Bicycling in Bloomington

 Sunday, I went to Brown County State Park to ride the mountain bike trails. It was fun to do something different on the bike.

I’m not sure how far I rode. I started on the North Gate Path to the North Tower Loop. I rode the east (windy) side to Aynes Loop. Rode Aynes Loop but returned on same side of North Tower Loop. Then back on the North Gate Path. This combination of loops is about 9.3 miles but because I took the longer way twice on North Tower, my ride was longer.

I met a number of riders, especially since I might have been going the wrong direction on North Tower on my return. But, it was far from congested. I’m never sure on mountain bike trails if there is a preferred travel pattern. If I was going the wrong way, I apologize to the other riders whose rides I impeded. 

The trails are in great shape and allow for good riding. They are well designed and have the appropriate levels of challenges. The Aynes Loop has a long climb, little tighter trails, and a few more obstacles than North Tower. I would have tried Hesitation Point but I don’t know what a classification of “difficult” means. If it’s a steeper, harder climb, I would try it. If it’s much more technical, then I wouldn’t because my riding skills need to improve to ride more technical paths.

After the ride, I noticed that my hands were more tired than my legs - braking too much. I plan to go back at least once more this season.

Postscript

Monday and Tuesday I rode Old 446. The mornings were very cool for the summer. It’s a pleasant change from hot weather riding. The traffic seems to be increasing indicating vacations may be over.

After a week off, I lose some biking skills, especially pedaling. I found that Tuesday I was much better able to spin than Monday. It’s good to be back in the normal daily routine.