Wednesday and Thursday, I had to go to a few places in Bloomington that I don’t often go to. Wednesday, I rode to Landmark on the east side of town for a medical appointment. It’s about 5 miles from my house, so it’s not a long ride. The streets I choose to ride are easy to ride, except the last .5 mile on Second St. There, the street is narrow and traffic is heavy. Fortunately, I can generally keep up with traffic.

 I noticed that Patterson St is no longer marked as a bike path. At one time, the shoulder had a clear bike path line and bike path signs. They are no longer there. I guess it’s because the shoulder was so full of dirt, gravel, debris, litter, and all the other things that make Bloomington streets so filthy. Most of the year, Bloomington streets are filthy. In late spring, they are very filthy. It would be difficult to ride safely on the shoulder of Patterson St. so it’s good that it’s no longer a bike path.

Thursday morning, I left my car for maintenance at a dealer on the far west side of town. I took my bike so that I could ride home. I chose an indirect route, going south of town before turning east and then north. It was a pleasant morning for a ride. I put some extra loops in the ride until I started to be concerned about the time. Maybe 10 miles.

I went back for the car about 4:00 PM. I had to ride on west Third St. Third St. was even more filthy than Patterson. Third St is a narrow road with very heavy traffic, especially late afternoon. With the debris and gravel, riding on the narrow shoulders wasn’t always possible. I was able to keep up fairly well, so it wasn’t a bad ride.

In fact, I consider it a 3 B ride (brains, brawn, and balls). During the ride, I felt fully engaged - both mind and body. Riding on tight roads in traffic is challenging but fun.

When I drove back to town, I realized again how bad driving is in Bloomington. Riding at 20 mph or more in traffic is fun. Driving at that speed is very annoying. In all honesty, drivers have more problems than bike riders in Bloomington because of the poor traffic system.

Bloomington is a paradox. It appears to be a nice, modern, progressive city and it often is. But, in many ways, it resembles a poor city in a developing country. Bikes are more appropriate transportation in cities with poor transportation systems.

 I did not get to ride much this week. I was away two days and the other days, I needed the car. Tomorrow, I will commute to work just because I want to. However, my wife will have to pick me up because I will be on campus until 7 PM. I rode on my trainer four mornings.

Today (Sunday), it was 22^o when it was time to exercise. I decided to run instead of riding. I am going to try to run more this year. I ran for about 85 minutes which is long for me, especially considering I have done only 2-3 3-4 mile runs since Thanksgiving.

Running in Bloomington is somewhat like biking. Generally, it’s a pretty good place to run. Today, I ran on the sidewalks for almost the entire run. Many sidewalks were icy and snow-covered. I have been running for more than 35 years. Prior to coming to Bloomington, I lived in PA, MD, and CT. Each has substantially more snow than Bloomington. I’ve learned how to handle ice and snow when running, so it doesn’t bother me. In fact, it’s a good skill to practice regularly.

Bloomington has an ordinance that requires property owners to clear their sidewalks of snow and ice after snow. It is not enforced and few property owners clear their sidewalks. This behavior causes pedestrians (and unskilled runners) to run or walk on the street with the cars. A dangerous situation.

However, it doesn’t snow often and not much when it does. So, outdoor running can be done most of the year.

 Warm Winter Day

Today was very warm for January. When I started my ride at about 9, the temperature was nearly 50^o. When I finished about 11, it was 53^o in my backyard. I rode almost 28 miles following the same route as last week. I didn’t take the Bloomington rail trail home but chose a more direct route.

The roads were wet and gritty. My bike was dirty when I got home and I could tell the grit was getting into the drive train in the last few miles. Fortunately, by late afternoon, the temperature was about 60, so I was able to clean the bike and lube the chain, etc. The bike is ready for commuting this week.

