Lyle's Ewe Turn

Spring is here, the grass is not too high, the trees are just leafing out, and the landscape is as soft as the lamb’s tummy. This is a story about sheep and rural roads. Odd combination, wouldn’t you say? Read on.

There are hundreds of bucolic gravel roads hidden around the Upper Left-Hand Corner of Illinois and never enough paved ones. So, when we discover a remote and scenic tarmac, we treasure it, hold it in our collective memory, and praise its aesthetic rewards.

One Sunday morning in late April, Lyle Krug introduced us to just such a route. Growing up near Orangeville, Illinois, Lyle has had ample time to sample nearly every road between Freeport and Monroe. So come ride with us in the charming lambscape where sheep safely graze, and please hold all jokes about our four legged friends.

To get to the Ewe Turn from Highland Community College, take Kiwanis north to Stephenson Street and west to Van Brocklin Road. Continue north on Van Brocklyn to Lily Creek Road. Turn right on Lily Creek and ride to the next left at Harlem Center Road. Continue north on Harlem Center Road across Business 20 and over the US 20 Bypass. Take the first left on Winneshiek Road after you cross over the Bypass, and ride west up the hill to the "T" at AYP Road.

Turn right on AYP, and ride north to the next "T" at Cedarville Road. Turn right and ride 2,000 feet, across the Pecatonica River bridge, to Damascus Road. Turn left and ride north on Damascus Road three and a quarter miles and turn left on West Empire Road.

Now, enjoy the first leg of the Ewe Turn. You’ll have just enough time to peek at the scenery as you descend eight tenths of a mile down this narrow tree lined road. Just before the gravel at the bottom of the hill, turn right on Korth Road.

This is the second leg of our Ewe Turn. We’ll ride north with the shade of the hillside on our right up the grade to the iron fence styles. Now, you may stop, look, and listen for our fuzzy friends grazing peacefully in green pastures.

After bidding the ewes adieu, Korth Road falls away and jambs into McConnell Road. Watch for traffic as you turn right, and commence the third leg of the Ewe Turn. You are riding east two and three quarter miles over Richland Creek into rustic Buena Vista.

Lyle’s Ewe Turn is a three-legged ewe which rams into your quads as you climb out of Buena Vista. Once on top, turn right, and ride south on Red Oak Road into the hamlet of the same name.

At the end of Red Oak’s main drag, turn right on Beaver Road and ride over the Richland Creek watershed up to Scheider Road. Ride Scheider south to Cederville Road. Turn right on Cederville and left on Scioto Mills Road. Watch behind for fast moving vehicles as you prepare to turn on to Scioto Mills Road.

Follow Scioto Mills Road south and east into Scioto Mills. Just after you cross the Jane Addams bike path, turn right on Iris Hill Road and continue south until you "T" into Winneshiek Road. Turn right on Winneshiek and follow that back to Highland College via Harlem Center, Lily Creek, and Van Brocklin Roads, Stephenson Street, and Kiwanis Drive.

So there you have it. Thirty miles with a Ewe Turn of sheeply splendour. What more could you desire on a bright spring Saturday morning?

Ewe Turn Trivia – You’ll cross the Jane Addams Bike Path four times at Buena Vista, Red Oak, Scioto Mills, and Winneshiek Road.

Finally, our thanks to Commodore Dennis Robinson for naming one of our favorite bike rides in Stephenson County.