Cycle Life Challenge Ride #4

Rides every day but most are redundant loops and out and backs and nothing much to see we haven’t already seen.  So, the Challenge Rides are reserved for rides of a little bit different nature.

Today, the day dawned bright and beautiful but with a moderate SW wind.  So in light of that Dave and I took off southward along a usual route but extended it farther south to the Hubbard Trail Country Club,

Pretty nice 9 hole golf course (neither of us play golf) which years ago entertained the more ‘elite’ of the area. Industrial managers, bankers, lawyers, doctors, and the like.  Back then the more pedestrian of us were clearly not of the social stratum to be invited to join.

Today all that has changed and their finances dictate that we are more than welcome — go figure!  Few takers.  Several years ago, Dave and I were there, went to the Pro Shop hoping to buy a cup of coffee and were denied — for club members only we were told.

Today we cheerfully rode on past and stopped at the North Fork for our break.

The SW wind was now a great tailwind all the way back to town.  Excellent ride of approximately 20 miles.

Here are some photos:

Hubbard Trail Golf and Country Club

Est 1925

9 hole golf course

Another view as Dave pedals past

Pro Shop and golf car barn

Where if you would like to purchase some coffee they respond with a Susie Ormand style DENIED!!

On to the North Fork where a bald eagle is resting!

Rare to see around here

Taking off back toward Danville and Lake Vermilion

Diamond Back and Raleigh at the North Fork

North Fork at low ebb — little rain lately

View upstream

Wind turbines

Technicians have to repel down those blades to inspect for deterioration

Pile of lime for next years crop of soybeans in this field

Harvesting soybeans and attendant cloud of crop dust

And yes the dust can collect on the combine and catch fire

North Fork upstream from previous photos

Difficult to tell, but descending a moraine and will approach 20 mph

Post ride Cat Scan

 

 

Very much enjoy all the entries you all have provided -- great to see the everyday cycling venues. Being in eastern Illinois, scenery certainly isn't our forte, but oh well, the roads are normally quiet. Look forward to more and more entries from all of you, I do have a few over on BL -- in Bill's Day Rides, and one journal.

6 response to "Cycle Life Challenge Ride #4"

  1. By: BobinVT Posted: October 6, 2020

    I know the feeling about riding a lot, but the same routes. I’m on a 45 day streak right now, but it’s pretty much the same couple loops all the time. Ah, 2020. Looks like you guys had a nice ride though.

    • By: gregblood Posted: October 7, 2020

      Forty-five days! I know you can keep it up.

  2. By: The Navigator Posted: October 7, 2020

    Looks like a very pleasant ride and like one of those nice warm autumn days that you soak up before the grey junk of November. Your golf club reminds me that in Melbourne, where they are still under the 5km lockdown, people in a couple local government areas have started using the golf courses as parks since they’re not allowed to golf and there are few public open spaces that have enough room for everyone trying get out for their 2 hours of outdoor time each day.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/locals-want-covid-normal-to-include-turning-golf-course-into-parkland-20200925-p55zea.html

  3. By: gregblood Posted: October 7, 2020

    Great job on the baldy pictures. It is still my favorite bird despite its scavenging. I can remember the days when bald eagles were considered very rare and if you managed to see one you were very lucky indeed. Now I see them all the time in the Mississippi River valley of course, but I’ve also seen them in the most unlikely of places in my travels.

    Also, the exclusivity of those golf courses has extended to MY Town. The Hastings Golf & Country Club could no longer sustain itself on the membership fees of the local doctors and lawyers and successful business owners, so they opened up to regular riff-raff like me. Too bad for them, I quit golfing about 20 years ago.

  4. By: NancyG Posted: October 14, 2020

    I enjoy all your rides Rich ;’-). Thanks for keeping us up to date! Exclusive clubs seem, for the most part, to be thankfully gone for lack of funds from exclusive members!!

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