Some details:

• The traffic was very light. I hardly saw a car before 10:30.
• Down by Lake Monroe, the temperature was about 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the ride. It looks like most ice on the Lake had melted.
• For the past two rides, I’ve used my small chain ring (2 to climb the Stipp Rd hill. For years, it was not unusual to slip out once or twice on steep hills when the roads had winter grit on them. In the little ring, I can sit back comfortably and never push hard to climb the hills. I’ve learned to tolerate a little slip from my mountain bike riding but it’s still scary on a road bike.

I don’t think I’ve ever ridden 58 miles in January, so this might be a good year for biking for me.

 Only one post a week now because there is not much to report. My weekday morning rides are fewer because of some work commitments but mostly because of DST. Sunrise isn’t until about 7:45 now, so morning rides start later than I like. DST is better for afternoon riders. Last week, I did two standard morning rides. This morning (Tuesday) I rode Old 446.

On Sunday, I decided to ride some hills to prepare for the Hilly. I started with my normal pattern - Smith, 45, Bethel, Boltinghouse. At the bottom of the Boltinghouse hill, I turned right onto Joe Young Rd. I followed it for about 3/4 of a mile until it ended in gravel. It is what might be termed an “Irish” road. It reminds me of the narrow roads in Ireland where one car has to pull off the road to allow another to pass. It has some nice farms on it and one farm has some small horses or burros that were interesting.

I returned to where I turned off Boltinghouse and went onto Lentz Rd. It has a steeeeeeep hill. It was a challenge to get to the top. Then, to Robinson Rd, Tunnel Rd, and Shilo Rd to get to Anderson Rd. I drove Shilo Rd a couple years ago and thought it would be a fun road to ride. It’s mostly downhill for 3 miles or so. However, the road’s surface is terrible in many places, so I couldn’t go fast. From Anderson, I went through the Forest and turned right at the top of Bean Blossom. Travelled a few miles, turned around, and then exited the Forest. I went down and up Old 37 to Hindustan. I continued on Old 37 to Bethel Ln, down to Griffy Lake and back up to Bloomington. I rode the Bloomington streets to Rogers St, south to Clear Creek, across to Schacht, to Stipp, down to Monroe Lake, up Moore’s to Rhorer, and Sare. Overall, it was about 61+ miles. And plenty of hills.

I rode in bigger gears than I would for the Hilly and used the big ring more often than I would. I kept my HR in just below LT for much of the ride. At the top of the Lentz hill, my HR was over 160 which is above max for my age.

The traffic was light to start but increased over the ride. The weather was very nice - 50s and 60s. I saw turkeys and deer on Anderson Rd. Seeing turkeys is always a treat since they are somewhat unusual birds. Overall, a pleasant early fall ride, even with the hills.

 Sunday, I was not able to do a long ride because I was scheduled for repairs to my internet cable. They told me that I would have 30 minutes warning, so I thought that I should not be more than 8 miles from home at any point. I rode my commuter bike instead of my road bike.

I started first by following the dan henrys that followed a bizarre route that I mentioned in an earlier post. I followed them past Union, on 7^th St to Jordan, up to 10^th, onto Fee, and to the Bypass. From Sare / Rogers to the Bypass, the route passes through 9 traffic lights and 7 stop signs. Quite a few for 4 miles on a bike ride.

From there, the route went down to Lake Griffy and up to Bethel Lane. The commuter bike performs better on wet hills than my road bike so that the climb out of the Lake went smoothly. On my road bike, I tend to slide a lot while climbing steep hills when the road is wet. At Bethel Lane, the route turned towards 45, so I was able to follow it and stay within 8 miles. At Boltinghouse, an optional “hill climb” route was indicated on the road. At 45, the route turned left toward Unionville and I couldn’t follow because it would have taken me further from home. And, it started to rain harder.

I’ve often mentioned the Boltinghouse hill in previous posts. Here is a story (posted with permission from the Herald Times) of a unique ride on Boltinghouse Hill.

