21 -- Bike Town Bash
• September 9 -- Boulevard Lakefront Tour

Since 2000, I have supported the CBF in their efforts to improve the bicycling environment in northeastern Illinois. The organization has accomplished a great deal in that time, and I encourage anyone who rides to join. The CBF also produces the best bike map of the area, which is free with membership. More than four dozen area bike shops plus over sixty other businesses offer special discounts to CBF members. Add it all up, and membership is practically free.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 11:16 AM 0 comments

 
Bike Basics Workshop
Cycling Sisters and the Fighting 47th Ward (as it was known long before I arrived) are putting on a free bike maintenance workshop this Saturday, May 12 from 10 AM to 3 PM at 4100 N. Damen Ave. Mayor Daley's Bicycling Ambassadors will be there, and later Alderman Gene Schulter will lead a ride through the neighborhood. And there will be raffle prizes including a bike, a trailer, helmets, gift certificates, holiday packages... and an autographed copy of Biking Illinois!

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 3:54 PM 0 comments

 
Bike Lovers, Dog Lovers, Beer Lovers
The Book Cellar, my local bookstore, is having an author event on Wednesday, May 23 at 7 PM to get people psyched up for warm weather activities. Participants will include Margaret Littman (Dog Lover's Companion to Chicago: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog), Lucy Saunders (Grilling with Beer), and Lincoln Square's most renowned bicycling author, yours truly (Biking Illinois: 60 Great Road Trips and Trail Rides).

The Book Cellar is located at 4736-38 North Lincoln Avenue, just a couple of minutes from the Western Avenue stop on the Brown Line. There are lots of great restaurants nearby if you want to eat before or after. I have not scheduled any other signings this summer, so don't wait for "some other time."

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 5:35 PM 1 comments

 
I Wonder...
Having combed the state for material for Biking Illinois, I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about tourist sites here. So let's take a look at the "Seven Wonders of Illinois" according to those who voted on the Bureau of Tourism's Web site. By region:

• Northern: Starved Rock State Park, Utica. I can't argue with this one.
• Central: Allerton Park and Retreat Center, Monticello. I'll admit that I don't know much about this place except that I found it while driving around searching for the somewhat elusive Heartland Pathways, a multi-use trail project which runs through Monticello. But surely Rockome Gardens in Amish Country or something Lincoln-related near Springfield would have been a better choice. The article reports that Allerton Park conducted a strong get-out-the-vote campaign to win. By the way, I finally found the Heartland Pathways after dark and was unimpressed, although there is great potential once they become more developed.
• Western: Black Hawk State Historic Site, Rock Island. In all the times I've been to Rock Island, I've never visited this place so I can't fairly judge. In general, a site associated with Chief Black Hawk is probably a legitimate choice. And yet I can't help thinking people who have never been there thought they were voting for Loredo Taft's Black Hawk statue (officially named The Eternal Indian), which overlooks the Rock River near Oregon, IL.
• Southern: Rend Lake, Benton. This choice is ridiculous. Southern Illinois is a beautiful region with several great candidates. Yet voters overlooked Garden of the Gods (Ride 58 in Biking Illinois) and Giant City State Park (Ride 54) to pick a dammed lake? (Lest the pun slip past anyone, Rend Lake was formed by a dam on the Big Muddy River.) For that matter, what makes Rend so much better than Shelbyville, Carlyle, or any of the other man-made lakes in the state?
• Southwest: Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway, following a 33-mile strip of river through Alton, Grafton, Hartford and Elsah. This is a good choice. It's a beautiful drive through historic towns beneath magnificent bluffs -- or a beautiful ride on the parallel Vadalabene River Road Bikeway (Ride 46 in Biking Illinois).
• Chicago: Wrigley Field. I suppose my family would disown me if I argued against this one, but there are many other worthy wonders in Chicago. At least it's a better choice than the new Soldier Field!
• Chicagoland: Baha'i House of Worship, Wilmette. The suburbs have plenty of candidates, but this intricately detailed structure is probably as good a choice as any. It's also the starting point for Ride 21 in Biking Illinois.

Overall, Rend Lake is the only real stinker here, although Allerton Park is a dubious choice. Of course, my problem with lists like this is that they are so limiting. I hope they don't promote these seven "wonders" to the detriment of the other great places in Illinois.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 11:21 AM 0 comments

 
New Marketing Phase for Biking Illinois
Sometime this winter I figured out that giving away a few copies of Biking Illinois for promotional purposes is a lot cheaper than advertising and probably just as effective. Get the book out there where people can see it and someone will buy it, right? Besides, I still have many copies left over from the time my publisher suggested that I order 100 books for an event where I only sold 18. So I have begun to select non-profit events that might like to offer autographed copies of Biking Illinois as raffle prizes, door prizes, or auction items (it will be interesting to see whether they will auction for more than list price). Best of all, it's one of the few advertising channels where people thank you for your contribution.

Today was the official launch of this new marketing phase with two small, suburban events raffling or auctioning copies of Biking Illinois. The first was a golf outing benefiting two YMCAs in the Fox River Valley. It was held by my alma mater, Aurora University, at a golf course about two miles from where I grew up. The second was a short, family bike ride in Glen Ellyn to raise money for Children's Memorial Hospital.

I've already contacted several organizations that I'd like to support, including the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, the League of Illinois Bicyclists, World Bicycle Relief, and Friends of the Parks, but I'm looking for more. If you are putting on an Illinois event that involves cyclists, other recreational athletes, or any large number of Illinoisans, please e-mail me. I'll even personalize the books with a message like, "Thanks for supporting _(organization)_ at _(event)_ 2007" along with my signature.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 10:23 PM 0 comments

 
Three More Reasons to Ride Your Bike to the Botanic Garden
In Biking Illinois, I mention that you can avoid the high parking fee at the Chicago Botanic Garden by riding your bicycle there via the North Branch Trail. You don't even have to ride all the way from home -- you can park in several forest preserve lots that are only a few miles of pedaling away. Yesterday the Cook County Forest Preserve District increased the incentive to exercise, announcing that the cost to park at the garden will go up $3 on April 1. Although the garden is in suburban Glencoe, the parking fee will be a downtown Chicago-like $15 per car. That's almost double the cost of parking there just five years ago.

Admission is still free, so ride your bike and snicker as you pass the lazy people opening their wallets at the entrance!

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 10:08 AM 0 comments

 
Biking Illinois Without A Car
When I scouted and selected the 60 bike rides for Biking Illinois, I carefully chose starting points that were car-friendly with ample parking and easy access from major highways. After all, automobiles are the default mode of travel for the majority of Illinoisans. I'm sure most of my readers drive to the trailheads with their bikes mounted on racks, stuffed in hatchbacks, etc.

Reading Jennifer's Grand Illinois Trail Blog reminded me that not everyone drives or wants to drive (I lived without a car for three years in the 1990s). Since she said she was thinking about buying my book, I thought she'd like to know other ways to get to the rides. I started out writing a comment on her blog highlighting certain trips, but it became too long. So for Jennifer and anyone else enjoying a car-free lifestyle, I created a Web page with directions to every ride via public transportation including Amtrak, CTA, Metra, Pace, and Greyhound. I even categorized the rides based on how easy or difficult they are to reach.

