Bicycling in Bloomington

 Happy New Year

It’s riding time again. I haven’t been outside on a bike for a month. Bad weather, minor health issues, and other commitments have kept me indoors or running. I rode a wind trainer 3 times in the past month and ran a few times.

Today, it felt good to be outside. I started the ride at 9 (29^o) and finished at 11:10 (31^o). I rode south on old 446 to the end, back on 446 to Swartz. Down to the lake and up Stipp; to the water treatment plant and back; and to Clear Creek. I then rode the Bloomington Rail Trail (the gravel part) back to town. I was riding my commuting bike with big tires, so the gravel wasn’t a problem.

When I got to the end of the trail at Winslow Rd, I decided to see what is happening with the connection to downtown. For the most part, it’s ridable single-track. One bridge has about 5 2″X8″ planks only. Riding it requires following the first rule of mountain biking - look only where you want to go - so I focused on the other side of the bridge. Just before Rogers St, there are two bridges, neither of which can be crossed on a bike. From Rogers, I went home. The ride was about 29.5 miles.

I’m looking forward to more winter rides. Few of my winter rides are longer than 25 miles. The weather is generally acceptable.