Bicycling in Bloomington

Well, sorta.

I haven’t posted for almost three weeks. During the past three weeks, I’ve commuted every day except one and that day, I had to go between an appointment way off-campus and a campus meeting in about 15 minutes. Not possible on a bike.

The weather has been fine for biking. The long winter delayed spring, so we had a compact spring. Almost all spring flowers, shrubs, and trees bloomed in the past three weeks. This happens every few years in Bloomington and it’s generally spectacular when it does. It almost makes up for the long winter.

However, I have not been able to ride much besides commuting. Last week, I rode about 30 minutes in the local neighborhoods one morning. Another morning, I rode the Jackson Creek off-road trail for about 30 minutes. “Rode” might not be correct because I had to step down and / or get off regularly. I have no idea how anyone can ride that trail. I would certainly like to see it done.

I was in South Bend the past two weekends. The first weekend, I got in a long run. Last Saturday, I did a mountain bike ride in Rum Village near South Bend. Overall, it was fun and I felt good after it. However, my skills were terrible. I stopped far more than usual. But, I had only three mountain bike rides last year, so some problems were expected.

I rode with my son-in-law who is a much better rider. To put our skills in perspective, going down one hill, he said he was shifting to the big ring to get up the other side. I was braking while he was in the big ring.  

The past two days I had interesting rides around town to run errands, etc., that are more relevant to biking conditions in Bloomington. I’ll report on them next.

 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.

 Sunday, I got back on the saddle again; my first ride since the Hilly Hundred. For the past 5 weeks, I’ve been training for a 10K race in Niles, MI that was held Thanksgiving morning. I did reasonably well but there’s plenty of room for improvement.

It was cold, cloudy morning. Temperature about 27 when I left around 8:30. I went to Pine Grove to look for sandhill cranes that reported there in a couple posts on the Bloomington Birds listserv. I didn’t find any.

I met a fisherman whose primary interest was not in catching fish. He liked being out in a relatively quiet, peaceful place which Pine Grove was on Sunday morning. EXCEPT, for some hunters across the lake who were using Howitzers to hunt. They were very loud when fired.

I considered going to Wapehani for some off-road riding but I was concerned that it might still be muddy. I don’t like to run on muddy trails because it harms them. During the winter and spring, I use my commuting bike for my rides. The bike has wider tires, so I ventured out on the Pine Grove beach/mud flat. I rode on it until I reached a couple spots where the mud was very soft.

Pine Grove is down a relatively long hill from 446. I chose to use the small ring (2 to go back up. It’s only the 2^nd time I used it. It makes climbing easy. I think it was easier to ride up the hill than walk up.

Overall, about a 15 mile ride. Despite the cold, the ride was fairly nice and it was good to be back on the bike.

 This past week, I started training for a 10K run on Thanksgiving. Tuesday, I ran fairly strong for the first interval-like workout. Wednesday was a regular run. Thursday was fast (for me) 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 mile intervals. I did the first quarter-mile in 93 seconds and the first half-mile in 3:23. It’s been 30 years (or more) since I ran that fast. On the last quarter-mile, I had to walk a good portion because of soreness in my right hamstring and calf. Saturday, I started to run but by about 2.5 miles, I had to stop and walk home.

So, on Sunday I decided not to run and I went to Wapehani Bike Park for some off-road riding. A beautiful fall day in a mostly quiet park (the section near 37 can be noisy). I rode fairly well and strong but I hit the ground twice. One was an endo caused by my not negotiating some newly-fallen limbs appropriately. The other was because I stopped to do a track stand to determine where I was. Unfortunately, I stopped on the side of a slightly muddy mound. When I pushed off, down I went. Despite falls, I had a great time.

After the ride, I measured a couple running course with the bike computer. Overall, I was on the bike about two hours.

Wapehani is a moderately technical course. It has some steep hills, one of which I’ve never conquered. Many trails are very rocky, rutted, and rooted. After storms, the wind fall creates new obstacles. Occasionally, some unreasonable (for me) obstacles are built onto the trails.

Last year, I found a new trail that was recently built and a lot of fun. It’s single track with a few obstacles. Sunday, I discovered a new trail that I wouldn’t attempt to ride. The obstacles would require me to get off the bike a few times. But over time, the trail difficulty will be reduced and I should be able to ride it. We are fortunate to have an evolving course, even if it’s too challenging at times for me.

 Sunday, I went to Brown County State Park to ride the mountain bike trails. It was fun to do something different on the bike.

I’m not sure how far I rode. I started on the North Gate Path to the North Tower Loop. I rode the east (windy) side to Aynes Loop. Rode Aynes Loop but returned on same side of North Tower Loop. Then back on the North Gate Path. This combination of loops is about 9.3 miles but because I took the longer way twice on North Tower, my ride was longer.

I met a number of riders, especially since I might have been going the wrong direction on North Tower on my return. But, it was far from congested. I’m never sure on mountain bike trails if there is a preferred travel pattern. If I was going the wrong way, I apologize to the other riders whose rides I impeded. 

The trails are in great shape and allow for good riding. They are well designed and have the appropriate levels of challenges. The Aynes Loop has a long climb, little tighter trails, and a few more obstacles than North Tower. I would have tried Hesitation Point but I don’t know what a classification of “difficult” means. If it’s a steeper, harder climb, I would try it. If it’s much more technical, then I wouldn’t because my riding skills need to improve to ride more technical paths.

