Category: Touring

Last Wednesday, I realized time was running out before I start my new job and have to go back to the daily grind.  I posted on G+ asking about locals for an overnight bike camping trip.  Nobody was very certain of availability.  So I improvised and whipped out a quick 5-day plan of about 250 miles.  I’d ride alone if necessary.  I had just a couple of hours to plan and pack.  Diane was flabbergasted.

Wednesday – Day One

After a trip to the ATM on my loaded recumbent bike, I headed north.  I detoured around some of the bridge construction mess, and eventually crossed into Indiana on the Big Four Bridge.

I noticed the cables for the new downtown bridge are partially done.

I cruised through Jeffersonville without stopping by Flat 12 for a beer.  I continued up to Utica, where I could see the progress on the new east-end bridge.

I continued to Charlestown, where I did have a beer, a half-sandwich, spinach salad, and copious amounts of water at Charlestown Pizza.  I probably had too much of something.  I felt “sloshy” while leaving.  Ugh.

Shortly after leaving town, the rain started.  I don’t mind riding in the rain.  The glasses making it hard to see does bother me.

At this point I had to deal with hills.  Oh well.  I’m fat and old.  I’m attempting my longest (in days) tour while being at my fattest and most out-of-shape since I got a bike.  I went slow.  I walked up hills when I had too.

The rain stopped after an hour or so.  The roads were gorgeous.

I made it to Clifty Falls State Park after sunset.  I paid the fee, set up my tent, and went in to take a shower in the nice facility their just as a torrential downpour began.  It rained a lot Wednesday night.

I slept poorly.  It was hot and muggy in the tent, but I couldn’t open the rainfly due to rain.  I couldn’t leave the tent due to bugs (I had already washed off the bug repellent in the shower).  I read my Kindle for a while.  I think I finally fell asleep at 3:30 am or so.

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Thursday – Day Two

I woke surprisingly late at 9:00 am.  I can’t normally do that while camping.  I unzipped the tent to a pleasant day, and my ‘bent leaning against the picnic table.

Timothy contacted me about meeting up at Hardy Lake, where I already had plans to swim.  I packed up and headed out.

Weather was a bit mixed, and this was probably my slowest day on the bike.  I was a bit stressed, getting sunburned, and trying not to make Timothy wait too long.

Due to spotty cell coverage, my conversation with Timothy was difficult.  I rolled into Hardy Lake, down to the beach, and took a swim with my waterproof camera.  I didn’t see Timothy.

Just as I was leaving the water, Timothy came rolling up on his bike.  He had apparently been at the park for a couple of hours, but missed the beach.  He was down at the boat launch enjoying the view.

We rolled out.  Our destination was Delaney Park, which I believe is a county park nestled into the hills of Jackson-Washington State Forest.

It was hot, then it rained.  I was slow.  I complained.  I think Timothy pulled ahead to avoid hearing my complaining.

We rode a little gravel.  We rode a few hills.

I needed food and more caffeine.  We stopped at a Subway restaurant in Crothersville (where I stopped in a 2011 tour also).  In the 2011 tour, I went into that Subway to hide from a storm, and ate while I was there.  This time, I went there to eat, and ended up waiting out a storm.

The second half of the day was mostly flatter terrain.  We were in ancient river valleys between “knobs”.  As we approached the park, bigger hills were visible, but our path took us around them.

I had been under the impression that Delaney Park was private, but I now believe it’s a county park.

We arrived, set up camp, and were immediately set upon by a severe thunderstorm.  It had scary-strong winds.  We took shelter in the laundry area of the laundry/restroom building.  It appeared to be a sturdy block building.

The winds passed, and we wandered about, watching the deluge flood down the hills and eventually into the lake.  Surprisingly, both tents and bikes were right where we had left them.  Timothy’s was fairly dry.  Mine was soaking wet.

I didn’t have real food with me, and had intended to eat at the restaurant in the park – which was closed.  Timothy saved the day with camp food.

After eating, we settled in for the night.  The rain had tapered off.  I wan’t able to fall asleep easily, so kept the rain fly open on one side to watch the lightning bugs flicker in the stand of trees a ways a way.  It was hypnotic.