Even if you do own a car, you might consider the "Amtrak Weekend Getaways" section. Chicago, Galesburg, Alton, and Carbondale have a combination of Amtrak access, good biking including one or more rides from my book, other attractions, and convenient lodging & dining. Amtrak has roll-on service for bikes on certain Illinois routes, so why not leave the car at home? Who knows, you might decide you can live without it.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 4:04 PM 1 comments

 
Out With A Whimper
My last Biking Illinois signing event of the year was Thursday night, right after a whirlwind, 3,000-mile, 7-day roadtrip and right before Chicago's first major snowstorm of 2006. While we managed to race home ahead of the storm (it chased us all the way from Oklahoma), the inevitable blizzard hype scared away anyone who planned to come to the Local Authors Night at Barnes & Noble in Schaumburg. I was disappointed because I felt I had generated good publicity for this one. My invitations to bike clubs hadn't been acknowledged (so they may or may not have been passed along to members), but Daily Herald cycling columnist Todd Underwood mentioned the signing, as did the e-newsletter of Windy City Sports magazine.

Fortunately there were a lot of authors there despite the dearth of customers -- I think 80-90% of the books we sold that night were to each other! My wife bought Three Boys Missing by retired Chicago police officer James A. Jack. She also picked up First-Job Survival Guide and A Greyhound's Tale as Christmas gifts. I suggested a few copies of Dating Your Money for her financially aloof sister and friends, but she thought it would be mean.

In the absence of customers, I enjoyed talking to the other writers. My aunt and uncle came for moral support, but they were out of cycling friends to buy books for. One of the managers told me that my book had sold 15 copies there since spring, which he said is very good for a regional title. That made me feel a little better about only selling two books Thursday night.

Naturally, the storm didn't even start until one hour after the event concluded -- there had been plenty of time for anyone to come out for a book or two before it hit. So here's a big, sarcastic "thanks a lot" to the weather forecasters who scared the bejesus out of everyone and spoiled my signing.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 5:12 PM 0 comments

 
Catching Up on Biking Illinois
First, don't forget my upcoming signing at Barnes & Noble in Schaumburg on Thursday, November 30 at 7 PM. I have posted a flyer and a press release for the event, which includes other local authors covering a broad range of topics. I hope my northwest suburban friends and relatives will help spread the word!

It's been a while since I looked up Biking Illinois on Google. Here are a few of the new links I found:

• Alice at Gaper's Block reviewed my book along with several other Illinois titles, including the venerable Off The Beaten Path.
• My local bookstore, The Book Cellar, has been very supportive. They added Biking Illinois to their Web page of Chicago books.
• My list of the best places to ride in Chicagoland besides the lakefront (North Branch Trail, Des Plaines River Trail (Lake County), Waterfall Glen, Fox River Trail, Moraine Hills, Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail, Busse Woods, Illinois Prairie Path, Salt Creek Trail) is still on the Chicago Tribune's Web site.
• I enjoy seeing my book listed by libraries. I've lost track of which ones I've mentioned, but at least a dozen from all over the state come up on Google. It looks like the Chicago Public Library purchased quite a few copies! At this moment there are six copies checked out throughout the city, including one of the three carried by my local Sulzer Regional Library. My hometown Oswego Public Library has it, too.

Finally, I should mention that I switched to a new version of Blogger this weekend (coincidentally along with Internet Exploder 7.0), so now you can read all of my entries about Biking Illinois by clicking on the "Biking Illinois" label.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 9:30 PM 0 comments

 
"Flat as a Tire?" Ouch!
I got my first negative review on Amazon recently. Damn, is my writing really that terrible? The press has been positive, and I've talked to people at signing events who enjoy Biking Illinois: 60 Great Road Trips and Trail Rides. That's why the virulent skewering from "BikeBuff" surprises me. A few things about the review hint that it might be a personal attack, but regardless, my book looks pretty awful with only one good review at Amazon to counter it.

I won't respond directly, but I'd like to remind everyone that there are plenty of great road rides in my book, too -- rides you won't find anywhere else (everyone asks me about the trails, but the roads took much more research). Also, no one should expect my bike path descriptions to be as detailed as those in Jim Hochgesang's excellent county books -- Biking Illinois covers the whole state, for goodness' sake!

I think Amazon customers deserve more than two reviews of my book. If you've read Biking Illinois, please write your own review at Amazon.com, good or bad. Thanks.

UPDATE 02/14/2007 - I don't know when it happened, but I noticed today that the negative review has been removed from Amazon.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 1:37 AM 1 comments

 
Christmas Signing
I just scheduled my first Biking Illinois signing for the Christmas season. It's at a bookstore where I've spent many evenings, the Barnes & Noble on Golf Road in Schaumburg. My aunt and uncle live in Streamwood, so I stop at that bookstore on the way home from their house (note: B&N is open later on Sundays than the Borders down the road). It's a "local author night" with many participants, so I won't be giving a presentation, just signing books and talking one-on-one. The event is from 7 PM to 9 PM on Thursday, November 30.

So many authors say this that it's a cliche, but my book really does make a great Christmas gift. If you know someone in Illinois who rides a bicycle, you can't really go wrong with Biking Illinois. Besides, I've been signing books intended as Christmas gifts since August!

By the way, I recently added photos to my Web site from the "Moonshine Run" ride, and I should be adding a couple more rides in the next week. So keep checking BikingIllinois.com -- eventually I'll have photos from every ride there.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 2:34 PM 1 comments

 
The End Of The Tour
Friday night at Barnes & Noble in Geneva marked the end of my summer book tour. That's a shame because my signings have been getting better and better.

I drove out of the city early to avoid the worst of Friday afternoon rush hour traffic. I ate dinner at Bennigan's, passing IHOP and Steak N Shake after the bad experiences I noted earlier on my tour. My monte cristo was especially greasy and sat in my belly like a sack of potatoes, but the hurricane I drank went down smoothly. If I hadn't been doing a book signing, I would have ordered another.

As usual, I got to the bookstore about 15 minutes early. The community relations manager (the B&N person who handles events) said my book has been selling very well lately. In fact, she panicked a bit last week when she was down to only one copy. Fortunately, more books came in time for my signing. She won my heart when she asked me up front to sign any left over books for stock (that's a vote of confidence -- it means, "I'm not going to ship them back the minute you walk out the door"). It was good that I came a few minutes early because there was a Winnie the Pooh storytelling event starting at the same time. She got me all set up and headed back to Pooh, checking up on me a few times throughout the evening.

A tandem-riding couple came in to buy my book and decided to get another for their son. Everyone who came in was enthusiastic. Oddly enough, they all shook my hand, too. My brother and my sister-in-law came to visit, keeping me company between signings. Later, my uncle stopped in briefly to buy a book. Over the course of two hours, I signed about eight books for customers, which was especially good considering how many copies had sold there in the weeks before my signing. Since no one mentioned the Fox Valley Bicycle and Ski Club or the QuavR Cycling Club although both publicized the event, I assume interested members bought their books beforehand. I signed about ten more copies for stock. The community relations manager said she was pleased. It was a far cry from the downstate double-debacle of Normal and Peoria exactly two months before.

