Bicycling in Bloomington

 Today was the first commute on my bike for what I guess might be almost a month. Some minor health issues, holidays, bad weather, and the need to run errands that couldn’t be done on a bike resulted in a long break from commuting. I think that most years, I have an extended period when I don’t commute. I hope that my regular commuting pattern is back.

Today was relatively pleasant. I had sun and mild temperatures both directions. Got home just at sundown. Any day on a bike for a few miles is a good day.

 Winter Riding

Generally, I think Bloomington has good riding weather. The summers can be hot but the temperatures are tolerable. The fall and spring have nice weather, for the most part. And, it’s possible to ride through most of the winter. For me, I don’t ride often in the winter but I still try to commute each day.

However, some days, the weather makes riding too difficult for me. Today was one of them. It was about 4^o this morning. That’s colder than I care to ride but I know that it can be done. My fellow Bloomington bicycling blogger, apertome, rode this morning. I didn’t ride for three reasons. First, it was too cold and I’ve been recovering from a cold. Second, yesterday’s snow caused some ice and snow buildup along the sides of the roads. For the parts of my commute on Sare Rd, it’s dangerous enough without losing the sides of the road. Third, I had to go to the far side of town for an errand before going to campus.

While I don’t get to ride outdoors much in the winter (besides commuting), I often ride a trainer. For a long time, I had a trainer but didn’t use it often. I didn’t much enjoy spinning indoors because it seemed almost pointless. Last year, I got a few indoor bicycling DVDs and my attitude changed. The DVDs provide the structure needed to make a workout work.

I think that my time on the trainer using a DVD is more efficient for improving my bicycling than most outdoor rides. I noticed on my ride last Sunday that let my mind wander while riding and often forget to push a little harder or use correct form. (By the way, I think that’s a good thing for the most part.) Indoors, the instruction and changes during the workouts require focus. I find the time goes fast. The room I exercise in is generally 50^o or cooler in the winter and I am completely sweated after 30-40 minutes.

So, while I miss riding outdoors, I don’t miss riding.

 How often do you ride in the rain? For me, it’s not often that I ride in the rain but I don’t necessarily choose not to ride because it’s raining or seems to be likely to rain.

Bloomington would not be described as having a rainy climate. I choose not to commute in the rain about 5 days a year. I commute in light to medium rain because I have rain gear that seems to work. For many rainy days, I will carry a partial change of clothes in my backpack. But, it’s likely no more than 10 days a year that I ride to work in the rain.

The afternoon commute is a little different. When it rains in the morning, I am prepared for the afternoon, but I rarely leave home in the morning carrying rain gear anticipating a late day rain. Bloomington has some afternoon showers and thunderstorms that can create problems for the commute home. If the rain is light to medium and I have clothes that won’t be damaged by wet roads, I will ride home. Other times, it’s fortunate that my wife drives our truck to work. For those days, I put my bike in the truck bed and ride home with her.

Occasionally, I get surprised. Two weeks ago, on my ride home, I was crossing from College Mall Rd to Sare Rd when I saw something that looked at first like smoke. A second look indicated it was rain. Within 30 seconds I was completely soaked. I continued to ride and after about 150 yards, the rain ended and the sun was shining.

If I have a ride planned and there’s a light rain, I’ll generally do the ride. However, I won’t ride in thunderstorms. When I suspect they might occur, I will generally ride loops that are close to home. I don’t ride in heavy rains because it’s too hard to see. But, I’ve been caught in a few storms over the years. When I do, I generally go home the most direct route.

Overall, rain is rarely a problem in Bloomington and can’t often be used as an excuse for not riding. Sometimes, it’s fun to ride in a light rain.

A few different issues in this post.

Weekend Ride. This past weekend, I was in South Bend. On Sunday morning, I rode for 2 hours in southern Michigan. It’s not as hilly as Bloomington but there were some hills. The flats were a little intimidating because I didn’t know how hard to ride them. The traffic was a heavier than Bloomington and the cars passed at much faster speeds. The flat, relatively straight roads increase driving speeds. But overall, the traffic wasn’t frightening and the ride was a pleasant experience.  It made me appreciate riding in Bloomington even more even though my average speed was more than 1 mph faster than I usually ride.