I’d like to say I fell asleep in that bliss.  I did not.  The “residents” who have full-time sites there were loud and boisterous.  There was a very loud strange bird flying from tree to tree.  The frogs were very vocal – including one very close to my tent.

Eventually things quieted down, but the rain started again.  I closed the rain fly, and fell asleep eventually.

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Friday – Day Three

I woke at about 5:30 am.  It was raining.  My tent was dripping on me.  Packing up in the rain is difficult.  Timothy was still asleep.  I tried to go back to sleep.  I considered the absurdity of camping in the rain, of bike touring, of many of my life’s choices.  I was unhappy.

Then, at 7:00, the rain just stopped.  That’s my cue.  I got out of the tent and quickly started packing.

We made coffee and more camp meals, and headed out.  Salem was our immediate destination for a more substantial breakfast.

There was one brutal climb on the way that I walked most of.  The rain did not hold off.  Often there was just a drizzle.  A few times it was a downpour.  We took shelter under a tree briefly.

We arrived in Salem looking for a breakfast place I had been before.  Apparently they don’t exist anymore.  The best we got was excellent doughnuts and mediocre coffee.

Our destination was Spring Mill State Park, which is just a short distance from the town of Mitchell.  Timothy thought that heading to Mitchell first for a substantial meal would be a good idea.  I agreed, and off we went.

I had already scoped out The Hub Restaurant online before the trip.  It’s a simple, family restaurant, but the staff was friendly and the food was good.

While there, more weather warnings were issued.  My gear was pretty wet.  I suggested we skip the camping and go across the street to the Mitchell Motel.  Once checked in, and had our bikes secured, we walked to the local liquor store for a six pack of beer to share.

I slept like the dead.

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Saturday – Day Four

I woke with the 7:00 am alarm.  We were packed, check out of the motel, and across the street at the restaurant again for breakfast when they opened at 8:00.

After a hearty breakfast, we headed out.

It had rained all night and most of the morning.  There flood warnings scattered around the area.

My planned goal was Buffalo Trace Park in Palmyra.  Timothy was going to ride with me, then ride home.  He was going to have a much longer ride than I.

I was really struggling to keep moving.  I was having knee pain.  I was wet and miserable.  Along Vincennes Trail there was high water across the road.  We consulted the GPS, and took an alternate route.

We made another short detour to visit Beck’s Mill.  It’s an operational water-powered mill.  Timothy wanted to buy a bag of grits.  Apparently they can’t operate with flooding and were closed.

We continued further along Vincennes Trail.  We came across another, longer, deeper flooded stretch.  It didn’t look good.  There wasn’t an alternate route that wouldn’t add significant mileage.  It wasn’t flowing water, so it was safe.  It was a matter of submerging parts of the bike that shouldn’t be submerged.  We decided to try to carry our loaded bikes the distance.  Neither one of us managed, and instead set the bikes down, and pushed across.

Yes, both my hubs were submerged.  Timothy had the same problem, along with his bottom bracket.  The lower part of my panniers were also dragging in the water.  It was a long slog down the road before it wasn’t underwater.

At this point, I knew the tour was over.  I was too sore, too tired, and would need extra time to clean and fix the bike at home.  We continued to Palmyra, found a diner, and I called my wife to come pick me up.

I still rode about 200 miles in 4 days.  I’ll take it.  I’ll do it again… later.

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Tim planned another S24O for last Friday.  Timothy, Patrick, and I joined him in the madness.

Friday brought some nice temperatures – into the 40s.  It was a tad windy and overnight temperatures were about 30.

Tim and Timothy both used bivy sacks instead of tents.  No, thank you, I’ll stick with my tent.

We each heated our food over the fire, or various stoves – fueled by alcohol or Esbit tablets.  Timothy made an awesome chili.  I had a can of soup.  There was also bread and sausage.  We had some adult beverages.  I drank more than the others, but stayed up later.

I expected to be cold and have a lousy night of sleep.  In reality, I had a great night of sleep.  I was warm, slept for nine hours, and only got up once for nature’s call.