I might do a couple of holiday signings (Biking Illinois makes a great gift!), and I'm already planning a spring book tour. My strong sales at Geneva should help me schedule more events at Barnes & Noble stores. In the meantime, a bike club has invited me to make a presentation at their monthly meeting, so I might do a winter speaking tour of some sort. I also have a (non-cycling) book proposal in the works.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 7:58 PM 0 comments

 
Downers Grove
I had a decent weekend signing in front of Anderson's Bookshop in downtown Downers Grove. They provided a table and a chair; the rest was up to me. I felt like Jonathan C. Miller in Amarillo in August (an obscure reference I hope to clarify with a future book review). It's too bad the store isn't located a bit further south near the expo where everyone else was selling things. There was still a fair amount of foot traffic, however, since I was between the parking lots and the race course.

Saturday's best moment: A guy walking down the sidewalk pointed at Biking Illinois and said to his companion, "That's a great book!" as they passed. I'm not sure he even knew I was the author; a lot of people seemed to think I was a bookstore clerk. In retrospect I should have made "meet the author" signs. People inevitably became much more interested when they found out I wrote the book and wasn't merely selling it.

I stayed for 3-1/2 hours although I had planned on only two. A friend who recommended 3:00-5:00 gave good advice, though -- I sold eight books during that timeframe. On the other hand, the woman who bought the ninth book was so happy, it would have been a shame to miss her.

I returned at 12:30 on Sunday. This time I just grabbed the table (which still had my books from Saturday) and carried it outside myself. I didn't do as well as on Saturday, selling five books despite talking to a lot of potential customers. I hope to get some future sales for my efforts. Sometimes people don't have any money (though one guy on Saturday actually went to an ATM to get cash!), and other times people just need to think about it for a while. A bike shop owner asked me how to order books to sell at the shop. I had to refer her to my Web site because I didn't have the wholesale info handy.

Sunday's best moment: A young man came up to me with a piece of paper. "Can you sign this for me? My parents have your book, and they love it. They're doing every ride. They check them off as they go. Last weekend they went to Channahon." He wanted to give them the paper to put in their book, so I happily signed. I enjoy feedback like that even more than I enjoy selling books.

The street became pretty empty once the USPRO championship race started a little after 3:00, so I left at 3:30. All in all, my Downers Grove signings went well. When I spoke to the manager of Anderson's on Tuesday, he seemed pleased (he did nicely for a minimal investment of time and a table). He invited me to return next year. If I do, I'll make signs so people know who I am.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 7:44 PM 0 comments

 
My Night as a Star
After signing books at six other Borders locations, I thought I knew the routine pretty well. Each store has its quirks, but they are similar enough: walk in, introduce yourself, sit at the table, and sign books, answering questions along the way. Lincoln Village, my last stop on the Borders Across Illinois Tour, was much different.

I must admit I had high hopes for this signing. It was mentioned in several newspapers, most notably the area's top alternative weekly, The Chicago Reader. They even put it on "The List," a day-by-day calendar of featured events. In other words, The Reader declared it the thing to do on Wednesday, August 16.

When I arrived, I saw a display rack advertising my appearance, but I didn't see a table anywhere. So much for attracting people as they walked in the door. Then I went upstairs. Several employees were setting up chairs, a table (no black cloth this time)... and a sound system. Yikes, a microphone! When I introduced myself, I was invited into the back room, behind the "staff only" door. An ice bucket filled with bottled water was waiting for me. It was like sitting in the green room. I talked with an employee for a while, and then she made an announcement on the PA system. She escorted me out to my table and read a brief introduction. There were about 15 people there, and they applauded me!

Since I don't really have a presentation as such, I asked if anyone had questions. Fortunately, I spoke loudly enough that the microphone was unnecessary. We had a pretty good discussion that managed to stay on-topic (i.e. about the book, not about a broad range of cycling issues). On reflection, I am glad this type of event happened now instead of a couple of months ago. I have talked about the book enough that I speak much more easily and confidently than I did during my first signing.

The crowd was genuinely enthusiastic. One couple had just completed the Grand Illinois Trail, and they were anxious to explore the places in my book. Another reminded me that one of the trails in my book was just beyond the Borders parking lot (somehow I had forgotten to mention it). One highlight of the evening was talking with a man raised in Metropolis. He was looking for rides he could do on the way home. I took great pleasure in pointing out the index subheading "Along I-57" followed by six rides. He smiled. "Yep, that's me, 300 miles down I-57!" Lots of people asked questions, and there were several employees on hand to help me with everything. This was definitely the most professionally executed and organized signing I have done. I really felt like a star.

So what was my total for the night? I'm not sure. I was so busy talking that I didn't keep count very well. To my surprise, not everyone who bought a book wanted an autograph. I signed about six books but probably sold twice as many.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 5:58 PM 0 comments

 
The Rockford Files
My Rockford adventure got off to a lousy start. I drove out there early to get out of Chicago before rush hour. Along the way, I recalled that this signing was very near the site of one of my biggest failures on a bike -- the day I aborted my five-day Grand Illinois Trail tour after only two days. Great, now I had demons to get rid of.

Dinner certainly didn't help. Both the food and service were disappointing. One of these days I'll learn my lesson and swear off Steak n Shake forever. I was too annoyed to order a shake for dessert although that was my primary reason for choosing that restaurant in the first place. Since I still had more than an hour to kill, I tried to console myself with a Snickers Blizzard at Dairy Queen instead. I ate half and then lost interest -- I don't think that's ever happened before. I was reading Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, which was funny but not in a way that raised my spirits. I recognized that I was in a funk. As I drove to Borders I hoped I could shake it, or else it would be a very long night.

My first impression was not encouraging. My signing was at 7 PM, but at 6:30 there was only a table covered with a black cloth. Without books or a chair, it looked funereal. I perused the shelves and generally lurked around the information desk; I'm never sure exactly what time I'm supposed to introduce myself. I noticed the obligatory display rack of hometown heroes Cheap Trick (their latest album is even called Rockford). When I overheard two customers asking about me, I figured it was time. This was a very good sign -- people actually arrived early in anticipation of the event!

Once I announced myself, a clerk brought out some books, a chair, and a bottle of water for me. Perhaps they have a lot of no-shows and didn't want to over-prepare? Actually, my biggest fear hasn't come true yet -- I am always afraid that the bookstore might not be expecting me at all. Or worse, that they were expecting me yesterday. Anyway, I was already signing books by 7:00. Once I shifted into author mode, my bad attitude disappeared. I lost count of how many books I signed during the first 15 minutes, but I'm pretty sure the total for the night was about ten. Several of the clerks were impressed. "A lot of authors don't do that well signing here," one said. She proceeded to introduce herself, and I got the sense that she was flirting with me. I should have become an author when I was single. Chicks dig it.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 11:51 PM 0 comments

 
A Greasy, Wet Night in Orland Park
My first task in Orland Park was to find Orland Park Cyclery. There I bought a desperately needed pair of cycling gloves and made a good pitch for my book. The clerk was excited, but of course he'll have to talk to the boss. With an hour to kill, I went to IHOP for an awful ham and cheese omelette. Although it's usually my favorite breakfast meal, IHOP spoiled it with too much cheddar, jack, and Swiss cheese. Those are all too greasy, and the cheese flavor drowns out the ham and egg. American cheese is much better. At least the new corn pancakes were tasty (they replaced the Cream of Wheat-infused Country Griddle Cakes on the menu). After a trip to the bathroom to make sure no food was stuck in my teeth, I headed over to Borders.

