Merlin. Cloudy and gray, cold - consistently 41-42 degrees, strong West wind @ 12-15 mph. Jack and I rode from Headwaters Park, departed around 9:00 am. We saw no other riders until the last mile when we were passed by 3 riders while doing our warm down. There was no break from the wind for the first 26 miles but it was pretty sweet on the return. Outbound had most of the hills and the steady headwind. The last 5 miles out from Chase Rd to IL-23 was brutal, almost all uphill with the wind in our faces. Nothing you can do but get through your pull and wait for the next one. 2nd outside ride on the Merlin in 2 weeks, probably the last one before reinstalling it on the indoor trainer in the basement. Such a beautiful and smooth riding bike, I plan on riding it more outside next season. Very high effort ride but I enjoyed it (now that it's over). Good thing we paired up, probably neither one of us would have done 50+ miles without a partner to keep us honest. We averaged only 14.8 mph on the way out, but picked it up to 18.3 mph on the return leg. Not many pictures today, no camera mount on this bike. We stopped for a hot bowl of chili and rehydration at Schmidt's in Elburn.