The morning was cold.  Packing up was brutal.  The camp coffee was less than good.  We rolled out and had a nice warm breakfast at Twig and Leaf.

It was a great way to get away from holiday madness and spend time with friends.  I hadn’t seen Patrick in months.

Tim wrote more here.

Last week, Tim suggested a weekend overnight bike camping trip.  He met me at my house on Saturday afternoon, where we took a route through Utica and Charlestown to Clark State Forest.

I’ve been limited to my recumbent recently due to more back issues.  The cervical (neck) issues continue, and the lumbar (lower back) issue is recent.  Getting older sucks.  On the other hand, riding the recumbent more has gotten me comfortable on it again.  It had been my primary bike from late 2008 until early 2010.  It’ll be my primary bike again.

Luckily the ‘bent has a decent rear rack and can easily haul my camping gear.  I’m currently missing the rear fender – as the old one broke after five years.  The gripshift shifters have started to deteriorate, and need replacing.  They still function, but I get a gooey, rubber-like mess on my hands from them.

We intended on enjoying pizza and beer at Charlestown Pizza company, but we were unaware that it was the weekend of the Founders’ Day celebration in Charlestown, and the pizza place was closed.  We tolerated food from Subway instead.

Just north of Utica, we could see where the planned east end bridge will soon (?!) be constructed.  They’ve cleared trees on both sides of the river.

As the ride progressed, we considered bailing.  The weather was sketchy.  There was a chance of rain.  It might even storm.  The temperatures were cooler than forecast, and we weren’t dressed for cool temperatures.  Tim was using a bivy rather than a tent.  I had my new-ish tent, and felt that I could handle rain – but I was worried about cold.  We decided to stick to the plan.

In Henryville we bought a little beer (cheap, nasty stuff) and ice.  We poured the ice in a dry bag with the beer containers.  This would get them cold enough for camp.

The campsite was roomy and we mostly had the campground to ourselves.  There were distant sites that were occupied, but nobody close by.  This was our first time at this campground.  It would have been much better without the nearby freeway.  We weren’t going to haul firewood, so we did without a fire.  We sat and drank beer well into the night before going to bed.

It was warm, as forecast.  It never rained.  I initially slept on top my sleeping bag.  I never put the rainfly on the tent, so I just had a mesh shelter to keep the bugs out.  I woke up about an hour into my sleep because I was cold.  I crawled into the bag where I mostly slept well until 7:00am when I woke to hearing Tim moving around camp.

It was time for coffee and oatmeal on the Esbit stove.  After enjoying breakfast, we packed and headed out.

Tim’s original plan had us heading through some hilly terrain on the return trip.  Neither of us was feeling up to it.  So we exited the beautiful country roads and made our way through exurban and suburban sprawl on somewhat busy roads.  One of the roads, that I used to ride all of the time when I lived in southern Indiana, was now under construction.  It made the ride less pleasant.

We wanted to get home.  We dealt with the traffic and lack of good scenery.  Although I didn’t take a picture, we saw the path of the pending downtown bridge also.  There’s a McDonalds and a Waffle House that are now closed and awaiting demolition.  There was a row of empty houses with the windows boarded up.

We rolled into Louisville and celebrated the trip with food from Twig and Leaf before we each headed home.  It was in that final two miles home that I got rained on.

Tim’s write-up is here.

Tim, Patrick, and I headed out to Jefferson Forest for another overnight bike trip last Saturday night.

It being winter with forecast lows around 30, I knew my sleeping bag wouldn’t be enough.  I have a nice winter bag in my wishlist, but haven’t been able to purchase it yet.  In the meantime, Timothy loaned me and old, heavy, but warm bag.  It was bulky enough, that the Big Dummy was the only bike I would be able to use for this trip.

It had rained earlier in the day, but by the time I left home, to meet Tim and Patrick, the roads were beginning to dry.

I arrived at the coffee shop about 30 minutes early.  Tim was already there.  Patrick was running late.  That saved us from getting drenched.  Shortly after Patrick arrived, the skies opened up and it rained hard for about 20 minutes.  If he had been on time, we would have been out in that rain.