I decided to make a detour off 45 onto Russell Rd which intersects with 45 on both ends. I was surprised to find that it was very similar to the Lake Griffy road - a steep downhill and a long climb out.

Back on 45, I headed towards town and turned left on Smith Rd. I followed Smith (name changes to Rogers) to Snoddy where I picked up the route that I started to follow, but going in the other direction. I followed it backwards to Harrell and then Moffitt. However, at Moffit and Stipp, I could see that the Hoosier Hills dan henrys were down. And, they use the same pattern. So, I’m not sure what route I was following backwards.

I went down Moore’s Creek and up Swartz Ridge. I haven’t gone up Swartz Ridge in 15 years. It’s tough at the bottom. While on Swartz Ridge, I saw another “senior” rider who I met last winter on a ride in the same area. He rides a single-speed Little 5 bike. No idea how he climbs hills with it. We rode for a couple miles but parted at the point where Old 446 crosses 446. He went right, I went left. I then followed 446 to 46 to the east end of Bloomington.

My next goal was to check out the improvements to the bike / ped path that parallels 10^th and 3^rd Sts. A couple weeks ago, I sent some photos to the city streets department that showed some problems on the path and I wanted to see any improvements. On my way there, I saw a group doing tai ji in a park. I joined them for awhile.

The bike/ped path was improved on the east end. A few overhangs could hit bicyclists but the sides were relatively clear. The west end between Pete Ellis Dr and the Bypass needs more improvement. The path was muddy with overgrown weeds on the sides. Some overhangs are present. Overall, it’s not a good path for commuting in work clothes.

From there, I went home. The ride was almost 35 miles and with the number of hills, so not a bad ride constrained by a variety of choices and conditions. I rode in the big ring as much as possible. But, overall the ride was slow because of the disjointed activities. The roads were busier than I usually experience but none was uncomfortable or caused any problems for me or the drivers. Long rides are usually fun and give a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes, disjointed, unusual rides can be even more fun.

 This is the second post that describes the conditions of Monroe County roads outside of Bloomington. Other posts referenced in this post:

Monroe County Roads, Part 1

Bloomington Streets, Part 1

Bloomington Streets, Part 1a

Bloomington Streets, Part 2

Bloomington Streets, Part 3

County road surfaces range from very good (a small proportion) to rough and potholed (a much larger proportion). But, most would be considered as fair. I’ve noticed over the years that roads will deteriorate, get fixed, and slowly deteriorate again. Smooth roads are unusual but few are really difficult to ride. Usually, only short sections are serious problems for bicyclists.

Few roads are wide or have shoulders that bicyclists might use. They are generally narrow country roads. The landowners and the county road crews do not cut the weeds back from the roads, so during the summer, the weeds go over the roadway. On the recent rides, I was sometimes forced to ride farther from the shoulder than I normally would because of weeds.

Overall, the roads are relatively lightly traveled but there are no enforced speed limits. There are few posted speed limit signs and I have never seen any police enforcement on rural roads in the 20 years I’ve been riding in Monroe County. Drivers can choose any speed, so many drive too fast. However, except for a few drivers (SUV drivers mostly) they seem to be cautious and considerate.

The roads are relatively clean. I rarely see glass or other dangerous obstacles on the roads. Because the cars go at autobahn speeds, the roads are narrow, there are few shoulders and curbs, the hazards get blown off the roadway. The road sides are different. Hoosiers use road sides as part of their waste management system.

Perhaps the most challenging part of riding on the county roads is the lack of road signs with the road names. Bicyclists should assume that road signs are rare, random, and sometimes wrong. For example, on the recent Sunday ride, I had to guess where to turn off Popcorn Rd on to Rockport Rd. I did not see a sign for Rockport Rd until I turned off it about 10 miles later. I would guess that no more than 25% of intersections have signs for both roads and many intersections have no signs. Getting lost is easy.

