Rambling among the corn fields

May 21, 2022

Harrington bike day

It was another hot one this morning. I don't think the temperature dropped below 70 degrees all night. Plus it was humid and windy which are not ideal combinations for biking, but at least it wasn't snowing like back in Colorado!

We managed to get ourselves up and rolling on Garfield a little after 8. Don had mapped out a 20 mile route around Harrington that would take us out into the countryside. (you can see how well THAT worked out!)

Anyway, we first started out on Highway 13 which ran in front of the fairgrounds. It was a 4-lane divided road that had a really wide shoulder and this early in the morning, the traffic wasn't too bad.

After a mile or so, we turned off onto another state highway that went east to Milford. It wasn't as nice to ride as it seemed everyone was going in this direction - probably to Walmart and other stores since Milford is a bigger city. In addition, it was only 2 lanes with a narrower shoulder. But we had our blinky rear lights turned on and I kept a close eye on the traffic behind us.

Even though it was sunny and already in the 80's, the breeze made it tolerable. So we rolled along, looking at all of the farms and homes along the way as we searched for the road we had to turn onto.

Mile after mile we continued east, but no road appeared. Hmmmm.....where was this darn road?! I had written down the turns on a scrap of paper so when we finally spotted a road that was on the list, we went ahead and turned onto it even though it wasn't the one we needed.

At least this road was much quieter and more to our liking as we traveled deeper into the countryside. The terrain was flat except when we dipped down slightly to cross small creeks. There were many large farms interspersed with newer subdivisions.

I thought that most of the people must work in Dover which was just to the north of us. But Don felt they could also have jobs in the DC area and be commuting. That would be a hefty drive but with the high cost of homes on the other side of the bay, maybe this region is more attractive and affordable, especially if you were raising a family.

We noticed that the corn fields had been planted in this area along with some different grains that seemed close to harvesting. The farm stands we passed were selling lots of U-pick strawberries and asparagus. It was a pretty area but we still weren't on the correct road! Good grief!

Finally Don decided to turn around and go back a short distance to an intersection where we got on a road that took us to another state highway that was at least listed on our route. It wasn't the most pleasant road either, as it also had lots of traffic and an even narrower shoulder than the last state highway.

Eventually we made it to Highway 13 which we turned onto so we could get back to Harrington. Again it wasn't a great road but at least it had a decent shoulder to work with. This sure wasn't turning out to be the ride I'd expected on quiet country roads!

The day wasn't made any better when we passed a mileage sign on the road that stated it was another 9 miles to town! What?! This was supposed to be a 20 mile ride but was looking more and more like it would end up being something closer to 30! Oh well, there wasn't much we could do about it now so we just kept pedaling.

Surprisingly we actually came to a road listed on our route so we turned onto it which did take us out into the country again. From here on, we were able to follow Don's directions and made it to our campground before noon.

I couldn't believe we'd done 30 miles! It was already in the 90's with high humidity and a blustery wind. But we were both bushed and ready to cool off.

We didn't do much the rest of the afternoon other than rest and rehydrate under the shade of our awning. Our bodies just aren't acclimated to this type of weather yet, so it takes a lot out of us. Plus we're both dealing with congestion due to allergies as the pollen count around here is very high right now.

In the evening, we strolled over to the building where they were having happy hour followed by a Mexican buffet dinner. The food was plentiful and tasted good, and we enjoyed visiting with the others at our table.

When we got back to the trailer our neighbor invited us to see the inside of the vintage 1968 Airstream that he'd restored. It was beautiful inside with lots of handcrafted wood work and custom details. There was even a small tub/shower in the bathroom! But at 19 ft. it would be a bit tight for us. Although it did give us some ideas to think about!

Tonight was the last day of the rally and lots of people will be leaving tomorrow. We'll be staying one more night but starting to pack up rather than ride again.

Git along little doggies! There's a 4-H event going on at the fairgrounds this weekend and the kids are showing off their livestock - cattle, sheep, pigs and goats.

And there go the sheep. We listened to their bleating all afternoon - they didn't sound too happy.

'course, I don't know if I'd be too happy either with this forced "spa" treatment!

Not quite a canopy road but it was nice.

Corns up! But it's still got a ways to go to reach "knee high by the 4th of the July".

We didn't know what this grain was in one field.

This crop was on the opposite side of the road. But we don't know this one either.

I guess you can figure out which direction the owner of this truck leans!

When we pulled up next to this nicely restored Barracuda, that song by Heart kept playing in my head.

Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km)
Total: 709 miles (1,141 km)

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