Once the rain passed, we rolled out… where Patrick immediately had a roofing nail in his rear tire.  We quickly fixed it and moved on.

We rode 20ish miles to Jefferson Forest – where I was able to make it up the hill without walking the time – and set up camp.  Patrick had fire duty, well, because he can actually get a fire started.

I brought hot dogs to cook on the fire, which worked reasonably well.  Patrick and Tim both brought dehydrated “camp food” that they complained about.  I shared the hot dogs.

I’ve had too many camping trips where I was uncomfortable and cold.  I have trouble sleeping on the ground.  That wasn’t an issue this time.  The borrowed sleeping bag, while old and tattered, was warm.  I also used my existing sleeping bag for extra padding.  I slept well and wasn’t cold.

Still, getting up in the cold morning makes me a little grumpy.  At least I had my #zombieraccoon hat for warmth.

I made coffee with a pour-over.  The water was heated on my Esbit stove.

My breakfast consisted of cookies.  It was enough to hold me to real breakfast.

We packed and headed back to town for breakfast at Twig and Leaf, which is a pancake and eggs kind of place.

Another S24O complete.  I enjoyed it.  I still need to buy better winter camping gear, but I did okay with the borrowed bag.

 

An S24O is a sub 24 hour overnight bike camping trip.  Tim, Patrick, and I took off Friday evening after dinner to go to Jefferson Memorial Forest.

I did the same thing, with a similar group back in February, but I was quite uncomfortable last time due to a neck flare-up and not being equipped for the cold.

I packed up the Big Dummy and headed out to meet the other two.  I carried minimal clothing, despite the chance of rain.  The temperature was mild, but not really cool.  I packed a soft-sided cooler with a growler of Atomic Dust from Apocalypse Brew Works.

I didn’t yet have a rear rack on my Fargo, so I used the Big Dummy.

This is Tim’s latest machine.  It’s a Rawland Sogn.  I really like the color.

Patrick has his Fargo set up for touring.

It was getting dark by the time we were heading out.  I had the best lights, so I usually stayed behind to act as a “bumper” to keep us visible, or at least take the first hit from a car.  It was Friday night and we travelled busy roads.

The decision to take the main roads (New Cut Rd in particular) was that there would be better sight lines for us to be seen.  They are straight, mostly flat roads to get out of town on.  Being multi-lane, we could easily take the right lane and not hold up traffic.

We stopped at a convenience store for snacks, and I grabbed a package of Red Solo Cups for the beer, and for giggles.

After getting off the main roads, wandering up to the park office to get the paperwork, then climbing Holsclaw Hill (which I pushed my bike up most of it), we rolled up to the campsite.  Tim had arranged for the site.  He paid the fee (Patrick and I reimbursed him our portions).    Yet there was already a tent in our spot.

Upon approaching, a young man popped out, and after some gesturing we figured out he was deaf.  After some awkward “conversation” on paper, we determined he had squatted there.  We just wanted him to move over to where his car was.  It was less than 30 feet away, and still technically in our site, but he was reluctant to do so.  He seemed to get emotional, but eventually pulled his tent over by his car.  He was a quiet neighbor.

It was dark, so we struggled to set up our tents by headlight.  Once set up, Patrick had fire duty.

At that point, it was just three guys camping.  We talked shit.  We drank a little.  We (Tim) farted a lot.

Being old farts, we soon climbed into our tents and went to sleep.

 

There had been a chance of rain all day Friday, Friday night, and Saturday.  During the night, it didn’t rain.  Although the temperatures dropped into the 50s, I was comfortable curled up in my sleeping bag.

I didn’t sleep well.  I usually don’t while camping.  Whether it’s noises of critters (two or four-legged), the hard ground, or my cramped tent, I tend to wake up a lot.  At least I didn’t wake up cold each time, as had happened in February.

We rose at about 6:45am.  Patrick made coffee (he’s so domestic!) while we packed.  It was quite cool.  I had some warmer clothes i could put over my bike clothes, but they weren’t good for riding in.  They were fine for staying warm while packing.