Maps have little value. I often carry one when I’m riding in parts of the county that I don’t know well. I use the map as general guide to where I am, but not where I’m going. It usually takes a couple looks at the map to figure my location if I get lost. My advice - don’t ride far from town without an experienced rider.

The road naming is also confusing. Road names will often change without any indication or reason. For example, a road near my house goes for about five miles and has four different names. Roads can make right turns at intersections and have the same name. For example, Leonard Springs turns right and left at intersections. None are signed so a rider would think s/he is on Leonard Springs but actually on a different road. Northeast of Bloomington, Maple Grove Rd intersects with Maple Grove Rd. Many roads share names in different parts of the county, e.g., Ratliff Rd. Overall, the road naming is confusing and can create problems for bicyclists.

Dogs can be a problem on the county roads. Many residents allow their dogs to run loose. While the dogs might not necessarily bite, they often bark at and chase bicyclists. The dogs’ guardians will usually say something like “he won’t hurt you” but it’s not reassuring when the dog is snarling.

Some county roads are like Rockport Rd with many short, steep hills. These roads tend to be west of Bloomington. Sometimes I’m surprised to find myself on a road that I didn’t know was so hilly.

At the same time, the county roads have many attractive features. Bicyclists can ride through beautiful farmland and forests. There are many vistas west of Bloomington that are especially nice. On the east side, bike rides that go by Lake Lemon and Monroe Lake present attractive scenery.

One especially nice feature of the country roads is that is possible to find quiet. On Sunday’s ride going up to Kirksville on Rockport Rd, I really noticed how quiet it was. Because I was going slow, there was no riding noise, so neither the bike nor my ears created any sound. It was almost frightening that it was so quiet.

I’ve have also seen much wildlife on the rides. Deer are very common in both the county and the city. Wild turkeys will often cross the roads; I’ve seen them often by Monroe Lake. While coyotes are shy, I generally see a few each year. I saw one near the intersection of Vernal and Oard on Monday. I’ve seen some big birds with massive wingspans but I can’t identify them. The lakes and streams have herons, egrets, and many other birds I don’t recognize.

I’ve been riding these roads for 20 years and almost always find something pleasurable on each ride. The low traffic volume makes riding fun and the scenery is often very nice. The scenery changes by the season so there is always something new to appreciate. I sometimes choose routes during different seasons, e.g., the Kirksville ride in the winter, just to enjoy the scenery.

Overall, bicycling on the county roads is generally a pleasant experience, especially if you don’t get lost because of the poor signage.

In this post, I describe three rides. These rides are different from previous rides and they were done partially to gather current data on road conditions in Monroe County outside Bloomington. In the subsequent post, I describe the road conditions.

Sunday Ride

After 4 weeks, I was able to ride again on Sunday. I rode around Monroe Lake: S on 446, west on Chapel Hill; some unmarked roads to the dam. Instead of going north on Stain Ridge, I continued west, under 37, into Harrodsburg, Popcorn Rd, Rockport Rd, That Rd, to Clear Creek, Schacht Rd, Handy Rd, Stipp, Moore’s Creek, Rhorer, and Sare. It was a pleasant morning. The ride was a little slower than usual but I didn’t feel too bad after a month off. A flat on Moore’s Creek Rd took some fun out of the day. It was about 52 miles.

I started at first light and it was very cool, especially going down to the causeway. Climbing out from the causeway, I could smell my sunscreen cooking, so I knew it would get warmer. But, I wasn’t pushing hard because my HR was only 130 at the top. Chapel Hill isn’t a very interesting part of the ride but there was little traffic. Further into the ride, there are some nice farms in north Lawrence County. When the farms end, the climb up “The Alps” begins. It’s not incredibly long challenging. Seems a little less challenging each time I ride it.

Typically, I head home on Stain Ridge but I wanted to add some miles so I continued west to Harrodsburg (locals pronounce it Harrisburg). It’s a nice rural community. On all previous rides, I’ve come from the north (downhill) into Harrodsburg. Sunday, I rode to the north and climbed a long time on both Popcorn and Rockport Rds up to Kirksville.

