Bicycling in Bloomington

 Sunday, I rode nearly 60 miles. I rode what is now becoming almost a pattern for me - through the Forest, Bottom Rd, through Bloomington, Clear Creek, and a long way home (more detail). I had an 11:00 AM curfew for the ride. I got out about 7:15 or so and was back at about 11:05.

I won’t have another weekend ride for perhaps a month. The road bike is hanging on the garage wall and will likely be there until Labor Day weekend. I’ll be travelling for the next few weekends. It’s not unusual for me to have extended periods without riding. But, I think that I’m ready for the Hoosier Hills and the Hilly with just a few more rides.

The ride conditions were good but not great. I was sluggish but it might have been because of the weather - hot and humid. I noticed while riding through the “corn canyon” on Bottom Rd, that I was going about 2 mph slower than the previous week. But, the overall average time was not much different.

Traffic was very light. Hardly a car anywhere outside of town.

Some observations -

Boltinghouse Rd Hill - Earlier this year, I was getting more courageous in going down the hill and letting myself go. Then, three bad things caused me to be more cautious.  1) I use the middle of the road because it’s smoother but on a recent ride, a truck coming up was using the same part of the road. 2) I got to bottom okay but then I had to cross some unexpected gravel at a speed that was too uncomfortable for me. I used the principles of motion to get through it but it scared me. 3) I hit a hole so hard at the bottom that it caused my water bottle to fly out of the cage and burst open.

Sunday, I decided to go slowly because the Saturday night evening rains had caused a lot of gravel and other stuff to come out on the roads. A very wise decision. About 1/2 way down, there was mud and muck but not too much to handle. About 2/3 of the way down, far more mud, muck, leaves, branches, twigs, etc. than I think would have been able to manage at full speed. I’ve learned over the years to be cautious after heavy rains on rural roads in Monroe County. It paid off on Sunday.

Shirtless recumbent trike rider - I saw him again on Bottom Rd. This time I passed him going in the same direction. He has what looks like a beer cooler on the back. Even better, there are a bunch of flashing lights on the container. Interesting bike. Bloomington has some interesting characters riding bikes.

Big ring - I tried the big ring during the last 1/3 of the ride. I have rarely used it and generally considered it a weight that I carried around. I found that it is useful to ride through quick changes in slope. It was especially useful on rollers because I it allowed me to get into the spin more quickly than going down one rear cog. Because Bloomington is relatively hilly and I’m not a strong rider (I can rarely spin out the little cogs and the small ring), I didn’t see a value in going to the big ring. Now, I see how it can help improve my bicycling skills.

Saturday evening, I watched some bike racing in downtown Bloomington - the Bloomington Cycling Grand Prix. (Indiana Daily Student article) These are fun races to watch because it’s all amateurs, they go fairly fast (especially the cat 1/2 riders), and the course is laid out so that it’s possible to see many parts of the course. Another nice event that Bloomington has to offer for bicycling.

Sharrows, again - On Monday, the Herald Times reprinted the press release about Sharrows that the City released last week. Mitch Rice’s blog has a copy of the press release. Unfortunately, a subscription is needed to access the article. The HT, unlike other newspapers, discourages use of its website.

The article is merely a summary of the press release. Nothing creative in the HT. However, the article generated 84 (mostly) relevant comments. Many comments are thoughtful about the conditions for bicycling in Bloomington. It’s a shame that these comments cannot be more widely disseminated and discussed.