Stuff packed, coffee consumed, we rolled out.  Once we hit the road, we had a nice fast downhill (the one I had walked up the night before).  I was back to wearing only shorts, short-sleeve shirt, socks, and sandals.  I didn’t even have gloves.

I knew I’d be cold.  I was right.  The 30mph descent was absolutely frigid, but it only lasted a few minutes until we got to flat ground, slowed down, and had to pedal.  Within a few more minutes, I had warmed up and was comfortable.  I still saw no sign of rain.

We took a similar route back to the start location of the night before.  Being fairly early in the morning, traffic was lighter.

We arrived at Twig and Leaf for a hearty breakfast and more coffee.  We then parted ways.

While riding home after breakfast, it had gotten cloudier and the temperature had dropped again.  There was an extremely light mist.  The short ride home was rather chilly.

Tim wrote up rather flippant remarks about the trip here.  I like when he writes like this, even when he makes fun of me, as in the quote “Dave walked, as expected.”

This is Friday’s route:

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This is Saturday’s route:

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I was really glad to have the opportunity to do this trip.  It was short, but yet packed in quite a bit of fun.

The total mileage is actually more than what is shown here, as I rode to and from the ride start.  I also ran errands before the trip to get beer and other supplies.

I still need some better camping gear.  I want a tent that packs down smaller, yet is longer so that I can stretch out.  I need a warmer sleeping bag.  My current gear is more than 12 years old.  Tim suggested I could not drink beer for a week and buy the camping gear.  That’s only a slight exaggeration.

 

Planning

Things happen in strange ways and for strange reasons.  I planned a four-day three-night tour hitting three campgrounds in southern Indiana.  I did this at Debbie’s urging, as she wanted to ride another tour.  June 2nd was set as the date.  As the date approached, Debbie was unable to ride the tour.  My other friends were still on the fence.

I had been planning to ride the Big Dummy.  My neck issues seem to be exacerbated by riding an upright bike, so I figured that 230+ miles over four days might be a bit much, so I changed my plans to the recumbent.  I was worried about packing what I needed on that bike.

As the date drew nearer, my friend’s plans were firming up.  I would ride alone if need be, but that didn’t look like it would be the case.

Day One

On Saturday, June 2nd, we were to meet at 9:00am at Sunergos for coffee and snacks.  Asher, Tim, and Ian met me there.  Ian ran late, but we had plenty of time.

I packed too much.  Overall I carried too much food and not enough clothing.  I also brought a little camp stool that I never used and should have left behind.  Only Ian carried more, as he was riding his Big Dummy with an absolutely huge box on the back.  This was his first bike camping trip, and he basically threw his car camping stuff on the bike.

I put two handle-bar mounted mirrors on my bike so I could skip the helmet mirror.  I didn’t even bring a helmet with me.  It was liberating.  I figure I won’t have far to fall from a recumbent, and helmets have a very mixed track record when getting hit by a car.  Luckily, there was no crashing involved during the tour (except a minor bump between Tim and Timothy).

The route to Clifty Falls was pretty straightforward.  Most of us have ridden many of the roads.

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We all felt good rolling along the Ohio River up through Utica.  Once we began the climb up Waterline Road, Ian and I fell back.  Ian had too much weight.  I was slightly overloaded and haven’t ridden many hills on the ‘bent in a while.

We rolled through Charlestown as a group.  We didn’t stop.  Ian was beginning to suffer from the rolling hills.  We then made the mad descent into the creek valley on Tunnel Mill Road.  I, on my ‘bent, could have easily passed everyone on the downhill, except they were knotted up in a group and dodging the rough spots on the road.  Asher, with his narrow tires, really had an issue on that stretch of road.  I stayed safely back, applying a little braking pressure.

Tim packed fairly light.  He was also riding his new bike, a very-capable Surly Troll.

Tunnel Mill Road turns back uphill and I think everyone but Tim had to walk the hill.  Ian and I were carrying too much weight.  Asher didn’t have the low gears.  Only Tim with his low gears and reasonable weight could climb the hill.

