New Route

I tried out a new route today. Rather than heading west then north to the lake, I rode southwest, out to a small farming community. The new route offered rolling hills and very lightly traveled rural roads. Having no traffic to worry about (well, for the majority of trip anyway) made for a truly relaxing ride.

I started out early, not long after sun-up. I think Sunday's early morning run infected me with a desire to now get up and get out before the day really starts humming along. Today, the temps were in the low 70's when I clipped in and rolled down the street. By the time I got back 2 and a half hours later, the sun was beating down in the high 80's. A cool southwest breeze kept the ride from becoming unbearable.

My rest stop to fuel up

Going out to the small town, I knew I was on course as I could see quite a ways in the distance the large grain bins marking where the trains pass through during harvest, loading the cars with corn and soy beans. On the return ride, I decided to explore. This didn't work out so well. I ended up running smack into a busy road where the motorists travel way too fast. Since the road I was on t'd into the busy road, I had to ride the busy road for about a half mile before being able to turn off onto a rural road. I wound my way towards home, riding back roads I've never traveled before. I kept looking for familiar markers and finally saw one of the hotel signs to the north, telling me where I was in relationship to my home. 40.42 miles later, I rolled into the driveway, happy and ready to face the rest of the day.

Tomorrow looks promising for another early morning ride. I'm thinking maybe a trip down Route 66, maybe going for 66 miles, would be fun.