I put together an interesting route southwest of town to revisit some roads I had only ridden once, and to explore some new roads as well. I knew this would be a hilly route, but I underestimated it. The temperature was 90 degrees with a heat index of around 100 when I set out, which made things more difficult. Here’s the route I rode — 21 miles and over 1800 feet of climbing, according to RideWithGPS.

I rode part of the route that I rode as the last ride before my foot surgery, but I also tacked on some new roads. I enjoyed Bolin and Rockport roads again, and rode by the Independent Limestone Company.

Then I turned onto May Road. This was new to me, and offered relentless rolling hills, which generally trended upward. Looking at the elevation profile, I can see that no one hill was very large, but there were quite a few of them all in a row, getting bigger as I went along. And, as I mentioned, it was very hot. This was tough riding.

Even though I was only a few miles from town, the area felt very wild and remote. I worked my way over to Kirksville Road, which was flat for a while before climbing up to the tiny town of Stanford, IN.

As soon as I reached Stanford, I looped back toward town, a brief stint including a big climb on Burch Road.

From the top of the climb, I got some great views which only improved as I rolled along further.

I soon turned onto Evans Road. I was tempted to continue on Burch to see where it went, but I will have to return to explore that another time.

Evans was another tough roads with some sharp ups and downs, although a flat section did allow a little respite.

I made my way over to Koontz Road. Koontz was another gem, with a long line of rolling hills, but this time the overall elevation trend was in my favor, and I enjoyed an awesome roller coaster ride for a couple of miles.

I went down a long hill on Rockport and made my way back via Tramway Road, another road I had ridden before which is absolutely fantastic. It climbs a little but offers some very nice views. The moon is visible in some of these shots, if you look closely.

I wanted to photograph some great hay bales, but a dog gave chase and I was forced to press on. From this point I was almost back to town. I’m amazed at how close to town some of these beautiful and rugged areas are. I love riding in this area and can’t wait to explore it more.

File under: Bicycling, Heat, Road Biking