We stopped in New Washington for lunch.  At this point, it was obvious that Ian was struggling.  Ian made the decision to continue riding to Clifty Falls, but he would ride home the next day instead of continuing on.

There was a mile or so of gravel on this route.  It was easy stuff, not bad to ride on at all.

I fell behind Tim and Asher.  I rode with Ian for a while, but then Ian fell back further.  I continued on, stopping occasionally to make sure Ian was on course.

Ian and I rolled into the park and met up with Tim and Asher, who had already arranged camping.  The showers at Clifty Falls are quite new, private, and very welcome.

Ian used his huge collection of cooking gear to boil water quickly, and feed us dinner.

Nobody wanted to ride into town for beer, so we drank water.  Tired from the day, we went to bed early.  I had trouble sleeping, and was woken in the night by a rainstorm.  My tent leaked very little, but my sleeping bag was up against the tent wall (small tent) and the foot-end of the sleeping bag was soaked.  I did manage at least four hours of sleep.

Day Two

I woke before everyone else on Sunday morning.  It was about 5:30am, and the eastern sky was just getting lighter.  The birds had gotten noisy, I needed to use the bathroom, and my sleeping bag was wet.  There would be no going back to sleep.

The overnight rain was gone, as were most of the clouds.

I started up my Esbit stove for coffee and oatmeal.  I had forgotten a coffee mug, so I used one of my insulated water bottles.  I ate the oatmeal directly out of the cookpot.

We eventually packed up camp and headed out.  The first few miles of Ian’s return trip were the same as ours, so we rode together until Ian fell behind.  At a crossroads Tim wanted to adjust the position of his shifter (while I was out watering the weeds) and broke the bolt.  He managed to secure it with zip ties.  Meanwhile, Ian caught up.  We talked for a bit.  Ian headed south, and we headed north.

I assumed the second day would be the most difficult.  It was 70 miles and the last half was rather hilly.  As we headed west again, we realized we’d also be fighting a headwind.  The straightest, flattest part of the ride had unending headwinds.  It was a bit demoralizing.

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On the other hand, it was beautiful.  It was warmer.  The skies were mostly sunny.  Things were all green and blue.  It was perfect weather for riding…. unless you were riding west.

There was more gravel on day two than on day one.

I also noticed that I was getting sunburned.  I was wearing sunblock, but with no hat or helmet my forehead took a beating.  My legs were really getting pink, as were my feet from wearing sandals.  I don’t burn easily, but I’ve burned pretty much every year since I started bicycling.

We stopped in Crothersville for lunch, disappointed to find nothing but a Subway.  It still made for a nice rest and some calories and hydration.

We rode through a covered bridge outside of Medora.  I didn’t think to take a picture of it.  We stopped at a gas station in Medora that had ice cream.

We rode through Sparksville, Fort Ritner, and Tunnelton.  These towns are old railroad town that are dying.  They flood often from the East Fork of the White River.

We arrived at Spring Mill State Park after a very trying day.  I believe all three of us had walked a number of hills.  Our legs weren’t as fresh as they had been.

Timothy was waiting for us at the campsite.  He had ridden up from Louisville that day.  Timothy had several cans of beer, but they were warm.  It would have been an easy ride to Mitchell for more beer, but being Sunday, in Indiana, we were out of luck.  I enjoyed a can of warm beer and a sip of bourbon, and that was it as far as alcohol.

The primitive campsites at Spring Mill don’t provide showers, but when they’re aren’t many people there (like on Sundays!) it’s easy enough to slip into the showers for the electric camping spots.  I did, and felt much better afterward.

I did a bit more complicated cooking this time.  Not as complex as Timothy did.  He had cooked noodles, then simmered a sauce, and dumped the noodles on top.  He also had a larger cookpot and an alcohol stove.  My Esbit is good at boiling water, so that’s what I did with it.

I had some “just add water” stuff from the grocery store.  I made shells and cheese, and added tuna.  I had “cup of soup” with other meat added.  I also provided Asher a hot meal, as he didn’t bring a stove and was relying on pre-cooked stuff.  he did share an awesome bacon roll he made at home.

