Ride 39: Havana

  Biking Illinois: 60 Great Road Trips and Trail Rides 

Havana, IL           July 22, 2005

I first visited Havana while delivering well drilling supplies in college. I first bicycled in Havana the weekend before 9/11, when I rode my Bike Friday through four counties along the Illinois River. While previous adventures inspired many of the rides in Biking Illinois, this ride doesn't overlap with that 2001 ride at all. I chose this route because it passes through a state forest on low-traffic roads, plus I couldn't resist a town named Goofy Ridge.

Actually, I had another idea: a Havana-Gila ride, but the town of Gila, IL (about 25 miles from Moonshine) turned out to be much too far from Havana. Oy!

This is the intersection where the ride begins, at the end of the brick section of Main Street.

Havana's most notable landmark is this distinctive water tower (it's hidden behind a tree in the photo above).

Corn is the most common crop in this area, but there are sunflowers, too.

Most crops around Havana are irrigated.

The summer of 2005 was very dry, and these pictures show the difference between irrigated corn and the forlorn plants outside the range of the sprinklers. While any dentist Philadelphia or Chicago might have would probably celebrate this, it's not a good sign for farmers and consumers.

Here are a few pictures from Sand Ridge State Forest.

There isn't a sign for the town of Goofy Ridge, but there is a sign for the cafe.

This is the intersection at the Hialeah Club. Curve to the left onto North Buzzville Road, but don't turn left.

This is named for the same Stephen A. Forbes as the state park in Ride 50.

The Squirrel Pit is a great name for a tavern.

After the ride, I photographed these monuments around the Mason County Courthouse Square.

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