When I walked in, I was surprised to see a dozen chairs set up in front of my signing table. Wow, these people are expecting me to draw a crowd. This was my fifth Borders signing, but it was the only one with audience seating. I hoped they knew something that I didn't. They had a nice set-up with a tall display rack of books and a stack of flyers advertising the event (I took some for my souvenir collection). When I asked for water they gave me a bottle, much to my relief (usually I get a glass of water, and I'm always worried that I'll knock it over and ruin a bunch of books!).

Shortly after 7:30, I saw an older man and woman enter the store. The man was wearing cycling clothes, but he was also wearing a back brace and using a walker. It turned out to be Bill, an online acquaintance who writes entertaining reports about his bike tours. He was recently diagnosed with spinal cancer (unbeknownst to me) but exhibits an incredibly positive attitude. "I just have to get over this hurdle, then I'll be on the bike again soon." Wow. Here I had been thinking of something so trivial as how awful traffic was on my drive to Orland Park, and this guy made a special trip to meet me despite his illness. Had he not been a fit cyclist, he probably would have been unable to even get out of bed. I wasn't the only person inspired; a woman who bought my book had Bill sign it, too!

Those were the only books I sold, but it was a fun night. I have discovered the real reason to do book signings -- it's not about selling books, it's about meeting people. Since I bought five books, Borders made more money from me than from my book. At least they let me sign their entire inventory, about 20 copies.

The torrential downpour probably had something to do with the small turnout. Midway Airport reported 2.28 inches in only 78 minutes. The worst of it hit Orland Park as I was leaving Borders. I waited a few minutes in the vestibule, talking with an attractive young woman who was headed to Florence, Italy for school. She found my book interesting, but I couldn't persuade her to buy one since she's leaving the country.

The rain let up a bit and I ran to my car (I had parked in the back of the lot to leave the closer spaces for my hordes of fans). As I jumped in, the rain got heavy again. Fortunately I didn't have to pick up my wife from work until midnight so I read my new books in the car for an hour at least I had parked under a streetlamp). Finally the rain stopped, so I headed back toward Chicago. I hadn't gone far when I noticed the streets were dry -- for such a deluge, the storm had traversed a pretty narrow path.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 5:45 PM 0 comments

 
My First National Championships
Suburban Downers Grove hosts the National Criterium Championships every August. Criterium bicycle races are known for "high speeds, short courses, multiple laps, a tinge of danger and heart pounding sprints." And this year, I'll be a part of it.

But Dave, you're just a cyclotourist, and a darn lazy one lately.

I won't actually be participating. Heck, I might not even see any of the races. But by golly, I'll be signing books! Anderson's Bookshop in downtown Downers Grove will be hosting me on Saturday, August 19 from 3-5 PM and Sunday, August 20 from 1-3 PM. I'll have a table in front of the store on the sidewalk.

I can even work the hometown angle like I did in Champaign since I spent some of my (worst) formative years in neighboring Woodridge. I just hope I don't run into my second grade teacher -- I thought she was a witch. Hey, maybe I'll see the girl who barfed on my coat during recess... such fond memories!

So if you're attending the races, stop by between events to get your very own autographed copy of Biking Illinois: 60 Great Road Trips and Trail Rides. Anderson's Bookshop is on Main Street between the race course and the train station.

Other upcoming events:

• August 15, 2006 Rockford, IL 7:00 PM @ Borders, 199 Deane Dr.
• August 16, 2006 Chicago, IL 7:30 PM @ Borders Lincoln Village, 6103 N. Lincoln Ave. -- This one could be big. It's been listed in the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Reader.
• September 15, 2006 Geneva, IL 7:00 PM @ Barnes & Noble Geneva Commons, 103 Commons Dr.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 12:46 PM 0 comments

 
A Night in the Cellar

Someone beat me to it, but I should report on last Thursday's signing at The Book Cellar. I arrived around 6:50 PM and no one was there yet, but the tables were set up in the cafe area of the store. Two other authors were supposed to take part, but Lynn Schnaiberg couldn't make it. Her book Urban Adventure Chicago has some overlap with mine since it includes a chapter about cycling on roads and bike paths. We could have had an interesting discussion. As I was killing time looking at books (I love The Pop-Up Book of Phobias!), a man approached me. It turned out he has been reading about my bicycling exploits on my Web site for more than a year! He even read my cross-country trip journal... in one night. That was so cool -- I've received e-mails from site visitors, but I never met one in person before.

Around 7:10 there were enough people to start. I went first, bumbling through my brief talk as one might expect from someone who spends much more time writing than speaking. I really need to develop those skills and put together a cohesive presentation about my book. Next Noah Liberman discussed The Flat Stick, which is about golf putters (his other book, Glove Affairs, is about baseball gloves) and came across far more polished. I suppose it helps that this is his second book; he's had more practice. If you are a golfer, I wholeheartedly recommend you check out The Flat Stick. It's much more interesting than I expected. I nearly bought it, and I've never golfed in my life.

Cyclo-Chris came in to get a few books. I was amazed that he hadn't seen the book yet, and I wondered how long it would take for him to notice his name in the acknowledgements (answer: about 12 hours). Thanks to him I had a good night, selling six or seven books. Signings also publicize the book to people who don't come -- today a neighbor asked my wife if I was the Johnsen who wrote the biking book. Everyone at The Book Cellar was really nice. It's like an urban incarnation of my favorite small-town bookstore, Books on First in Dixon, IL.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 6:23 PM 0 comments

 
Doggone It, People Like Me!
Or at least my book, which is good enough. Todd Underwood, bicycling columnist for the Daily Herald, gave Biking Illinois a great review this week. I like that he noticed all the research that went into the rides, including history and background. He even listed my Web site. This was a much-needed ego boost after my long, lonely Saturday in central Illinois.

I forgot to mention here that a few weeks ago my hometown newspaper, the Oswego Ledger-Sentinel, did a nice half-page story about me and my book. Unfortunately, they didn't put it online so I can't link to it. Reporter John Borneman asked me to provide a photo, but when I dragged my heels, he used this picture from my Grand Illinois Trail homepage instead. Since I was six years younger and 40 pounds lighter then, I think he made a great choice!

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 5:29 PM 0 comments

 
Will Biking Illinois Play in Peoria?
After the short drive on I-74 to Peoria, we enjoyed a long, relaxed dinner at the Olive Garden on my company's tab. We got to Borders about half an hour before my signing. Despite the morale bust of Normal, I was excited about Peoria. At least one bike club had published my invitation in their newsletter, local outdoors writer Jeff Lampe had given the book a positive review and listed my signing in his "upcoming events" column for two weeks, and a friend had said he would try to get his racing friends to come. Surely Biking Illinois would play in Peoria.

The employee who welcomed me was already familiar with the book, having looked up the Rock Island State Trail before I arrived. He was a runner who had done a lot of preparation for the Gay Games marathon (in Chicago) on that trail. I hope for his sake that next weekend is cooler; running a marathon in this heat can be miserable or even deadly (the LaSalle Banks Chicago Marathon is held in October to avoid such weather). He made an announcement at 7 PM as I prepared myself for the hordes of cyclists anxious to get a copy of my book. Half an hour later, I was still waiting for the hordes when a middle-aged couple came in. They had seen the signing in the newspaper (thanks, Jeff!). We talked for a while as both thumbed through copies, and then I signed one for them.