After the ride, I noticed that my hands were more tired than my legs - braking too much. I plan to go back at least once more this season.

Postscript

Monday and Tuesday I rode Old 446. The mornings were very cool for the summer. It’s a pleasant change from hot weather riding. The traffic seems to be increasing indicating vacations may be over.

After a week off, I lose some biking skills, especially pedaling. I found that Tuesday I was much better able to spin than Monday. It’s good to be back in the normal daily routine.

  Sunday June 10, 2007I decided today to ride my mountain bike in Wapehani Mountain Bike Park. The weather was nice - cool and it hasn’t rained much in the past week, so the trails were mostly dry. I had a long to-do list for the afternoon, so a long road ride wasn’t possible.

Wapehani has three sections (or at least I categorize them that way). The section to the right/west of the parking lot is very technical (for me). It has many rocks, stumps, roots, branches, logs, tight turns, and narrow trails. At this time of year, the trails are very narrow. I wore a long-sleeve jersey to reduce the slashes from branches, vines, thorns, etc. It was needed. I usually start my rides in this section.

A second section is a series of steep hills on the other side of the lake. Generally, I attempt three hills. Sometimes I do a fourth but that’s rare. Sunday, I rode only two hills (more later).

The third section is to the left/east of the parking lot. It has trails that are similar to most single-track off-road trails. The trails have a few challenges and a few very short steep hills. It’s the easiest section for a beginner to ride. I usually finish my ride in this section because it’s the most fun for me.

My riding was awful, for the most part. had to step out in places that I rode over in my first ride of the year, about a month ago. The hill climbs told me it was a bad day. On the first hill, I can usually make it to the top stepping out only for an 8 log barrier in a steep part. I have yet to figure how to ride over the barrier. But, I got thrown a couple times. In fact, I started over a couple times to see if I could make the section but wasn’t much more successful the second time.

The second hill, I can usually climb. The second hill is much steeper and has a significant number of roots, rocks, etc., but I’ve learned a path that I can ride to the top. In my earlier ride, my HR was 170 at the top. Yesterday, I spun out on rocks and roots a couple times. I seemed to lose control and not be able to get it back.

After two bad hills, I didn’t try the third hill. The third hill very steep hill and I’ve only ever climbed about 2/3 of it before losing traction or the front wheel. Last year, I got further than ever before and got so excited that I might make it that I lost focuse and pulled my front wheel too high to recover. Someday I’ll get it.

Finally, I chose a long path in the third section and rode it twice. That was fun. I rode it much better the second time.

I was frustrated with my (lack of) skills. I attributed partially to being tired and partially to spilling on my last off-road ride in Rum Village in South Bend. I seemed to lack “spirit.” When I met an obstacle or spun out, I gave up rather than pushing past it. On the second loop in the easy part, I finally felt I was getting better but I got thrown off for the second time in a rutty, rooty, twisty climb that I usually can manage.

The trails were in pretty good shape which they usually are after they dry out in the spring. I am always the first rider on the trails on Sunday mornings, so I broke through a lot of insect work that was done overnight. I continually had to clean webs, etc. off my face. The park was dark and I regretted the amber glasses for the first hour (8 - 9 AM). I often couldn’t see very far. I should have worn clear lenses.

Despite my poor performance, I still enjoyed the ride when it was over. It’s nice to do something different on a bike.

Here’s a link to an old, abandoned website that somewhat describes Wapehani. By now, most of the trails have eroded so that the roots on the right in the picture extend across the trail. There are many more trails now.

For those new to Wapehani, if you have good technical skills and good climbing skills, you will enjoy the park and be reasonably challenged in two parts. For those with fewer skills, the trails on the left/east side of the parking lot can be a lot of fun, even for a beginner.

Wednesday May 23, 2007 

I hate to start this post with a whine but my big toe hurts and it’s affecting my cycling. 

Why my toe hurts – because I hurt it 10 days ago as part of an off-road crash in Rum Village near South Bend Indiana. I was turning a 90 degree plus blind turn and saw a relatively small log (first time on the course). I chose a path that like would have been successful except I saw a root with an acute angle about 6 inches beyond the log. At the last second, I made a dumb decision to turn away from the root before I crossed the log. Down I went. I jammed the fingertips on both hands and the big toe on my right foot. The toe had amazing colors last week. 

I was traveling last week, so my only ride was a commute on Monday. I walked a few times as exercise last week and my toe remained uncomfortable.

Yesterday, I did a short ride on my commuting bike and it hurt some. This morning, I tried my first ride in biking shoes on my road bike. It was uncomfortable at best and painful at times. I stayed out for awhile hoping to beat the pain into submission. It sorta worked. I’ll ice the toe today and try some ibuprofen before riding tomorrow to see if it helps. 

Why it matters – because my daughter is coming this weekend and she wants me to accompany her on a 4 hour ride. Since I have not been on the road bike 10 times this year, the distance alone would be a challenge. With a painful big toe, it will be a death march.  

However – it was pleasant to be out on the bike again. I haven’t been on the road bike since Little 5 weekend and I missed it.