August 1, 2020
Morton to Secor
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The forecast for Saturday, August 1, looked fair, so I planned another ride. I'd plotted out a trip to Secor and Roanoke, but the ride turned out to be just to Secor and back.
I headed out at 9:48am, but stopped a half a block later. Along the curb of Jackson Street was an assortment of new jigsaw blades scattered along the curb. I parked the bike, gathered them up, and walked back to our garage. Sixteen new undamaged Black&Decker blades is what I ended up with for my six-minute delay.
Back at it, I worked my way to Cooper Road, after stopping at my favorite resting spot at the back of Hillcrest Cemetery. I crossed into Woodford County at 11:28am. Cooper Road is a nice smooth road for bicycling, except there's a fair amount of traffic -- surprising to me, more so on its east end.
After crossing IL-117, there was a lot of go-north, go-east, go-north, go-east to get to Secor, which I approached from the south. At 1:55pm I crossed US-24 and arrived in town. I'd planned to ride through to the east side then back west to see some of the town. Lots of opportunities for pictures - more than I can include in this email. I happened upon a park with a shelter, so took a break to eat the snacks I'd brought with me. After I was done snacking, I checked the weather radar with my phone app (MyRadar). It indicated it was raining in Secor. I no longer got done saying to myself, "It's not raining!" when it cut loose. It was a heavy rain, and lasted a fair while. I was paying particular attention to the radar display now, and there was another heavy rain cell over Minonk heading toward Secor. So I waited, . . . and I waited. Finally, at 4:32pm, I headed out, after saying goodbye to the cat that'd been quietly staring at me for half an hour or more from the road.
One thing I'd decided during all my idle wait time was that I would skip going to Roanoke, and head back home, which would shorten my day by five miles. The storm was mostly to the southeast now, and I had a nice flat wet road to ride on (CR1150N).
At 5:43pm there was a hint of sunshine as I crossed IL-117. Figuring out a place to pick up supper was occupying my mind more and more. I was considering in Eureka, in Washington, or eat at home. I finally decided "in Washington", which would vary my pre-ride plan only a little. I crossed back into Tazewell County onto Dutch Lane at 6:35pm. Turing south at the Metamora Blacktop got me into Washington, and I rode their bike path to get to Khoury's Restaurant. There I purchased a cheeseburger, root beer, and a piece of baklawa for eating at Washington's Candlewood Park.
I was at the park at 7:47pm. I had only a high treetop view to the west, so while eating I checked to see when sunset would be. 8:12pm! Nonetheless, I enjoyed my supper, and didn't miss getting a post-sunset picture from the Washington Blacktop when I got clear of town.
Back home at 9:35pm. Google Earth track map attached; direction of travel was counter-clockwise. Fifty-four miles total for the day -- and I'd stayed dry, thanks to the pavilion at Secor's Jones Park.
Jeff
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http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/large_coreopsisx.htm
3 years ago
Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 243 miles (391 km)
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