That turned out to be the highlight of my evening. I talked to several others briefly, some of whom seemed pretty interested, but no one was willing to pony up for a book. One guy said his son was a bike racer in Chicago, so I gave him a business card hoping for a future sale. And that was it. One book for the whole night. I had arrived confident that Peoria would easily exceed Normal, and it turned out to be even worse. At least the Borders guy let me sign six books for stock, quite reasonable as opposed to the two that I signed for Normal. He blamed the heat for my poor turnout, as well as competition from other weekend events -- a balloon festival to the west and a county fair to the east.

I hadn't expected to draw a Stephen King-sized crowd in central Illinois, but I had hoped to sell more than fifteen books. If not for Champaign, my weekend book tour would have been a complete disaster. At least my trip to the Quad Cities had paid for itself. On the bright side, I enjoyed meeting the people who did come out, and it was nice to get away for a weekend, especially since I could deduct it all as business expense (now if only I had more business income this year).

Next up: Thursday night at The Book Cellar on Lincoln Avenue. At least it won't cost me anything to get there since I can walk!

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 11:59 PM 1 comments

 
SNAFU: Situation Normal...
My afternoon signing at Borders in Normal got off to a bad start. I walked in around 11:30 for my noon signing. Then I saw a display for my book that said I would be there... at 1 PM. Uh-oh. For the past week or two, I had been sending out reminders about my signing at noon. I went out to the car and looked at my e-mails. Yep, it was supposed to be 1 PM. But what if someone came earlier based on my e-mails?

Embarrassed, I found a Borders manager and asked if we could set up an hour early. I was disrupting their schedule, something my friend who used to work in a bookstore advised me not to do. It didn't matter, really -- no one showed up between noon and 1 PM as I sat there by the customer information counter in the middle of the store (notice that I didn't get a location in front). In fact, the store was pretty empty, no doubt because temperatures were approaching 100 degrees -- why go out in that heat to get a book signed when the air conditioning at home feels so much better?

That was the theme for Normal -- all the people who didn't come. With the rest of the afternoon open on my itinerary, I stayed until 3:30... and sold two books. Two books in 3-1/2 hours. I gave a business card to a woman who said she didn't have the money to buy it right away, but other than that I hardly talked to anyone aside from one friendly employee who asked me dozens of questions. Too bad he got stuck at the front register for most of the afternoon because I was pretty lonely. Another employee walked past, simply asking, "Your first book?" I understood the subtext: You naive fool, you think people are actually going to show up for your book signing.

Even my wife ignored me, burying her nose in a book on the other end of the store. Gosh, just because they only gave me one chair doesn't mean you can't say hi every so often. When she finally came to see me after two hours, I had to give her my seat to get her to stay. Some background: on Friday night, my wife noticed that she wasn't wearing her wedding ring. Since I was wearing mine, we decided that people would think she was my mistress, or maybe a writer groupie. Back to Saturday -- I told her if anyone asked why she was in the chair instead of the author, I would tell them that she promised she'd sleep with me if I let her sit there.

As I prepared to leave, I asked how many copies I should sign for stock. The manager flatly responded,"Well, considering the turnout today, two." Two? Two freaking copies? It was the first time I was told not to sign every copy, but I found two to be a rather insulting number. After all, most stores stocked five copies or so, and the guy in Davenport told me autographed copies sell 20% better than others. Later I said to my wife, "They should have just said, 'Here, sign this piece of toilet paper.'" Not missing a beat, she replied, "Yeah, so they could flush it."

The local bike club had posted an invitation from me on their Web site. An online acquaintenance had said she would come. But the only books I signed were for people who just happened to be in the store when I was. My promotional efforts were all for naught. Some Borders people said the oppressive heat was probably to blame, but I couldn't help walking out of there feeling like the biggest loser ever granted an ISBN.

My next stop was Peoria, where I had promoted my signing much better. Plus Saturday night would probably draw more people than a hot Saturday afternoon...

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 11:31 PM 0 comments

 
Champaign -- My First Home
Friday afternoon my wife and I drove to Champaign for a Biking Illinois book signing. I was born there 36 years ago, right after my mom finished taking her final exams. We only lived there for a few years before we moved to the Chicago suburbs.

When we got to town, we had dinner at Famous Dave's Barbecue, which is located in a nifty round barn. I love their barbecued pork salad. Then we happened upon Champaign Cycle, and I figured I'd try to get them to stock my book. Although the doors were still open, it was ten minutes past closing time. An employee flipped through the book, wrote down some information, and promised to look into it. The store is huge, by the way, with lots of space to get around. I'm used to Chicago bike shops where the real estate is too expensive for wide aisles.

The next part of this story is surreal. I was trying to get to University Avenue to get back to the interstate. When I turned onto a street leading in that direction, I realized it was a dead end. As I looked for a place to turn around, I noticed the apartment buildings. Their bricks were an unusual shade, sort of a grayish white. "Oh my God," I exclaimed to my wife. "I used to live here!"

She asked how I could possibly know since I had moved away at age three. "I've seen pictures, and I recognize those bricks." I also recalled my dad mentioning that our apartment was on the west end of Champaign near the interstate, which was exactly where we were. In retrospect, I should have taken a picture, but I was more concerned about getting to my book signing on time.

When we arrived at Borders, there were posters on the front door with my name (spelled correctly!) and a photo of my book. Very cool. (They let me keep them afterward as souvenirs.) I had a table just inside the front door, so everyone saw me as they entered. I had a great time meeting all sorts of cyclists. A guy from the Touring e-mail list told me about his upcoming family tour of central and southern Illinois. I talked with a bike commuter who wanted to broaden his horizons, a woman who loved her recumbent tricycle, a guy who was new to Illinois and wanted to explore the state, and a woman who has been tormented by farm dogs that chase her. All of them bought books. All told, I signed a dozen books for customers and about a dozen more for stock. Since I only sold a couple at my first bookstore signing in Davenport, I was thrilled by the response. And the weekend was just beginning...

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 1:06 PM 0 comments

 
EGOogling Biking Illinois

Every month or so since my book came out, I have been Googling "Biking Illinois" to see what comes up. Though it seems like a total ego trip, searching the Internet has turned up some interesting stuff, including reviews I never knew were written. Here's what I found today:

• My own site to promote the book is listed second by Google (Trailmonkey's Illinois Biking Homepage is first). Considering that "Biking Illinois" is a relatively broad phrase, that makes me very happy.
• Peoria Journal Star outdoors columnist Jeff Lampe mentioned my book on June 6 in a collection of briefs. It only gets three sentences, but it's in the first paragraph.
• Several Illinois libraries have my book in their collections, including Edwardsville, Glenview, and Winfield. I also learned that my Dewey Decimal System number is 796.6309773. I didn't know they went past three decimal places.
• An e-mail acquaintance downstate posted a message about my book on SIU Cycling's message board (I knew that part). Someone from Murphysboro responded that he had bought the book (yay!) and was planning to do the two rides that start in Olive Branch at the foot of the state. Nowhere to go but up from there, I guess -- just work backward through the book.
• My book is available all over the world. While it is tedious to scroll through all the bookstore links, it is pretty cool to see the book for sale on Japanese, Korean, Italian, and Dutch Web sites (and that doesn't include any of the Amazons -- France, Germany, et al). Of course, this is purely vanity; I don't expect any international sales for this type of book.
• Unbeknownst to me, a long review of Biking Illinois apparently ran in the Lincoln Daily News on May 24. And best of all, it is positive (actually, no one has really criticized the book yet, at least in print). To my surprise, the review even mentions two road rides (more on that below).
• And finally, it looks as though the copy of Biking Illinois that Doug Goodman of the Rockford Register Star used to write my first review was given away to a lucky reader one week later. On a very creepy note, the same article mentions that Carl Becker died on April 13. Fortunately, that was not my grandfather, but a different Carl Becker (though I realize as I write fortunately that those who knew the other Carl Becker would not agree).

