Bicycling in Bloomington

 Not the Hilly Hundred weekend, of course. But I rode just about as far as the Hilly (96 miles total) on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, I rode the 60K version of the Hoosier Hills Tour. I chose the shorter ride because I was going to the IU football game at noon. My computer showed 40+ miles but it’s longer partially because I rode to and from the start at Jackson Creek Middle School.

I started fairly early. I might have left the school before 8. I ride the course regularly, so I knew it well. It seems that there weren’t many riders. I passed only a few before the first rest stop at Chapel Hill and 3 riders passed me. From the time I turned on Chapel Hill until I reached the school, I didn’t see another Tour rider.

The lunch stop was moved this year from the Monroe Lake overlook to an elementary school. I wasn’t paying attention, so I went to the old lunch stop. Surprised to see no one there. I was the first rider to reach the lunch stop at about 9:30 or so. It’s not lunch time at 9:30 so I didn’t eat much.

Overall, the day was pleasant (cool to start; warm at the end), the traffic relatively light although heavier than a Sunday morning, and I wished I had time to do the longer ride.

Sunday, I rode about 56 miles. I rode a typical course through the Morgan Monroe forest. It seems that a bike race was happening in the Forest sometime on Sunday but later than when I was there. After leaving the Forest, I crossed 37 and continued the typical route. At Denny Rd, I turned right to stay on Ditmore instead of going straight onto Denny (another place where the road takes a right turn). My map indicates that Ditmore would join Bottom, so it was an alternate way. I was curious.

However, I found myself on Buskirk Rd. Buskirk has a very steep hill that was unexpected. Then, I determined by the sun that I was going north instead of south. Eventually, I reached Burma Rd and became aware that I was riding the Sunday Hilly route backwards. I continued on the route using Salem and Paragon Rds to reach 37, crossed to Old 37 and climbed back up to the Forest entrance. Then, for the second time, I went down the hill and up to Hindustan (for the second time). From there I continued on Old 37 to Bethel Ln, turned onto the Griffey Lake Rd, up the hill from the Lake and home.

Like Saturday, the weather was pleasant. I don’t think I felt warm until after the Griffey climb. I saw some interesting animals, such as a lone turkey in a field. (I’ve always seen turkeys in groups before.) I saw chickens loose on Bethel Ln but that’s not unusual. Some deer on Anderson Rd. Traffic was light

Counting Thursday’s ride, I rode the following big hills over the weekend - Stipp, Mission Valley (the Alps), Ramp Creek, Bean Blossom, Hindustan (twice), Buskirk, two hills on Old 37, and the climb from Griffey. Buskirk seemed the most challenging but maybe it’s because it’s the first time I rode it.

I monitored my heart rate on the hills when I started and it seemed to be lower than previous rides. I also increased the gears a little. I rode the last mile of Bean Blossom in my “4″ gear which I’ve never used before on the hill. I rode up to Hindustan in the “3″ gear for the first time. On both climbs, my heart rate was lower than earlier in the summer despite the bigger gears. However, when I rode the hill to Hindustan a second time about 1.5 hours later, my heart rates was about 7-8 bpm faster but I used the same gear.

I saw many bicyclists going the opposite direction - I’d guess 50 overall with 2 larger packs. Very unusual to see so many. But, it’s not surprising. It was a nice day for “enjoying” the Monroe County hills.