In our rush to cook and eat, we forgot to take care of the trash.  It was in a bag, hanging off the end of the picnic table.  We went to bed early again.  My sleeping bag as still damp.  It was a warm night, so I just laid on top of it.  I fell asleep quickly this time.

I woke up with a start as it sounded like someone was messing with my bike.  I grabbed my flashlight and quickly unzipped my tent.  I was greeted by the two glowing eyes of a raccoon who had been digging in the trash.  I chased the critter off and picked up the trash and put it back in the bag.  I then began walking, looking for the trash can.

It was quite a walk to a trash can.  I returned to the camp and Tim was up and awake shining his flashlight into my open tent, wondering where I was.

He had seen the raccoons.  There were at least two, possibly three.  They had also run off with a jar of peanuts.

It was still a warm night.  I had left the rainfly off my tent for ventilation, comfort, and the ability to see the stars.  I went back to bed and tried to fall back asleep.  Within minutes it started raining.  I put the rainfly back on and managed to fall asleep.  I slept reasonably well until morning.

Day Three

I woke up early on Monday.  I was cold, damp, and stiff.  I got up and started coffee.  The weather was much cooler and cloudy.

I made a pretty awesome breakfast that included my precooked bacon.  I think we all shared a little bit of something.

We packed and headed out.  Although the planned route was shorter at around 50 miles, we also knew it was hilly.

I was in a hurry to pack and had trouble getting my tent packed small enough to go into the tent tube.  Tim helped me.

It rained lightly a couple of times while we were still at the campsite.  I had visions of a roaring fire and a cold beer once we got to the next campsite.  I also knew we probably wouldn’t have a fire, as we hadn’t had one yet.

It was about eight miles to Orleans where we stopped for a snack at a gas station, and better water than the foul-tasting stuff from the campground.

The land got a bit “lumpier” as we approached Paoli.  We rode to the Paoli town square looking for a good lunch stop.  We didn’t see anyplace interesting, so I went into an insurance office to ask.  We were directed to SuperBurger, which was nearby, but in the opposite direction than we needed to go.  It was worth the effort.  I had a burger, fries, and chocolate shake.

We left town going southeast on US150, which was less than pleasant, but it took us into Hoosier National Forest, and after about two miles we turned off on a county road.  Asher and Timothy had missed the turn.  Tim and I waited at the turn for them to turn around.  They got some extra climbing out of that.

It was hilly, quiet roads through Hoosier National Forest until we reached Marengo.  We had all walked hills.  I had walked a lot of hills.  I was cold and wet.  Timothy had broken a chain.  We all stood in the rain as he fixed it.

Marengo has a liquor store.  We agreed to buy cans and ice.  Tim and Asher went to the gas station to get ice.  Timothy and I went to the liquor store for beer.  They had a decent selection of beer… in bottles.  In cans was only the mass-produced stuff.  I grabbed a six-pack of PBR, and decided if we can’t drink good beer, we can at least drink “ironic beer“.  We were about 15 miles from camp, and Tim offered to carry the beer, so I let him.

We headed out of Marengo and ended up on Depot Hill Road.  As we began the first climb on that road Tim commented that “this better be Depot Hill”.  It was about a 10% grade for a bit, then plateaued, then kicked up another shorter 7% grade.  We’d climbed worse, but the emotional impact of this was strong.  We felt beaten.  Looking at the GPS data from this, it appears I was moving at a walking pace… because I was walking.  After that climb was done we had a nice downhill, then were face with another 10% climb for a bit, then it tapered back to 4%.  Again, not the steepest of climbs, but I commented to Tim that “this must be Depot Hills Road”.

After Depot Hill Road we turned east on Speed Road.  We took this to Milltown.  There wasn’t any reason to stop there, so we went south on Wyandotte Cave Road.  This was mostly gently rolling hills until one good climb.  As we neared the top, I called everyone together.

