Biking Illinois :: Watch For Wild Turkeys

Ride 50: Watch For Wild Turkeys

Biking Illinois: 60 Great Road Trips and Trail Rides

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Omega, IL July 17, 2005

I scouted the area in and around Stephen A. Forbes State Park several times. It's a pretty nice park considering it's built around a man-made lake. In April I hiked a short trail to an old graveyard on the park grounds. There were only a few headstones, which I didn't photograph.

By July, I had determined an ideal route comprised of county roads and park roads. I parked at the visitor center and set out on my ride, but I was delayed by unexpected traffic.

The Omega General Store proudly boasts of the best pizza in town. Of course, Omega isn't much of a town so there isn't really any competition. In any case, it's the only place outside the park for refreshments of any sort for some distance.

I saw a group of friendly Amish or Mennonite kids walking along Penrod Road. Later I saw these guys, the inspiration for the ride name:

I also saw a hawk on one of my scouting trips, but I didn't get a picture of it. There aren't many oil pumps in the area, but this blue one is quite prominent.

There's nothing quite like flying over an old wooden plank bridge on a bicycle at the bottom of a hill!

As I passed this place, I imagined some mad scientist doing crazy fish experiments.

Normally the boat launch area on the east side of the park is more active than this.

Here are some fishermen along with a wider view of the lake.

The park roads are the prettiest part of the ride, but I didn't stop to take any pictures.