Afternoon Mash to Marshfield

Due to other commitments, Dan Pfaff and I altered our normal morning ride routine and rode the Marshfield Mash 112K permanent on Saturday afternoon. We left the Kum & Go across from Sam's on East Sunshine at 13:00 with a slight wind out of the south. We were making good time until we got to the rail crossing on Farm Road 253, which was blocked by a train on the siding. We waited about 10 minutes, and one train passed headed for Springfield. We could not hear the locomotives on the siding start up, so we assumed the training was waiting for another train out of Memphis. With the recent flooding along the Mississippi, the rail traffic is probably backed up. Since we were running out of time to get to the control in Rogersville, we decided to take an alternate route that is about 3.5 miles longer. We got to the Rogersville control right at the closing time. It is only 14.1 miles to the Rogersville control. The time limit is one hour and 32 minutes, which does not leave much time for delays.

The remainder of the ride was uneventful. It got hotter as we rode out, but began to cool on the way back. The big climbs were mostly in the shade, which was nice. The wind also died, so we did not have a headwind. The animals were enjoying the sunny day, and the wildflowers were in bloom. 

Heading back on Hwy KK

  

Alpacas

Llamas

Panther Valley

White Oak School: seems to have been converted to a barn