October 10, 2020
Secor to Flanagan
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I didn't have a good excuse for driving to Secor, except I wanted to ride some more on the flat roads to the northeast. I did buy two bags of Leman's Mints from the Eureka IGA on the way, if that counts.
From my visit before in Secor, it looked like I could park my truck at their fire station without concern. And that did work out.
I arrived at the parking lot at 8:30am, and was on my way at 8:43am, with planned destination Flanagan. The earlier than normal start was to compensate for the earlier sunset time, which was 6:22pm this day.
Direction of travel on the attached map is counter-clockwise. My route selection was somewhat controlled by which country roads crossed over interstate I-39, which provided the two "hills" for the day.
It was hazy sunshine starting off, and pleasantly warm.
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At 10:47am I came to Woodford County CR-3200E and Livingston County CR-00E - one road with two designations. This road took me north along the county line for four miles. Three of those miles were gravel, and so very pleasant.
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At a high spot along this road I stopped for another coffee break. I called Tahdra and held the phone up towards a nearby wind generator, but she couldn't hear it. Wind generators were all around. I am surprised to see now that none appear in any of the pictures I've selected for this report.
After three miles of my planned four miles east on CR-1800N, I came to a "Road Ends" sign. Except it looked to me like I could get around the closed section on my bike. Nearby washouts apparently made the bridge unsafe for vehicle traffic.
One mile north after that brought me into Flanagan.
I'd planned on getting a cheeseburger at either Dehli's Place or Smith's Tap, since my pre-trip research indicated they'd be open if I arrived in town before 2:00pm or 1:30pm, respectively. But first I'd buy a chocolate milk from Casey's. Before I got to Casey's I saw a local store - Bart's Supermarket, so I went in there looking for milk. No small bottles of milk, so I purchased Pringles and a Gatorade instead. Next, to Casey's looking for milk. No milk. On to downtown. Neither food establishment was open! Back to Casey's for stuff to eat, then to the park.
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Before leaving Flanagan, I did some math in my head, figuring out I could easily get back to Secor before dark. But I didn't want to miss the sunset, so was in no hurry during the afternoon.
At 2:30pm I came to a brick church I was seeing from a ways off. Cornerstones I saw for the church building are dated 1917 and 1996. Research after the trip shows the church was established in 1868, and that the area had been called and is still referred to as Windtown, thanks to a long-gone wind-powered grist mill.
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At 2:49pm I was back in Woodford County and close to the next town I'd routed through - Spires. Though labeled "Spires" on the map, the place appears to have nothing but grain silos - lots of them - out in the middle of nowhere. A railroad line had passed through here at one time. I hadn't given any thought that this might be a busy place this time of year, but it was! I received lots of waves as I passed, which was fun.
Back on the road ten minutes later I came to a soybean field harvest that was almost done. I video-recorded that:
The wagon driver and I exchanged big waves as I moved on.
The pleasant day continued, and I stopped now and then for more coffee breaks.
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No spectacular sunset this day. The sun just faded away. Here's the best of those pictures.
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Back at my truck at 6:36pm. 51 miles total at 9.0mph moving average. Not sure how many more days like today will coincide with my schedule this fall, but I'm hoping for at least one more before storing the bike away for the winter.
Jeff
Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 405 miles (652 km)
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