I was cold.  My gear was soaking wet.  I didn’t have warm clothes with me.  I explained this to the group.  We only about five miles from the campground, but getting there wouldn’t do me any good.  Once I stopped pedaling, I would be horribly cold.  I suggested a hotel in Corydon.

I got some resistance.  Tim was worried we’d get lost changing the route like that.  Tim and I both had GPS devices that can do routing, but he was worried that the gravel road it was telling us to turn down would not actually go all the way through.

We stopped a passing car and asked.  The road did indeed go through to highway 337.  That was it.  We had a fast downhill on gravel down to the Blue River.  At the bridge we met a very friendly dog who was our companion for at least five miles.

The dog was happy and playful and didn’t bark.  We did have to be careful because he would run in front of us.  When we got to highway 337, he stayed behind.

Once on 337, it was a heavy-traffic slog to Corydon.  I really don’t like riding uphill, at low speed in traffic.  It was the quickest way there.

We grabbed two rooms for the four of us.  It felt great to sleep in a real bed, take a long shower, and stay warm.  I also got a good look at my sunburned feet.

Here’s the route we ended up taking.

Download file: 2012-06-04.gpx

Day Four

I got a solid nine hours of sleep.  I had been exhausted.  We packed our bikes and rode over to Waffle House for waffles, eggs, and coffee.  Once fueled, we now had a shorter ride to get home, as we were in Corydon rather than O’Bannon Woods State Park.

Download file: 2012-06-05.gpx

We rolled through Corydon, then eastward on Corydon Ridge Road.  I’d gone this way before, but never on the ‘bent.  I managed the rolling hills without walking.  This was the only day I managed to do that.  I had a slightly lighter load, as I’d ditched some of the food that I wouldn’t need.

I really didn’t take many pictures on this stretch.  Timothy and Asher disappeared up ahead.  They knew the way.  Tim was not feeling well and kept a moderate pace.  My legs were very weak, so we mostly rode together.

Corydon Ridge Road is mostly uphill, but very gently for many miles.  When we reach Edwardsville, there’s an ice cream shop there a few blocks off the route.  Asher and Timothy stopped there.  Tim and I just kept going.  Then it’s on to Corydon Pike downhill all the way into New Albany.

We made a brief stop at Falls of the Ohio State Park.  There was a woman sketching or painting something.

We rode across the Second Street Bridge and went our own way.  I stopped by work to say hello.  I grabbed a snack at the coffee shop.  Then I went home to unpack and greet my excited dogs.

Conclusions and Lessons Learned

I didn’t pack well.  Overall I had too much weight.  I carried too much food.  I didn’t have a good enough variety of clothing.  I couldn’t stay warm enough off the bike.  My sleeping bag, tent, and sleeping pad are sub-par, and are really only good for fair-weather camping. They are also too bulky for bike camping.  I’ve put replacements on my wish list.

I need a camp bowl and coffee mug.  I used an insulated water bottle for coffee once, and it’ll probably never taste the same.  I used the cookpot another time, but I had to be very careful to not burn myself.

My Esbit stove is very simple and easy.  An alcohol stove is more flexible, but the Esbit fuel tablets do the job very simply.

Being flexible is a good thing.  There aren’t a lot of campgrounds within riding difference from each other.  I think my decision to get the hotel rooms was the right one.  It’s better if you don’t need to do such things, but I’m glad I wasn’t so stubborn to stay on plan, that I would have had an extremely miserable night.

The recumbent bike handled a touring load wonderfully.  It handled the same as when unloaded.  That surprised me.  I expected to handle strangely.  I felt comfortable with 40mph descents as well as 4mph climbs.  I may have suffered sore legs and sunburn, but my ass never hurt.  I never had wrist pain.  It didn’t bother my neck or worsen my spinal issue.  I did have more issues climbing hills with the load.  I was slower than the others.  This isn’t a great “group ride” bike, but it’s great for touring.  I could see a recumbent trike with even lower gearing to be more useful for touring.  It’s hard to keep this thing upright below 3mph.  That’s when I get off and walk.  It’s also a bit harder to push up a hill for a long distance.  I can speak from experience now.

Tim’s write-up for the first day is here.