On Saturday I was hoping to ride with my friend Dave. We were going to go mountain biking, but we have had so much rain that the trails would be too muddy. We decided to meet up in Yellowwood State Forest for some gravel riding instead. On my way there, I discovered Yellowwood Road was flooded …

… so I went over to Jackson Creek Road instead, but it was also flooded …

The only other ways of getting to where we were going to ride would either be flooded too, or would be far out of the way. I called Dave and let him know … we pulled the plug  on the ride. He was coming from the other side of the state forest, so I think he was able to get to parts I couldn’t. I think he was going to ride back and forth on the parts that weren’t flooded.

I went home, and headed out for a short (21-mile) but hilly road ride west of town. It was hot, very hot … the heat index probably neared 100 degrees. I had a great, brief-but challenging ride. Here are a few photos.

For the last couple of weeks, the weather here has been characterized by two things: heat and storms. We’re talking strong storms with high wind (even a few tornadoes), torrential rain, flooding, and impressive displays of lightning and thunder. The storms have popped up pretty randomly, but have mostly been in the evening or at night, making evening rides difficult some days.

Now it seems perhaps the storms have tapered off, but the heat and humidity are kicking in stronger. On my way to work this morning, the heat index was already 90 degrees, and with 90% humidity, I was quite sweaty by the time I got to work. Yikes!

I’m trying to get acclimated to the heat, but it’s hard for me. I don’t handle heat well. I’ve been doing better with it so far this year, but it’s only getting hotter.

Update: added screenshot from weather.com

I didn’t do a lot of riding over the weekend. I intended to, but with a heat index of 100+ degrees both days, and some strong storms, I only managed to get out for a 19-mile gravel ride in Hoosier National Forest with my buddy Dave. Fortunately it didn’t storm while we were out riding, we only had to deal with the heat and extreme humidity, and an unusually high number of dogs. We also saw several box turtles and some turkeys. I don’t think we saw a single car on any of the gravel roads.

We did a loop I’ve done a couple of times before. I have done this route in snow, rain … and now heat, too. “What’s next?” Dave asked, and I don’t know, but I’m sure some other condition will come along and I can ride there in it, too.

Sunday wasn’t devoid of bike activity either, I washed the Trucker and did some work on the Bianchi. I ordered some Nitto Noodle handlebars for it, just like the ones I have on the Trucker, and installed them. I did a few test rides around the neighborhood. The Noodles are a big improvement over the old bars.

It was so hot that I was dripping with sweat, just from working on the bike and riding around the neighborhood. I was thinking of a road ride later in the day, but some insane storms rolled in. I’ll ride in most weather conditions, but lightning is one thing that will prevent me from riding.

Working on bikes isn’t a lot of fun for me, but it needed to be done. Hopefully now I’m in good shape for some more long rides. I’m anxious to crank up the mileage again. I’m contemplating RAIN (Ride Across INdiana) on July 17. You ride from Terre Haute, IN to Richmond, IN, in one day — 160 miles. I might need to ride another century between now and then, for training purposes.