More heat, more hills, less miles
We decided yesterday that going all the way to St. Louis today would be a mistake. We were right. We only rode 33 miles today, and were happy to arrive in Jerseyville, IL, where we are spending a night . Tomorrow, Missouri.
Bruce asked Google and Ride with GPS to offer routes for today. Google had 3 suggestions, and one of them went by the only eBird hotspot in the entire county. It was a state park called Beaver Dam & it showed up about 10 miles into our ride. It was a good one! There's a smallish lake with a trail around it - 1.7 miles. I walked around the lake looking for birds, and watching various frogs & turtles plop into the lake as I walked by, and breaking about a million spider webs that had appeared across the path since anyone else walked there. Not only was there a nice walk, there was a little restaurant/snack bar right there. So we had a great start to our ride.
Up to that time, we'd been on a fairly busy road with construction trucks (the ones that carry loads of rocks & dirt, mostly) passing us every couple of minutes. They gave us tons of space, but what that means is that they simply pulled over into the next lane to avoid us. And it was a two lane road with plenty of curves, so I felt lucky that they never encountered another vehicle aiming right at them. I prefer not to think about what they might have done had that happened. But by the time we reached the park, the traffic had thinned out - and the road had become narrower and more curvy - and the trucks still came very couple of minutes. Fortunately,we only had a couple more miles before we turned onto minor roads. Those roads were mostly quite peaceful. And we began to see the rolling hills the Chicago bike shop guy likes so much. Also, at least 2 steep little ramps. I am guessing they were about 20%, and they lasted maybe a tenth of a mile each. My legs are a bit tired for that sort of thing.
I know so little about farming! At one point we passed a truck pulled over towards a cornfield. Inside the field area was a big farm vehicle that I assume had just cut down a bunch of the corn. At least, some of the field had been cut down, and a fair amount remained uncut. The farm vehicle had a big spout that was pouring corn kernels - and nothing but corn kernels, dry ones - into the waiting truck. So, how did that vehicle manage to cut huge stalks of corn, haul them to the edge of the filed, and separate the kernels from them that neatly? It felt sort of like watching a magic show
One road we were on suddenly turned to gravel - fairly deep in spots - and also added a few little rollers to make it more exciting. I am NOT a mountain biker, didn't sign up for that. But it was paved again in a mile or so, and we didn't have any more like that. Bruce had thought there would be a gas station (convenience store) along the route, but it didn't appear. He looked at the maps and concluded we had somehow bypassed it, and there would be no more along the route. Oh, well, we only had about ten more miles. And then suddenly a gas station/bar/convenience store/mini-casino appeared. We happily stopped and ate pretzels & drank Gatorade & cooled off in the little area with tables. Then we headed to our Super8 motel.We arrived before 3, so had plenty of time to plan find a nice little restaurant (huge portions - we have breakfast covered) and get directed to the local ice cream place. Now, laundry, packing and preparation to set out relatively early tomorrow when the temperature is supposed to range from 70 to 75. Perfect.
Bruce asked Google and Ride with GPS to offer routes for today. Google had 3 suggestions, and one of them went by the only eBird hotspot in the entire county. It was a state park called Beaver Dam & it showed up about 10 miles into our ride. It was a good one! There's a smallish lake with a trail around it - 1.7 miles. I walked around the lake looking for birds, and watching various frogs & turtles plop into the lake as I walked by, and breaking about a million spider webs that had appeared across the path since anyone else walked there. Not only was there a nice walk, there was a little restaurant/snack bar right there. So we had a great start to our ride.
Up to that time, we'd been on a fairly busy road with construction trucks (the ones that carry loads of rocks & dirt, mostly) passing us every couple of minutes. They gave us tons of space, but what that means is that they simply pulled over into the next lane to avoid us. And it was a two lane road with plenty of curves, so I felt lucky that they never encountered another vehicle aiming right at them. I prefer not to think about what they might have done had that happened. But by the time we reached the park, the traffic had thinned out - and the road had become narrower and more curvy - and the trucks still came very couple of minutes. Fortunately,we only had a couple more miles before we turned onto minor roads. Those roads were mostly quite peaceful. And we began to see the rolling hills the Chicago bike shop guy likes so much. Also, at least 2 steep little ramps. I am guessing they were about 20%, and they lasted maybe a tenth of a mile each. My legs are a bit tired for that sort of thing.
I know so little about farming! At one point we passed a truck pulled over towards a cornfield. Inside the field area was a big farm vehicle that I assume had just cut down a bunch of the corn. At least, some of the field had been cut down, and a fair amount remained uncut. The farm vehicle had a big spout that was pouring corn kernels - and nothing but corn kernels, dry ones - into the waiting truck. So, how did that vehicle manage to cut huge stalks of corn, haul them to the edge of the filed, and separate the kernels from them that neatly? It felt sort of like watching a magic show
One road we were on suddenly turned to gravel - fairly deep in spots - and also added a few little rollers to make it more exciting. I am NOT a mountain biker, didn't sign up for that. But it was paved again in a mile or so, and we didn't have any more like that. Bruce had thought there would be a gas station (convenience store) along the route, but it didn't appear. He looked at the maps and concluded we had somehow bypassed it, and there would be no more along the route. Oh, well, we only had about ten more miles. And then suddenly a gas station/bar/convenience store/mini-casino appeared. We happily stopped and ate pretzels & drank Gatorade & cooled off in the little area with tables. Then we headed to our Super8 motel.We arrived before 3, so had plenty of time to plan find a nice little restaurant (huge portions - we have breakfast covered) and get directed to the local ice cream place. Now, laundry, packing and preparation to set out relatively early tomorrow when the temperature is supposed to range from 70 to 75. Perfect.
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