One other item didn't make it online: a brief review in Chicago Athlete's June issue. My sole complaint about that review is that it focuses on the trail rides. I think the best part of my book, the part you can't find anywhere else, is the road rides. Those required much more research than the trails did, but thus far few people seem to appreciate them. I know a lot of people believe that roads are too dangerous for bicycling, but give these rides a chance. You probably won't see more than five cars on some of them.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 4:53 PM 0 comments

 
Lyrics of the Day
Today's selection comes from the last song I heard in my rented Chevy Malibu tonight on the way back to the Moline Motel 6 from the Borders in Davenport -- "A World of Hurt" by the Drive-By Truckers from their latest album, A Blessing and a Curse:

The secret to a happy ending is knowing when to roll the credits
Better roll them now before something else goes wrong

I should have rolled the credits this morning after I finished signing books for the Grand Illinois Trail and Parks (GITAP) riders. It's not that the rest of the day went badly, just that the happy ending came and went too early.

Bob Morgan and I were at our table in Borders from 7 PM to 9:15 PM. We were encouraged by the employee who told us this was already his store's third order of our books. I signed a couple of books, and Bob signed three or four. Some people talked to us for five minutes and walked away. Some goofy old codger talked to Bob about everything under the sun, including how he was turning 76 next week. And to think I feel old at 36. Anyway, after a steady stream for a very brief time, the well ran dry. We got hardly a look for the next 90 minutes, even though our table was right by the entrance.

Two things saved the evening. One was talking politics (for lack of a better word) with Bob. It is so refreshing to have a conversation with someone who perceives many things the way I do. We were practically finishing each other's sentences. My favorite part was hearing how Bob stood up at a political rally against the estate tax when a politician claimed it had to be abolished to save the farms of the people in the audience. Bob asked, "How many people here intend to leave an estate worth more than $2 million?" No one answered, but the politician started to get mad. Bob said, "Then guess what? The estate tax doesn't affect any of you!" The politician continued on as if Bob never existed, but I hope some of the audience recognized this great myth being told about the estate tax: while Republicans claim that families are forced to sell their farms because of the estate tax, it just isn't so:

Despite oft-repeated claims that the estate tax has dire consequences for family farms and small businesses, there is in fact very little evidence that it has an outsize impact on these groups. Indeed, the American Farm Bureau Federation acknowledged to the New York Times that it could not cite a single example of a farm having to be sold to pay estate taxes.

Earlier in the day we had discussed unsustainability and water issues in the West and the High Plains. Usually I'm either arguing or educating about such topics, so it was nice to hear some agreement for once. Now if only we could convince enough people to overthrow the current regime (just for starters).

The other thing that saved the night was the huge stack of books that the Borders guy had us sign. I read somewhere that authors should sign as many copies of their books as possible because once they are signed, they cannot be returned. If that is true, I effectively sold dozens of books at the Davenport Borders tonight. I had to laugh when the employee said he was going to put them on the Father's Day gift table. My father hasn't been on a bike in decades!

Total sales for the day: 17 copies sold personally, two copies sold at Borders. Considering that I sold 84% of those books before 8:15 AM, perhaps I should have rolled the credits then. It was a fun experience being a celebrity author for a day though, and at least the GITAP sales covered my motel, gas, car rental, meals, etc. I'm not getting rich, but I can live with breaking even.

Labels: Biking Illinois, lyrics

- posted by David Johnsen @ 11:03 PM 0 comments

 
My First Television Interview
The Biking Illinois media juggernaut continues...

I'm glad my morning signing went so well because the lunchtime event at the Midwest Writing Center (MWC) was underwhelming. Only a handful of people showed up, most of them affiliated with the MWC. Although we had an interesting discussion about trails, I only sold one book. Damn. Looks like I'll be lugging a couple of boxes back home. Of course, it didn't exactly help when Bob Morgan (Biking Iowa) announced that our books are much cheaper at Amazon.com. I wanted to slap him! Sure they are, but I can make a whole lot more money selling a book myself than I can from a royalty! I wonder if he'll have the nerve to say that at Borders tonight...

Bob and I ate lunch together afterward. I was disappointed with the adjective in my meal. It said "baked ham and swiss cheese sandwich." I thought the sandwich was baked so it would be warm and the cheese would be melted, but no, only the ham was baked. Oh well, for a plain old deli sandwich, it was pretty good.

Bob followed me to the WQPT studios on the campus of Black Hawk College in Moline. Perspective host Susan McPeters interviewed us for half an hour about our books. Bob clearly has more TV experience, plus he's a real talker. It was hard to get a word in, although McPeters managed to direct some questions to me. Not that I deserved the air time -- I'm a lousy speaker anyway. At least I had answers for her questions, even if I didn't elucidate very well. The time passed quickly, mercifully. I'm sure I sucked, but I'm also pretty sure I wasn't as awful as I think I was. If you live in the Quad Cities, you can find out for yourself next weekend -- the episode debuts on my mom's birthday, June 23. Or you could even buy a copy of the show, but I'd rather sell you a book.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 5:45 PM 0 comments

 
My First Book Signing Plus New Signings
I had a very receptive audience this morning at the Grand Illinois Trail and Parks ride. Today is a rest day in the midst of their week-long bicycle tour of northern Illinois. Although I had dreamed of selling more, I was happy to sign and sell 16 copies of Biking Illinois. Many riders took business cards, so I hope they will make a purchase later. A lot of them are from bike clubs, so maybe they will tell fellow members about my book, too. The legendary Mike Bentley of Mike's Mega Bicycle Links fame was there, so I got to thank him for the back cover blurb. I met many enthusiastic cyclists, plus I covered my expenses for the trip. That means the noon and evening signings will be all profit.

I have also scheduled two more signings in the Chicago area in August. The first will be Thursday, August 10 at the Borders in Orland Park. The second will be Wednesday, August 16 at the Borders in Lincoln Village, which is at the northern edge of Chicago. I won't be signing at any North Shore Borders this summer, so I hope to lure northern suburbanites to Lincoln Village (free parking!). Both signings are at 7:30 PM. These events are also listed on my Web site.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 10:07 AM 0 comments

 
Biking Illinois Update
I added a page for upcoming events and appearances to BikingIllinois.com.

