I will be doing 2 rides in this posting, in an attempt to not get behind in my entries, plus the last 2 rides haven't given me many new things to write about.
On our way to work this morning, the road in front of the self milking barn was lined with cars, vans and pickups. 2 Pine River school buses were pulled up in front of the barn. Children in pink, blue, black, orange, and many other colored jackets, milled around in the morning air. Parents stood nearby in a cluster. A porta-potty had been moved next to the building. Tour day, had arrived. The students of the area usually do a tour of Gingrich Meadows Dairy farm, the same farm that owns the new self milking facility. These kids were going to learn about the self milking barn. I couldn't help but wonder if any would ask, when the cows got to go outside.
This week is when we increase our total training miles to 75, so our plan today is to get in a ride after work. We grabbed a bite to eat before heading home and getting ready. It was cool enough that we needed tights and a jacket. No exciting new route to do, but we needed something around 2 hours or under, so once more, we headed to Dighton.
The small, small, town of Dighton, population 50, or less, is not in it's original location. it used to be 1 mile north and east of the current town. Just East of the Osceola County Road Commission's barn, and visible from 20 Mile Rd., the remains of an old building foundation, mark the former location of the town. Named after one of it's first residents, Marvin Dighton was locally known as "Dight." it was a lumbering town, and things were pretty wild there. The dance hall was burned down by a man that was thrown out of it's second story window. In 1868, Daniel White, a black man was murdered because of his race.
In 1901 Dighton boasted of a population of 1000 and moved to it's current location to be near the railroad tracks. With 3 privately owned lumber mills in the area, 1 dedicated to just flooring, The Manistee Grand Rapids Railroad put the tracks in to ship maple and beech to Grand Rapids for furniture. Grand Rapids was the furniture capital of the world. Our home has reclaimed flooring that was milled by Curtis milling, in Dighton in 1906. The community had 3 stores and a telephone exchange. In years gone by, a stage coach connected the town and the nearby village of Tustin.
In 1914 tragedy came in the form of a fire that burned the flooring mill down. It was never rebuilt, the railroad abandoned the line and in 1920 took the tracks up. With no jobs, it didn't take the town long to dry up. The Davis Family store, still remains, and is know as the Dighton General Store. The remains of the Victor Rolfe General Store, are across the street. About 13 years ago, our church that once stood on the corner of town, was moved to the former site of the old 2 story school house. This is where the flooring in our home came from. Tony and I spent 2 hot, July days, tearing out as much as we could, before the building was razed. It is an honor to have a some local history under our feet.
Our ride took just under 2 hours, which sounds pretty slow for 16 miles, but in those roundtrip miles, there are at least 34 hills. We consider the route to be among our easy rides.
On Friday, May 17, we rode to Tustin and back. 4 miles of hills from our house to the trail, then flat, easy riding, except for a few small rises. This week was about mileage, and it's not like we lack hill riding as part of our training. Weather was good, 82 degrees, but it didn't feel like it, thanks to a nice breeze.
The trail is scented with the blooms of the Russian Olive tree which is considered an invasive species in the US.
The shrub, which can range in size from a bush to a small apple tree, grows along many road ways in our state and other states across our nation. It is unclear when it came to the US, although it was introduced intentionally. The US forest service planted it as a way to control erosion and as a source of food for the birds. In the early 1900's plains states, welcomed it The farmers cultivated as hedges, for shade, wind and snow breaks, and to provide pollen for honey bee The tree produces small red berries, which can be made into a delicious jelly. The birds ate the berries, which played a big role in the spread of this silver leafed plant.
Many pine trees grow beside the trail. They are busy making their pine cones. Pinecones are a cluster of woody scales, tightly packed together to protect the developing seeds of the conifer. Deep within the cone, and protected by the woody scales, lie the seeds for new trees.
On our way back from Tustin I spotted a garage sale, and of course we had to stop. Tony waited patiently in the shade, probably wondering what he would end up carrying home on his lap, while I shopped.
Thee were abundant craft supplies on the tables, I managed to fins a great little bag that straps to my waist. It will be good for cycling, it will hold just a little more than my fanny pack. My next find, a cell phone case, with a zipper compartment will be ideal to put my ID and money in when we ride PALM, and it fits right in the waist purse. I happily paid for these things, plus some dinosaurs and pirates for the treasure box.
The treasure box came about shortly after we had our first grand child, who unfortunately lives clear across the country. When we would go to visit, I would pack a surprise for each day we were there, and after breakfast, Willow would come in our room and ask if I had any surprises for her, knowing of course, that she got one each day. Willow now has 2 sisters, and is nearly 13, the surprises still go with us when we visit, but I also have an old trunk in the living room of our house. All the grandkids know that when they come and spend the night, that the next morning after breakfast, they get to pick a treasure. I am always on the look out for cool things to add to the box.
We stopped and refilled our water in LeRoy, then rode home. Our total miles ridden today, were 18, which puts our total for the week, right on target.
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