Range Line Road 6/17/22

 In an incredible change from hot and humid the last week, this morning was far cooler and way less humidity

Almost felt like a light jacket would feel good -- almost

But -- heat and humidity return with a vengeance next week :(

Met up with Dave, who, after a year's absence on the DL due to back issues

After a mostly successful back surgery he is able to ride once again!  :)



Le Tout awaits Dave's arrival


Stopped by Dwight's home to see if he might like to go along

No answer at the door


Illinois Route 1 is a segment of the Dixie Highway

The Chicago branch runs from there to Danville where it turns east into Indiana and then through various segments terminates at Miami, Florida

Milford "The Buckle on the Corn Belt" is 11 miles north

Chicago, 109 miles north -- far enough we escape the "Chicagoland" designation


Winter wheat nearing harvest time


Road descents into an outlet channel of glacial lake Watseka

One of several such channels that ultimately drained the lake trapped between ice to the north and a moraine here


Shed at a former sweet corn farm


Planter near the tree to the left, no doubt, planted a lot of sweet corn

Occasionally among the roadside weeds an asparagus plant appears.

A remnant of the time huge amounts of asparagus was grown here

The fields of corn and beans today contained thousands of asparagus plants then

Migrant labor performed the back-breaking work of harvesting

No machine has been successful in mechanical harvesting due to the typically soft/muddy fields when the asparagus is in its prime stage


Arrival at Range Line Road

This is where Grant Township to the east meets Butler Township to the west


Dave pedals south into the Great Corn Desert


Faintly, very faintly visible, is an anemometer which is the precursor to a new wind farm development

Tooooo close up of the anemometer


Remainder of the ride was pretty much like this:  corn, corn, corn, corn, soybeans, corn, corn, corn , , , ,

 

Le Tour arrives back at home after another "Schwinn Approved" flawless performance  ;)


























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Catastophic Failure

Image
 2024 River to Rail ride 3 of us joined up for the ride, 2 on diamond frame bicycles, and one on a recumbent We had ridden with our friend on the recumbent numerous times previously and began to notice something that didnt seem right. Look closely, very closely, at the rear wheel See how it is tilted slightly to the  right? Compare its vertical angle to that of the front wheels We thought is was simply a matter of alignment in the frame and didnt mention anything about it to our friend. 20 miles into the ride, I stopped at an intersection to double check our routing Recumbent friend pulled up along side me to the right on a slightly sloping road surface Suddenly he tipped over to his right for no apparent reason I felt terrible for stopping and causing him to topple over Then we discovered . . . . He didnt tip over due to the road surface . . . . The frame had snapped in half just ahead of the seating area Was that misaligned wheel indicating an issue with the frame? We believe it was
Read more

A. Lincoln Anecdotal Story

Abraham Lincoln, so the story goes, once won a court case by saying in his summation to the jury nothing more than, “The prosecution has the facts of the case 100 % correct, but they have come to the wrong conclusion.”  The jury went out chuckling and came back a short time later with a verdict of not guilty.  According to Lincoln-lore, during the lunch recess Lincoln had privately told the jury this anecdote:  A farmer’s young son came rushing up to him sputtering, “Pa, Pa, I just seen the hired man and sis up in the hayloft.  He was unzipping his pants and she was a lifting her skirt.  Pa, Pa, come quick, they’re about to pee on the new hay!”  “Son,” the farmer replied, “You have the facts 100 % correct, but you’ve come to the wrong conclusion. Source:   http://blog.trinityaustin.com/2018/02/26/politics-and-peeing-on-new-hay/  Another of Abe's favorite stories: . A Revolutionary Relic (NSFW) [There once was a man] who had great veneration for Revolutionary relics. He h
Read more

Various Cycling Photos

Image
  Diamond Back rolls west on 3800N That is considered a type of clover Foxtail Can you find the green and black caterpillar? Seed Corn sign in the North Fork?? No idea Deck screw removed from road Soap Wort --- used by Native Americans as soap and other medicinal applications Winter wheat field harvested and replanted with soybeans    Diamond Back rolls west on 4000N
Read more