I like the Kirksville ride going in the other direction (north - south) in the winter because from the high points near Kirksville, it’s possible to see long distances to the south when the trees are bare. To see the vistas travelling north requires looking a little over the right shoulder.

After Kirksville, Rockport Rd becomes a series of steep hills - downhill at 35 mph+ and uphill in big cogs. The road conditions vary from rough and potholed to relatively smooth but fortunately, it’s relatively lightly travelled. On one downhill, I hit a pothole so hard that my hands bounced off the bars. The bike started wobbling and I panicked for a few seconds until I got it under control. After that, I went down hills more cautiously.

Overall, traffic was lighter than I expected. A little more traffic than riding north of Bloomington but not enough to make any part of the ride uncomfortable. I was much more uncomfortable riding up and down the Rockport Rd hills.

Monday Ride

Monday (Labor Day), I did an intermediate ride. Generally, in the summer, I try to get in relatively long distances (for me) on Sundays and short rides in the morning.  On Monday, I rode about 27 miles on what I term the “airport” ride. I go north through town, leave town heading west on Vernal Pike, Vernal Pike west for a relatively long distance, Oard Rd, SR48, Kirby Rd past the airport, Leonard Springs, cross 37, That Rd to Clear Creek, Schacht, Harrell, Rhorer, and Sare.

I often do this ride in the winter because I know it can be done in 2 hours and that’s enough on cold mornings. The ride isn’t very long but both in Bloomington and on the county roads, there are a relatively large number of traffic lights and stops signs. I decided to ride faster than normal so after crossing 37, I picked up the pace. Unfortunately, Vernal Pike is under construction. I thought that it might be easier to walk across the construction gravel than take the detour that adds a couple miles. Big mistake - I walked a long way on gravel in bike shoes. An unpleasant experience. But, I finished the ride in less than 2 hours, so I was pleased. 

Most of my rides have little traffic but Monday’s ride had even less. I’ve noticed that traffic is especially light on holidays.

Wednesday Ride

Wednesday morning, I did a different morning ride than usual - I rode out to the water treatment plant on Handy/Shields Ridge Rd. Out on Sare, Rhorer, Harrell, Moffitt, Handy to the plant and turned around. When I got back to Moffitt, turned right, down Stipp and up Moore’s Creek to Rhorer and then Sare. I didn’t measure the distance but it took 1 hour, 10 minutes. I did a number of sprints to keep my heart rate up but it never exceeded 150.

It’s a pleasant ride. On weekday mornings, there can be a fair amount of traffic depending on the time. 7:30 - 8 is especially bad. There wasn’t much traffic on the ride today. Sometimes on the coldest winter days or when I don’t have much time, I do variations of this ride, along with old 446 for my Sunday ride. I often add a loop through Clear Creek.

My usual morning rides are about 50 minutes. Since I need to train for Hoosier Hills and the Hilly, I’ll try to do this ride at least once a week for the next month.

Next - road conditions on the county roads.

 I spent much of this morning (Saturday) in downtown Bloomington. There was a substantial amount of biking activity. Many people were using bikes to go to farmer’s market. (Notice that the website has a picture of a bicyclist at the market.) Others were doing what appeared to be various shopping trips and errands on bicycles. A very positive sign. I hope that more people will use bicycles to replace cars when possible.

I also drove to north end of town to get a map at AAA and returned on North Walnut. Sometime recently, the bike lane on North Walnut has been widened. It now essentially takes a full driving lane. The wider designation helps drivers because previously the number of driving lanes was not clear. It could have been 2 or 3. And, it allows bicyclists to travel farther to the left of parked cars.