New Dan Henrys. I confirmed with an organizer of the September Escapade that the new dan henrys reported in earlier posts were part of that ride. They make more sense. Those who do the ride are experienced bicyclists. If I were riding the September Escapade, I would appreciate many stop signs and traffic lights. Traffic control makes the ride easier than steady pedaling all day. And, the event is for fun, so it’s consistent with the goals.

I also heard from Bloomington Rec and Park (Hoosier Hills sponsor), that some TRIRI dan henrys will be repainted Friday after the TRIRI riders go through. That’s better than competing dan henrys.

Meeting with the Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety Commission. I attended the Commission meeting on Monday night to ask them to consider two issues. 1) I would like the commission to ask the city to substantially improve the Polly Grimshaw Trail. Second, I asked them to consider the road striping and its impact on bicycling when roads are designed or upgraded. I pointed out a part of my daily commute that is made more dangerous because the striping leads drivers to move closer to the right shoulder on a turn where it’s difficult to see bicyclists. They were very good listeners and I hope that they can successfully convince the city to improve the Trail.

Alternate Street for Commuting. During the meeting, the chair said that he travels on High Street because he thinks Sare Rd (part of my daily commute) is dangerous. The streets are parallel and about 1/3 mile apart. I think the opposite. So, on the ride home from the meeting, I rode on High St.

Actually, going south, it wasn’t too bad. While the road is narrow, it’s possible to ride fast enough to keep up with traffic. Traffic on High St travels at street speeds; traffic on Sare Rd travels at warp speeds. I see his point. But, I’m not sure if it’s a comfortable going north on High St because it’s generally uphill and maintaining traffic speed would be more difficult.

High St has a feel of a city street while Sare Rd has the feel of a country road. When I first arrived in Bloomington, Sare Rd was a narrow country road and not at all safe for bicyclists. Much of it was improved about 10-12 year ago and it made bicycling safer except for two spots. Before the improvements, I commuted on High St and didn’t think it was dangerous. My office has moved since then, so commuting on High St doesn’t make sense but if it did, I would try it for awhile.

I ran instead of riding Monday-Wednesday because of time constraints. Thursday, I rode a variation of the Hoosier Hills 20K ride. It was nice to get out for about an hour. I checked my computer and the ride is longer than 20K. Because of daylight saving time, sunrise is late and it makes it more difficult to get in an early morning ride.

Sorry for the unfocused post.

 Based on the number and variety of “dan henrys” that I see on the roads, there are quite a few organized rides. However, I don’t know how they are publicized or where more information can be found. Many dan henrys follow the traditional pattern but some are different.

On my recent ride around the Lake and through Harrodsburg and Kirksville, I started seeing some dan henrys just below the Monroe Dam. They are white and have “MS” painted next to them. I followed them through Harrodsburg. It seemed they ended on Ketcham Rd at a shelter but I’m not sure. The paint was relatively fresh, so I assume it either just happened or will happen soon.

This morning, I observed a much more puzzling set of yellow dan henrys on my morning commute. Starting (for me) at the corner of Sare, Moore’s and College Mall, I saw a dan henry pointing north onto College Mall Rd. The dan henrys followed College Mall Rd and turned left (across 2 traffic lanes) into the Eastland Plaza shopping center parking lot. The route exited the parking lot at Woodcrest, turned right, crossed 3^rd St on to Hillsdale, and then left on 7^th St. At 7^th and Union, I had to turn to my office on Union but the last dan henry I observed pointed to continuing on 7^th. I will follow the route further on Saturday.

This is a strange route for an organized ride. College Mall Rd traffic travels at autobahn speeds and crossing two lanes to make a left turn is challenging for an experienced rider. I hope the road is closed during the ride. I often ride across the Eastland parking lot. It’s sorta fun to see which cars will put out in front of me. And, it has 2 stop signs that create more traffic confusion than traffic control. The light at 3^rd St and Woodcrest is tripped by a wire that is totally unresponsive to bicyclists. I know because I cross it every day. I hope the organizers realize the challenges of that part of the ride.

Other dan henrys that I see, mostly north and east of Bloomington, are green, white, orange/pink and mark many roads. One set (orange/pink) that I reported on earlier, is especially challenging. If anyone has more information on these rides, please post a comment.

