Bicycling in Bloomington

Thursday, September 11

Five rides in 8 days from August 31 – September 7. That’s somewhat unusual for me but Labor Day allowed me an extra day to ride. In total, 6 rides in 10 days with the OWLS ride on Tuesday September 10. My most consistent riding all year.

Sunday August 30, I did a relatively hilly ride (6 hills). I went out to Mt. Gilead (1), over to Shuffle Creek, South Shore Dr, North Shore Dr. North Shore has one steep hill that always challenges me (2). I needed to switchback to get over it. Then to Anderson and into the Morgan Monroe forest (3). The forest hill is long but not nearly as steep as North Shore. Down Old 37 and up to Hindustan (4). From there I went down Old 37, up Firehouse (5), Bethel, down to Lake Griffey and up to Dunn (6). I rode a convoluted route home to get 50 miles. It took almost 3.5 hours and I averaged 14.3 which is my typical pace for hilly rides. Light traffic and nice weather. (I stopped mapping at the point I reached town.)

Monday September 1, Labor Day. I went to Wapehani for some mountain bike riding. Overall, I didn’t do well. My handling skills seemed rusty and I was less willing to take chances. I found a new path that’s fairly challenging for me now but I could probably ride better if I did more mountain biking. On the plus side, I rode up two hills that usually give me problems. On one hill, a log pile has been replaced by big stones and I could manage the stones. I never was able to climb the log pile. I often make it up the second hill, but usually after a couple rides in Wap when I learn the best route for me to ride the hill. It’s rare that I successfully climb both hills in one ride unless I’ve been to Wap regularly.

Wapehani has lost some trails. There’s a gravel road from Tapp Rd that leads to a cell tower. The paths cross it a couple times and it’s a little bit challenging to follow them. I ended the ride doing some single track trails that are the most fun in the park. Overall, it wasn’t a bad day but I know I need to mountain bike more often. Riding in Wapehani is much different than the Brown County State Park trails that I ride. Wapehani is more technical and there are no long gaps between challenges.

Tuesday September 2, OWLS ride. This ride was supposed to be similar to a ride we did earlier this year – Leonard Springs. However, at the end of Leonard Springs Rd, the lead group turned right instead of left onto May Rd. We rode a series of steep short hills and then reached a monster hill. At the bottom, I was certain that I would have to walk. I was tired from the short hills and the hill scared me. I managed to climb it mostly because I was too afraid to try to click out of the pedals. I was certain that I would fall over if I missed the click out because I was going so slow. When I reached the top, my HR was 172, way into the red zone.

No one in the group had ever ridden the hill before and one rider who knows the county said it’s harder than Miller Rd which is considered the most difficult in the county. We decided there to turn around and get back on the route. However, we didn’t finish the ride we planned but took a little shorter way home without a long hill that we originally planned to ride.

Thursday September 4, I planned to ride Old 446 in the morning before work but I got caught up in some work at home and used up most of my riding time. I rode about 30 minutes on local streets.

Sunday, September 7. I rode a variation of a ride that I did last summer. Around the Lake, through Harrodsburg, up Rockport to Kirksville. This time, I turned on to Harmony Rd in Kirksville. I took Harmony to Ison to Leonard Springs, and then home on the airport ride route. The ride started in light rain and the rain was off and on until I reached Ison. The ride was about 52 miles. Average speed was 14.0. It’s a little slower than last week but I’m a wimp when it’s wet, so I go slower around turns, etc. Total time was about 3.67 hours.

The traffic was even lighter than usual. I would guess that no more than 10 cars passed me until I crossed 37 on That Rd.  

Tuesday September 9, OWLS ride – the OWLS ride was a ride I do regularly, often in the winter or spring when I don’t have much time or it’s too cold to ride far. Water Works, Stipp, Swartz Ridge, Old 446. About 22 miles at a mixed pace. Sometimes we rode hard, sometimes easy. Any ride with 2 long hills is a good ride. I think I enjoyed this OWLS ride more than others. The first cool evening. We think that we have about 3-4 weeks before we won’t have enough daylight to ride.

Riding in Bloomington brings hills both on- and off-road. Most are fun, some are challenging. They make me think that a triple will be on my next bike.