Southern Indiana Cycling

I'm still alive after cycling in the rainy hills of southern Indiana! I never use exclamation marks - most things just are not that exciting - but after flying down 19% grade hills in the rain at 40+ mph I decided to throw one in.


Day 1 = 65 Miles. There were ten riders, all decked out in the black and white Men of Steel Racing jerseys (myself included - 'club' rider). We lost a guy very near the beginning on one of climbs and spent the next hour trying to hook up again. I hit 46.5 mph on a descent that day, which is pretty fast on a road bike. I got a little cold on this ride...couldn't feel my fingers or toes. We stopped in Story, Indiana for lunch. Go to Story for lunch some day if you haven't been there before.

Ecological update: I'm predicting a large frog population near Bloomington this year. We passed several areas of standing water on the side of the road with audible life. It sounded like the frogs were having quite a time. They're loud little creatures.


Biggest disappointment: we went to a pizza place in Nashville for dinner and they didn't serve alcohol. What? No beer? After 65 cold hilly miles? I quietly drank my Pepsi.


Day 2 = 52 miles. In the rain. And cold. We started out in the rain, which takes so much more effort than getting caught in the rain. Begrudgingly we saddled up and started pedaling. One guy got a flat tire one mile into the ride. We all stood in the rain waiting for him to repair the flat. I patiently listened to the frogs. Then the group of ten got moving, grouped tightly, and faced the circumstances. At times it was like riding into the water of a hose spraying directly into my face - as the wheel from the bike in front of me sprayed up a mix of water, mud and worms. It was fairly miserable for a while. My legs, feet, and hands were thoroughly soaked within about 10 minutes of the more than three hour ride. There were puddles, and pot holes, and trucks, and sharp hair-pin wet corners, and slick steep declines. I literally had dirt in my teeth at times. Boy, did I have fun. The rain stopped about mid-way through, I ate a Clif bar and cleaned the worms out of my brakes. The worm population sustained a terrible blow this weekend I'm afraid. I rode my brakes hard a few times to the point of worry on a few descents.

A note on embarrassment: we had three flats total on day two. During one of the repairs I rode slowly along the road, killing time, slowly, as in almost no forward motion, just balancing and doing circles. This is always when you fall over. I slightly caught my front wheel in a wet sandy spot on the side of the road and promptly crashed - bike up in the air over my body, laying in the street. I clicked out, stood up, tried to act cool as best one can after looking so stupid. The pack caught me moments later and I got a few deserving comments like "that was graceful", and "what were you doing laying in the street?".

A good weekend overall. I put in some good work on every hill, trying to get the best of it. These base miles will hopefully serve me well in the coming months.