 I did a standard morning ride this morning; the first time in over 2 weeks that I was able to ride. It was a warm morning and I didn’t make a strong effort to push myself. After 2 weeks off, it seemed better to spin than push hard.

Traffic conditions in Bloomington have changed significantly since my last ride. I had to wait longer at stop signs this morning both on the ride and on my commute to work. There are many more cars on the road. But, it’s really closer to the normal pattern for the year.

The start of the local school year brings an increase in traffic and school started last week. Today is “move-in” day for Indiana University, so there’s a lot of traffic and many people who aren’t familiar with Bloomington road patterns. The city and campus deploy 75 police officers to direct traffic around the university today and tomorrow. It’s necessary.

For a bicyclist, it means that more caution is needed. In general, the increased traffic travels slowly but drivers sometimes find themselves in situations where they need to make bad decisions to get where they need to go.

Next Monday, the first day of classes at IU, it will be worse for bicyclists. This week and the following two weeks, bicyclists beware!!

 I have not posted for 10 days mostly because I have not been on the bike much for the past two weeks. I don’t want this blog to appear to be abandoned so I’m posting today without too much to say.

Last week (August 6-10), I did some standard rides on Monday and Tuesday morning. Wednesday and Thursday, I ran in the morning. I commuted each day. Friday through Tuesday, I was travelling to/from the meetings in New York and attending the meetings.

This week (August 13-17) I didn’t ride but did commute Thursday and Friday. I’ll be away again until Tuesday, so no riding this weekend. I hoped to do some off-road riding on Saturday but it won’t work out.

Today, I was riding on Pete Ellis drive heading towards the Post Office when I noticed a sign by the bike/pedestrian trail that parallels 10^th St east of the IU campus (2^nd map; east of Eastgate Lane). It said Polly Grimshaw TR. I need to find more information about it because Polly was a colleague and friend. I complained about the poor condition of the trail in an earlier post.

Students are returning to campus now. Bicycling is a little more challenging with many new people in town trying to figure the goofy Bloomington street system.

 Bloomington weather is generally fine for bicycling but during the warmest parts of the summer, it can be uncomfortably warm. We’re in that period of summer now. So, sweating is part of every ride.

Sweating is important for maintaining body temperature and inevitable when active in warm weather. For example, today the bank time / temperature sign on College Mall Road reported that it was 88 when I was riding in to work. It doesn’t seem possible to ride a bike in this weather and not sweat. So, when I arrived at work today, I was wet.

Sweating doesn’t bother me. Over a lifetime of sports, recreation, and work that generates sweat, it’s not a big deal. But others think it’s strange that I don’t feel uncomfortable when wet. I usually try to stay in my office for awhile after I arrive.

Last Saturday, I watched the end of the Tour de France time trials. I noticed that the Tour riders and I are similar in one way. We sweat a lot from our faces when riding. My road bike has about 6000 miles and sweat has caused the paint under the top tube to blister. Previous bikes have rusted significantly on the top tube and the connection to the seat tube.

It’s been a good week for riding for me. Monday and Wednesday I did Old 446 with 10 60+ second intervals and a number of shorter intervals. Tuesday and Thursday, I rode 446, Swartz Ridge, Moore’s Creek, Rhorer and Sare. On most of the flat spots, I was riding faster than 20 mph and pushed a little hard up the Moore’s Creek hill. I was very sweated when I finished the rides and all finished no later than 9 AM.

Hot weather and sweating are part of bicycling in Bloomington. And, as uncomfortable as sweat might make us feel, I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as cold feet and hands on winter ride.

 This is the third in a series about riding conditions in Bloomington. The previous posts are Riding on Bloomington Streets Part 1, Addendum to Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 focused the on street conditions and Part 2 focuses on traffic management and their affect on bicyclist and bicycling.In Part 3, I describe the bike paths, bike routes, and bike lanes in Bloomington.

Bike Trails. Bloomington has 2 real bike paths. The major trail is the Clear Creek Trail and its partner, the Bloomington Rail Trail. The Clear Creek Trail is paved and reasonably maintained. All bicyclists can use it but during some periods, many pedestrians (runners and walkers) are on the trail. The Bloomington Rail Trail is mostly gravel and suitable for fat tire bikes only. There are plans to extend the Rail Trail into downtown Bloomington. 

