Scouting..

Cyclists are very much creatures of habit. Once we find tires we like, we ride them almost exclusively. Helmets, shoes, saddles, and so on.. once we find one or maybe even two we like, we are content and rarely find new items unless a friend strongly recommends it.
Routes are the same way. In my lifetime of cycling, i have been exposed to many many different routes in many many different states. Of those, id say maybe a dozen were the go to rides.
At home, its the usual Chicken route, or on a twist, out to fermi lab; or a few slight variations of such. For college in Muncie, IN- Long way around the Reservoir was a staple. Columbus IN - general variations that included out grandview, a slew of climbs in brown county, through Story etc.
On all of the camps i have done, there was always a route that was a repeat either in the same trip or the following year.
Truth be told, its easy. We know the routes, we know the roads. In a group the times speeds by as conversation passed the tried and true roads. Solo - even a new mix on the iPod can break the monotony of the same roads, with the same winds with the same inner battles.
Last year i took 2 tried and true routes and merged them together. Head out down the Burlington tracks, zig zag through wheaton, come back in thru Glen Ellyn on a route from my junior days. Voila! I did it a few times solo, once with Ritzler and Wasman, and once with King. Everyone had favorable feedback.
Yesterday i went scouting for something new. Took the same format - started out with a nice basic refinery ride, and pieced together a nice additional loop. Now i still have to drive it, but Google Maps has made plotting new routes much easier than the old days of turning and twisting maps, taking notes then heading out to ride it only to find the roads don't exactly go where you hoped.
I am also hoping to plot a course out to an old favorite in the far western burbs - Johnson's Mound. I think i was 16 or 17 when i last rode out there. Its a big long day for sure. I'm sure urban sprawl will challenge us to find new roads to avoid serious traffic, but 18 years ago - it seemed like an easy ride through the country. That being said - if any readers have good ideas or suggestions to get out there from the Fermilab area, let me know.