This Thursday I will be in the Quad Cities area for a long day of signing books. I'll start with a breakfast visit to the Grand Illinois Trail And Parks (GITAP) bike tour at Augustana College in Rock Island. At lunchtime I'll be at the Midwest Writing Center in Davenport with Biking Iowa author Bob Morgan. In the afternoon we are going to discuss various bicycling issues on a show for WQPT-TV. Then we will sign books at Borders in Davenport at 7 PM.

The other scheduled events so far are in July. On July 14-15 I will sign at several Borders stores in central Illinois, including Champaign, Normal, and Peoria. Closer to home, on July 20 I will be at The Book Cellar's Local Author Night just a few blocks away.

In other news, last Sunday my book was briefly reviewed in the Chicago Tribune's Travel section. Although the review seems to focus on the first ten pages of the book, I'm happy to get the exposure. With more newspaper coverage to come in the near future, Biking Illinois is gaining momentum as summer finally arrives.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 10:03 PM 0 comments

 
Upcoming Appearances
I finally have enough book events (i.e., more than one) to put out a tentative schedule:

June 15 - I will be in Davenport, Iowa for Quad Cities Bicycle Week. I'll get to meet Bob Morgan, author of Biking Iowa, in person (we've been corresponding by e-mail for some time since we are both on the bicycle touring e-mail list). We'll be signing books at noon and in the evening -- click here for details.

July 20 - My local book store, The Book Cellar, will be having a sports-themed local author night. Someone else who lives on my street has written a book about golf, and another author has some kind of adventure book.

That leaves my entire month of May open, if anyone has any ideas!

In other book news, my hometown newspaper, the Oswego Ledger-Sentinel, is interested in doing a story. I e-mailed them and got a response from John Etheredge. I mention this because I have been reading newspaper stories by Etheredge since I was an aspiring journalist in high school. Needless to say, he's been with the paper for a long time. Does anyone know whether the Champaign News-Gazette has run their story about my book yet?

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 7:49 PM 0 comments

 
My First Radio Interview
Well, that was interesting. Thank goodness it wasn't "live." Or television. I was scheduled to do my first radio interview for Biking Illinois at 10 AM today. My wife was getting up at 9 AM, so I asked her to wake me up when she awoke. Instead, she walked over to the bed as I was waking on my own, around 9:30. Before I even sat up in bed, the telephone rang. My interviewer wanted to start early!

I tried to collect my thoughts as best I could, but I felt about as coherent as Ozzy Osbourne after four hours on a Tilt-A-Whirl. Hours later, it feels like I dreamt it all. Truth be told, I may as well have, since no one I know has a chance of hearing it.

The radio station is located in Herrin, Illinois. Unfortunately, I was too nervous to catch the call letters. Thanks to Google, I figured out later that the station is WJPF-AM 1020 and 1340. The only reason I know the interviewer was Rick Gregg is because I wrote it down yesterday. He interviewed me for three minutes or so, or at least that's how he intended to edit it. I hope he's a good audio editor because I gave him a lot to cut!

What did I talk about? Let's see... My favorite trail, what I learned about southern Illinois, something about Giant City and Horseshoe Lake... Gosh, I hardly remember what was asked, much less what I answered. Too bad I can't hear the interview myself. I might learn something.

By the way, I have to say that WJPF wasn't a station I ever listened to, despite nearby Marion being my home base for southern Illinois. Just look at their line-up: Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Laura Ingraham, and Michael Reagan. In other words, most of my favorite contenders for a battle royale to the death. At least then there would only be one of them left to spew disinformation over the airwaves. Too bad they don't carry Michael Savage instead of Michael Reagan.

My interview should be on The Morning News Watch between 6 AM and 9 AM, before the hot air starts spewing out of the radio. Probably Wednesday, but maybe later this week. Let me know if you hear it.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 11:32 PM 0 comments

 
Biking Illinois Availability
I went to lunch with a bunch of old friends from my running days today. I thought I'd be doing my first book signing, too, but no one had bought the book yet! Oh well, I had a sample copy to pass around that maybe helped the fence-sitters decide to buy. Like I said, "Well, it's got great maps and some nice pictures, even if the writing is crap!"

Next on my agenda after lunch (it wasn't really lunch for me since I didn't eat, but I watched others eat) was a survey of downtown book stores. First I went to Borders on State Street, which had six or seven copies of my book on the shelf. Then I went to After-words, an independent store across the street from the American Medical Association, where I used to consult. They didn't have it. I had hoped to dazzle the owner with my sample copy, but she wasn't there. Instead, someone gave me her business card and suggested that I e-mail her about it.

After eating lunch for real, I headed into Borders on Michigan Avenue, a huge store that does tons of business, probably more than any other book store in the city though I can't prove it. I was happy to see six or seven copies of my book there. I was less happy to see a hardcover edition on the bargain table of a book I had just purchased for full price in paperback at After-words. On the bright side, I had a credit balance at After-words from selling them used books, so at least I didn't hand over twice as much cash for the paperback (it's weak, but it's all I've got so humor me). Next I went to Barnes & Noble on Rush Street. That store had three copies of my book with the cover facing outward. I hopped on the L and rode home, stopping at The Book Cellar (which isn't actually in a cellar, for what it's worth), my nearest store. I explained that I was a local author with a new book, and the cashier had me leave a note for the owner with my name and number.

So the bottom line is that the big chains have it, which bodes well. Most people who don't buy it online will look for it at Borders or Barnes & Noble, and they should find it. Plus people who don't know about it can discover it while browsing there. I'll have to work on the independents, but all in all, I'm happy. I feared that it wasn't in any stores!

By the way, it took a couple of weeks, but Amazon.com has the cover photo now, as you can see to the right.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 10:27 PM 0 comments

 
My First Review
Yesterday, Outdoors Editor Doug Goodman reviewed Biking Illinois in the Rockford Register Star. The review is available online. Of course it's positive -- would I be telling you about it here if it wasn't?

Goodman interviewed me via e-mail, and I was surprised that a lot of my responses were included in the article. I figured he'd pick out just a sentence or two. Advice to anyone who wants to review my book: just send me a list of questions, and I'll give you enough to write a good portion of the article for you!

My only quibble is that toward the end of the article my name mysteriously changed to "Andersen." Aw heck, all those Scandihoovians are the same, right? He probably confused me with Hans Christian. Happens all the time.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 4:49 PM 0 comments

 
Hey, Look! ----->----->
Your local bookstore should have Biking Illinois: 60 Great Road Trips and Trail Rides in stock or be able to order it. But if you would rather order online, look how Amazon.com has dropped the price over the weekend...



=====>>=====>>=====>>=====>>=====>>=====>>=====>>

Hey, that's less than a quarter per ride, a better deal than the mechanical pony in front of K-Mart! (And these rides last longer, too!)

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 2:13 AM 0 comments

 
IT'S HERE!!!!!

Hot off the presses, my copies of Biking Illinois arrived today!

Naturally, I've already found something to complain about. The "about the author" section on the back cover claims, "He covers the Illinois biking scene on his popular Web site, BikingIllinois.com." That is wrong in so many ways! First of all, that site exists only to promote the book. Second, I've never really covered the "Illinois biking scene" anywhere (it describes my friend Chris better, though he covers the Illinois bike racing scene). Third, BikingIllinois.com is anything but popular at this point; the site that people have visited in the past is DJRider.com, which includes a few rides in Illinois but surely doesn't cover the scene.