I can think of no good reason for a bicyclist to use the bike lane on North Walnut. It doesn’t connect any locations that bicyclists might want to go and there are better streets for bicycling parallel to North Walnut. However, the bike lane sends a message to drivers coming into Bloomington that bicyclists have a place on the streets and it makes clear the 2 driving lanes. So, overall, the bike lane serves two purposes but bicycling on it is not one of them.

I also drove further down North Walnut in the lane with the sharrows. I found that it’s harder to see and interpret them as a driver than as a bicyclist. Earlier this week, I had to travel downtown for some business, and I used a sharrows lane. I found it easy to see and understand while biking. Perhaps a sign on a post would help drivers understand the sharrows.

 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.

 Sunday, I rode nearly 60 miles. I rode what is now becoming almost a pattern for me - through the Forest, Bottom Rd, through Bloomington, Clear Creek, and a long way home (more detail). I had an 11:00 AM curfew for the ride. I got out about 7:15 or so and was back at about 11:05.

I won’t have another weekend ride for perhaps a month. The road bike is hanging on the garage wall and will likely be there until Labor Day weekend. I’ll be travelling for the next few weekends. It’s not unusual for me to have extended periods without riding. But, I think that I’m ready for the Hoosier Hills and the Hilly with just a few more rides.

The ride conditions were good but not great. I was sluggish but it might have been because of the weather - hot and humid. I noticed while riding through the “corn canyon” on Bottom Rd, that I was going about 2 mph slower than the previous week. But, the overall average time was not much different.

Traffic was very light. Hardly a car anywhere outside of town.

Some observations -

Boltinghouse Rd Hill - Earlier this year, I was getting more courageous in going down the hill and letting myself go. Then, three bad things caused me to be more cautious.  1) I use the middle of the road because it’s smoother but on a recent ride, a truck coming up was using the same part of the road. 2) I got to bottom okay but then I had to cross some unexpected gravel at a speed that was too uncomfortable for me. I used the principles of motion to get through it but it scared me. 3) I hit a hole so hard at the bottom that it caused my water bottle to fly out of the cage and burst open.

Sunday, I decided to go slowly because the Saturday night evening rains had caused a lot of gravel and other stuff to come out on the roads. A very wise decision. About 1/2 way down, there was mud and muck but not too much to handle. About 2/3 of the way down, far more mud, muck, leaves, branches, twigs, etc. than I think would have been able to manage at full speed. I’ve learned over the years to be cautious after heavy rains on rural roads in Monroe County. It paid off on Sunday.

Shirtless recumbent trike rider - I saw him again on Bottom Rd. This time I passed him going in the same direction. He has what looks like a beer cooler on the back. Even better, there are a bunch of flashing lights on the container. Interesting bike. Bloomington has some interesting characters riding bikes.

Big ring - I tried the big ring during the last 1/3 of the ride. I have rarely used it and generally considered it a weight that I carried around. I found that it is useful to ride through quick changes in slope. It was especially useful on rollers because I it allowed me to get into the spin more quickly than going down one rear cog. Because Bloomington is relatively hilly and I’m not a strong rider (I can rarely spin out the little cogs and the small ring), I didn’t see a value in going to the big ring. Now, I see how it can help improve my bicycling skills.

Saturday evening, I watched some bike racing in downtown Bloomington - the Bloomington Cycling Grand Prix. (Indiana Daily Student article) These are fun races to watch because it’s all amateurs, they go fairly fast (especially the cat 1/2 riders), and the course is laid out so that it’s possible to see many parts of the course. Another nice event that Bloomington has to offer for bicycling.

Sharrows, again - On Monday, the Herald Times reprinted the press release about Sharrows that the City released last week. Mitch Rice’s blog has a copy of the press release. Unfortunately, a subscription is needed to access the article. The HT, unlike other newspapers, discourages use of its website.

The article is merely a summary of the press release. Nothing creative in the HT. However, the article generated 84 (mostly) relevant comments. Many comments are thoughtful about the conditions for bicycling in Bloomington. It’s a shame that these comments cannot be more widely disseminated and discussed.