I haven’t done any rides of major distance for a while. It’s been hot, and I have been busy with other things. The other night I decided to get out, in the evening, and explore some rail-trails. Most of the ride was in areas where I’ve ridden before, but I haven’t explored a lot of them in depth. Given the heat, a relatively flat, easy cruise sounded good.

Within minutes, I was looking at scenery like this.

The photos above were all on the more familiar (to me), gravel Bloomington Rail Trail. I also spent some time on the paved Clear Creek Trail, where I’ve only ridden a couple of times before.

There were some huge homes right along the trail.

A side excursion on a gravel trail yielded some interesting finds.

I climbed up the gravel trail, and found it intersected with a road. I need to figure out where that road goes. For this ride, once I reached the end of the trail, I turned around. Here, I’m about to bomb back down the hill.

I’m not sure what all the fuzzy stuff is in the photo below, but it captured my attention.

I’m not normally a fan of rail-trails, but it was great to get out for an easier ride for a change, without having to worry about traffic too much. Actually, I was more in riding mode than exploration mode, and didn’t stop too often. I should ride the same trails and stop more to explore. Sometimes it’s amazing what’s right outside your front door, if you take the time to look around.

File under: Bicycling, Mixed Terrain, Rail Trails