Do other authors fall victim to misguided jacket copy writers? I'm really afraid this is going to hurt my credibility, especially with Internet users who will know better. I can see the reviews now (read this with Bill O'Reilly-esque disdain and sneer):

Mr. Johnsen supposedly covers the Illinois biking scene at his Web site. But when we visited, we found only promotional materials for the book he is peddling. It seems that the only "scene" he covers is himself! Would you follow directions on a bicycle from an author who can't even get his own facts straight?

I hope I'm blowing this way out of proportion. And speaking of "out of proportion," my lesser complaint about the back cover is the size of the author photo. My editor said repeatedly, "It's only going to be the size of a postage stamp, so don't worry about it." Well, when was the last time you slapped a four-inch-square stamp on an envelope? I would have airbrushed the heck out of my photo if I had known it would be that large! I look like a drunk, fat guy in that photo. But I don't remember drinking that day...

Also, an astute observer will notice that they changed the subtitle of my book, at least on the outside. On the inside, it's still "60 Great Road and Trail Rides," but on the front and back covers, it is "60 Great Road Trips and Trail Rides." I've always associated road trips with cars, so it doesn't make any sense to me. The subtitle was long enough already anyway. If they really wanted to add a word, "tours" would have been better than "trips." I first saw the change at BN.com, but I assumed it was an error on BN's part. Alas, I was wrong. So the bottom line is, I have written a book but I honestly don't know what to call it!

Actually, I am afraid to read a word of my book at this point. If something is wrong I can't fix it or take it back. That is a really scary feeling. If I screw up something on my blog, I just edit the entry and republish immediately. But anything wrong in the book is wrong forever. Sure there will be more printings (I hope!), but once it's out there, you can't take it back. Excuse me, I have to go bite my fingernails now...

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 4:28 PM 1 comments

 
I'm on Amazon!!!!!
Just for grins I searched for Biking Illinois on Amazon.com tonight... and it is there! They spelled my name correctly, thank goodness (I've had nightmares about that). Barnes & Noble has it listed as well. Oddly enough, my publisher's web site doesn't mention it yet. And of course, if you'd like to find out more, check out my slowly growing companion web site, www.bikingillinois.com.

UPDATE - 02/09/2006 - I signed up for Amazon.com's affiliate program a few days ago, and now I have a link at www.bikingillinois.com to pre-order my book.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 12:25 AM 3 comments

 
Proof
I can't believe what I'm holding in my hands (okay, not literally at this moment because I'm typing, but work with me...). It's the proof for my book, Biking Illinois: 60 Great Road and Trail Rides. A proof is the closest thing to a real book that the author gets to see before publication. My lengthy Microsoft Word document has been set into pages with photos, maps, graphics, and sidebars. It's everything but the front and back covers. Unlike during my last manuscript review, this time I can only correct typos and facts -- rewriting again will bring down the wrath of my editor. There is no more debating or fighting The Chicago Manual of Style.

Of course, I have seen all of this content before, to the point of intimate familiarity. I have written and rewritten, edited and re-edited, scrutinized, and fact-checked the text. I've selected and edited the photos and captions. I've drawn rough maps, reviewed the cartographers' work, and reviewed it again. But I've never seen it all together.

For the past 14 months I have been looking at Biking Wisconsin: 50 Great Road and Trail Rides as my guide for format and style. Now it's as if I am looking at that book but with my writing inside. Surreal. I'm reading a book for the first time, yet I already know the words. It's starting to sink in that this thing that I have created is almost ready for the reading and riding public. In just three months I will be a published author.

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 9:58 PM 1 comments

 
An Embarrassing Omission
Sometime during my manuscript review, it occurred to me that I hadn't mentioned the Grand Illinois Trail (GIT) even once. Consider that

1. I was one of the original 16 GIT Trail Blazers in 2000-2001. A Trail Blazer is someone who completes the entire 500+ mile route within a year.
2. My publisher contacted me about writing Biking Illinois after reading my GIT report online.
3. Roughly a quarter of the rides in my book are on trails and roads that make up the GIT, including at least five that I previously had ridden only as part of the GIT.
4. In the past, I have cited my GIT tour as a critical precursor to both this book and my coast-to-coast tour.
5. I still wear my GIT Trail Blazer T-shirt regularly.

With all that, I can't imagine how it slipped my mind, but it did. To remedy this situation, I set out to verify some facts before writing a paragraph for my book. I pulled out the latest GIT brochure from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), which I had collected this summer (I collected hundreds of tourist and cycling brochures this summer--you could call me instead of calling 1-800-2CONNECT). I opened it up and started skimming for anything new or interesting that I could use. Then I got to the section titled "Become a Trail Blazer." My eyes skipped right over the paragraph of normal type to the boldface quote below. Hey, wait a minute... Those are my words! They spelled my name correctly, too.

Now just imagine how embarrassing it would have been to leave out the GIT when I was quoted in their brochure. Or imagine how terribly snubbed the IDNR would feel if one of their Trail Blazers who was quoted in their brochure wrote a book about Illinois bicycling and didn't bother to mention the GIT at all. Wow, I guess you wouldn't find my book at IDNR gift shops, eh? Fortunately I figured out my mistake while I could still correct it.

Labels: Biking Illinois, GIT

- posted by David Johnsen @ 9:11 AM 2 comments

 
Laying Low This Week
I won't be blogging much this week or next. On Monday I received my manuscript back from Trails Books with a zillion corrections from the copyeditor. It isn't as bad as it looks at first blush. The majority of the corrections (in red, naturally) are just minor stylistic changes. For example, I called a road "Illinois 84" but the copyeditor wants it to be "State Highway 84" the first time and "Highway 84" each additional time. There shouldn't be any periods in "AM" and "PM." The web in "web site" should be capitalized; it's in Webster's, but in the online world most of us don't capitalize it. Ampersands (&) are almost always forbidden. And I never paid much attention before to the difference between hyphens, en dashes, em dashes, and mad dashes (in my simple world, there are hyphens and dashes, the latter being double-hyphens). Put them all together and you get an ugly sea of red. I did genuinely screw up a few things, particularly in places where I rushed to meet my deadline, but most of my "mistakes" were caused by not finding out exactly how they wanted words to appear. In retrospect, I should have coughed up $35 for The Chicago Manual of Style. Oh, well. I will get my revenge on the Biking Illinois web site where the only Manual of Style that matters is Dave's.

I have two weeks to review the manuscript and agree or argue about corrections. This is my last chance to add content, too. I also have 60 newly drawn maps to correct or approve. The maps look great compared to those in similar books. That is one area where Trails Books really stands head and shoulders above their competitors. The maps aren't perfect yet, though. The funniest blooper I've found so far has to be the way several blocks of Fulton got shifted into the Mississippi River. Of course, that probably wouldn't be as amusing to the folks who endured the flooding there in 1965.

UPDATE 11/06/2005 - It's worse than I thought. Not only should AM and PM be capitalized without periods, but they are supposed to be in small capital letters. Sheesh, I've never used small caps in my life (except as part of a diversified investment strategy, but I digress).

Labels: Biking Illinois

- posted by David Johnsen @ 7:36 PM 2 comments