Bicycling in Bloomington

 Sunday March 16, 2008

This morning, my ride was different from any that I have ever done. Inspired by Mitch Rice’s descriptions of rides off paved roads (Dubois Ridge, McGowen Rd), I decided to do something similar.

From my house, I went to Moore’s Pike, crossed over 446 and down Lampkins Ridge Rd. The road was paved but very gravelly. At the end, I turned right onto Friendship Rd. Soon after I arrived in Bloomington (21 years ago), I rode down Lampkins Ridge on my road bike. I was very surprised to find that Friendship Rd was gravel. It still is gravel and it has relatively big gravel. I wouldn’t ride my commuting bike very far on the gravel that big. I would walk my road bike.

Friendship Rd has 2 dead ends near Lake Monroe where the road was closed to let the birds rest. The roads open on April 15, so I’ll try again then. Riding on Friendship Rd is mildly challenging and a few times my off-road skills made it a little easier to keep riding.

On the return, I went up Gross Rd that is gravel most of the way to Old 446. It has one steep hill that wouldn’t seem especially challenging on a road with a road bike but was challenging because of the gravel. The last 30 yards were especially challenging because the gravel was much thicker and washboardy. The road conditions changed 2-3 times with each pedal stroke. As I got to about 15 yards from the top, the washboarding became very tight, so I decided to increase my cadence to get through it. It didn’t work and I spun the rear wheel out. Maybe I should have dropped a gear and pushed through it.

Gross Rd is paved near Old 446. When I got back to Old 446 I started riding faster because I had exceeded my 1.33 hour limit that I allotted for the ride. The ride took about 1.66 hours. I don’t know the distance because I forgot to start the computer. About a mile into the ride, I got off the bike to adjust the seat height, reset the computer, and adjust my toe straps. I didn’t know that I had to restart the computer, so I didn’t record the distance. I have 3 bike computers and there is little consistency among them.

Overall, the day wasn’t bad. It was 35^o when I started and about 38 when I got home. Cloudy but little wind. Traffic very light on the paved roads.

This summer, I expect to do more off-road road rides like today.