The map on the bottom of the Bloomington page of Indiana Trails website shows additional Bloomington bike trails. As far as I know, these are wide sidewalks and not real trails. Most riders would not notice them as bike trails. Designating sidewalks as trails is a strategy used by Bloomington city government to promote Bloomington as bike-friendly but it’s a weak effort. One trail that parallels the railroad tracks on the east side is poorly maintained and almost dangerous. On a recent ride, I found blind spots, mud, overhanging thorn bushes, and poison ivy on the trail. Bicyclists need to be aware of the hazards and the possibility of unseen pedestrians.

Bike Routes. Bike routes in Bloomington have no apparent function. They are scattered throughout the city. The map makes them look organized. They are organized to make a nice map but not for riding.  For example, there’s a bike route on a three lane, one-way street that carries most traffic in and out of town. Not really a safe place to ride.

The streets are no different than other streets - they have the same hazards and traffic management problems as described in the earlier posts. There is no reason to use them. It’s also a part of Bloomington’s attempt to do little but promote itself as bicycling-friendly.

Bike Lanes. There are a number of bike lanes throughout the city but they do nothing to improve cycling in Bloomington and are actually dangerous to use. Two one-way north and south streets (Lincoln and Washington) have bike lanes from 7th Street to Hillside Street. The lanes are used primarily to store road debris and for traffic control. They provide nothing useful for bicyclists. At the intersections, cars turning right have to cross the bike lane. This leads both drivers and bicyclists to unsure how to approach intersection.

A very dangerous traffic pattern occurs on Lincoln St at the intersections from 3^rd to 7^th Sts. The right lane is right turn only. Cars need to cross over the bike lane to turn right. Even worse, the bicyclists have to cross the right lane into the left lane to go straight. A more stupid design is not possible.

When these bike lanes were first developed, I talked to a member of the Bloomington Bicycle and Pedestrian Safegy Commission about the problems the lanes created. He said that many things the Bloomington city government does for bicyclists are stupid but at least they recognize that they should be thinking about bicyclists.

Another dangerous bike lane is on Jordan St between 3^rd and 7^th. The traffic goes around a small island. Bicyclists in the bike lane are threatened by both cross traffic and traffic exiting from a parking garage.

A few years ago, I called the city to ask them to keep the lane clear of debris and fix the low spots that trapped water, debris, and mud. They said they didn’t exist. When the street was being repaved a few years ago, I called the city to ask them to fix the drainage and debris problems. I was told it would be done. It wasn’t. During the winter, the bike lane dams freeze creating additional hazards for bicyclists.

Overall, except for the Clear Creek Trail, the attempts by the city government to improve conditions for bicycling in Bloomington are stupid and dangerous. Bicyclists should not assume that bike lanes and bike routes are safe and in fact, should consider them somewhat dangerous to use. Fortunately, the streets are relatively safe, although dirty, and there is little need to use the bike routes and lanes.

I was away for five days and it was wonderful to get out for a ride on Monday morning. It was the standard ride - Old 446. The morning was cool. When Indiana started observing DST last year, the weather was cooler most mornings because I was essentially starting an hour earlier. After the summer equinox, the movement of the earth creates a little different pattern of sunlight which affects the rides. There’s more shade and the morning heat is delayed.

I rode a little slower than usual but I have always found that I am slower when I take off more than a few days. And, I felt like I was pedaling squares for the first part of the ride.

I set a new morning commute speed record this morning - 27 mph. It was in the place where I ride hardest but rarely get over 23 mph.

On Tuesday, I did some hill repeats in Sherwood Oaks/Jackson Creek. I wanted to practice riding up hills at a steady pace and relaxed. The hills are not long and each is different. Sherwood Oaks is steady up and Jackson Creek has relatively flat spots. Neither is long, so it’s easy to ride them a number of times.

Bloomington has a number of places that allow for repeats without traffic disruption. Old 446 is relatively flat and it’s a good place for sprints. Sherwood Oaks has 2 short hills that allow practicing for hill riding and sprinting is possible.