Month: June 2010

I made a last-minute decision yesterday to ride my bike, fully loaded with camping gear, to Clifty Falls State Park and stay overnight.  I plotted a route of roughly 35 miles.

Let me back up a minute.  The last few days did not go as planned.  Saturday, my daughter graduated from high-school, and a few family members (including my ex-wife) drove down from Michigan to attend.  The graduation was fine.  It was neat to watch, and several people cried.

My daughter decided some time ago to move back to Michigan after graduation.  My ex-wife and I both were going to haul her stuff back to Michigan.  I was also going to take a bike with me and visit an old friend, and ride with someone who I’ve talked to online.  I had requested Monday and Tuesday off of work to have time to do this.

For reasons I won’t go into here, I did not drive to Michigan on Sunday.  So I found myself with a couple of “free days”.  What do I do with “free days”?  I ride my bike of course!

So, I figured my first bike-camping trip, and about 70 miles of riding would be a nice way to spend two days off.  It turned out much better than that.

There were some concerns about possible severe weather, but I decided I’d risk it.  The ride was hot, but pleasant.  I took a nice slow pace and made it there in about 3 1/2 hours.  The odometer read 36.8 miles for the day.  I found a two-mile stretch of a pleasant gravel road along the way.  It wasn’t “seriously epic” like some of the roads Tim and I have found, but it was quite pleasant.

After getting my tent set-up, I talked to a bike tourist who was also camped there.  I was sure to tell him that I was simply doing an overnight trip.

This bike tourist was John.  He’s riding from Buffalo to Atlanta.  He was on day 11 of his journey.  He was following the an ACA route that would take him through my town of residence of Charlestown Indiana.  We agreed to ride together the next day, at least as far as Charlestown.

John was riding a beautiful lugged-steel touring bike that he bought used and had repainted and built up to match his desires.  The bike had toured Europe and Asia with it’s previous owner.  He told me the manufacturer of the frame, but I can’t remember now.

I had trouble sleeping.  The ground was hard.  The tent was not well-ventilated and it was hot and humid.  I eventually fell asleep only to woken by a windstorm.  There was no rain, the tent didn’t fall over, so I guess it was a success.  The wind also solved the heat and humidity issue.

Clifty Falls has a new shower facility, so I was able to take a shower when arriving, and another after getting up at 6:00 a.m.  I kept this trip simple and did not plan on cooking.  I ate fig bars for breakfast , broke camp, packed the bike, then rode over to see if John was up.

Before long, John was ready to roll.  His ACA map had him going on Highway 62, which I had seen was under construction, and not safe for riding.  We followed my previous day’s route, in reverse to get back to Charlestown, stopping at a small diner in New Washington for breakfast (okay, I had a burger for breakfast)

There were some strange, fast-moving clouds that passed overhead, and the associated wind gust gave us a strong but brief tailwind.  The weather cleared up later.

After arriving in Charlestown we stopped by my house to unload my extra gear.  We stopped for a snack and more coffee around town.  John grabbed some supplies from the grocery store.

I made the decision to ride along with John for a while longer.  I didn’t have a firm plan, but wasn’t ready to end the adventure.

After looking at the ACA maps, I planned a much better route that avoided much traffic and took us down the recently re-opened Waterline Rd through the old ammunition plant.

We meandered through Utica and Jeffersonville.  The riding got much more urban.  We rode through Clarksville, saw the Louisville skyline, and made our way to New Albany where we stopped for water and snacks.  Did I mention it was hot?

John was now following the ACA maps again, as my knowledge of this area wasn’t as good.  We eventually ended up on Corydon Pike, and we climbed up to Edwardsville.  At this stage it was time to say goodbye.  We had ridden together for about 70 miles.  John had to be in Corydon in time to set up camp for the night.  I needed to get home in time to get ready for bed, as I do work tomorrow.

I took a very urban, traffic-heavy route home.  I pushed a lot harder and faster, as I wanted to stop for pizza and beer at my favorite watering hole before going home.  I enjoyed a single beer and some lasagna in lieu of pizza and headed home.

The last portion of the ride made my legs more sore than the previous miles combined.  I should have learned my lesson from John about pacing.  He rarely exceeds 11mph.

I arrived home with 93 miles for the day.  That’s in addition to the nearly 37 miles yesterday.  June 2010 is now a record mileage month for me.  The month isn’t over, so it’ll be interesting to see the final total on July 1st.

I rode the ‘bent for comfort today.  I’ve been neglecting that poor bike, so Oria will be my commuter of choice for the week.

I was caught in a sudden but brief downpour.  This picture was taken after the rain subsided.  It’s 94 degrees and sunny as I write this.  There is the possibility of severe weather.  Hopefully I’ll make it home first.

I can now say I’ve ridden a century (100 miles).  Michael and I rode the Siberian Summer Bicycle Tour yesterday.  They had several route options of different lengths, but we opted for the longest one.  The ride took us along some very scenic areas on mostly low-traffic roads through Perry County Indiana.

This ride did not have a mass start, but instead, registration began at 7:00, and you could leave when you were ready.  Michael and I left around 7:30.  There were some others that got an early start at about 6:30.  I was told only eight riders opted for the 100-mile route.

This was only Michael’s second century, but this one was hill.  His first was flat, so the ride was a challenge for both of us.

Michael and I are not fast riders.  There were probably plenty of other slow riders, but they didn’t choose the 100-mile route.  Luckily, the rest areas remained open until we passed through them.  It was a hot day, and we needed to refill our water bottles often.

We rode past Saddle Lake in Hoosier National Forest.  I was tempted at that point to jump in for a quick swim.

There was definitely some climbing involved but it usually led to a nice view.

Typical rural Indiana scenery

I could have used a Double Cola about then.

You have to love a place called Possum Junction.  Too bad they were closed.

Siberia, Cold in name, warm in heart

We saw several of these mini oil rigs

This reminded me of the Windows XP “Bliss” wallpaper

This was in St. Meinrad.

This is the covered bridge on Huffman Hill Road.  It’s no longer open, but is the site of a small park.

Michael and I were just about done with the ride at this point.  We were happy, but glad to be near the end. It’s a good thing it’s not a race.  We were the last two to finish the ride.

I think I recreated the route here. I may have taken a couple of wrong turns though.

Download file: 2010-06-05.gpx