We decided to participate in a century bike ride today in an Amish area in Illinois. The roads were flat but it was 90 degrees with virtually no shade. And the wind was out of the northeast at 10-12 miles an hour.

As advertised, it was mainly a “tour de corn.”

Early on, we met a horse and buggy. Later we passed one, but with a bit of effort as the horse was really clipping along.

We saw several instances of wash hanging outside on this nice sunny day,

lots of gardens including beautiful flowers, and

horses, horses, horses.

We admired the tall Standardbreds that pulled the buggies.

And the Belgian draft horses that were used in farming. We stopped here for awhile just because the newly cut hay smelled so good.

Then there was a pretty buckskin that took some interest in the bicyclists that went by.

This young one passed me on the road with his cart and pony. The wind was in my face here I’m sure.

We also rode through the small hamlet of Chesterville and past the “ghost” cemetery.

One story is that in the early 1900s, a liberal-thinking Amish woman objected to the treatment of women and was therefore determined to be a witch. Of course. So, after her mysterious death, she was buried here with a tree planted over her grave so she could not escape.

On down the road, a few signs at a crossroad.

And another one.

We had nice rest stops with bananas, oranges, pickles, nuts, and cookies for snacks. I do know enough to stay away from the cookies.

There were about 300 riders here today.

In addition to corn fields we also rode along miles of bean fields.

This section of road was a respite from the straight flat sections.

The wind was gusting a lot more than 10 miles an hour at some points and I really struggled heading north through this cornfield wind tunnel.

Glad to see this sign with only five miles to go.

With the heat and wind, we settled for a 30-mile ride today. Enough.