Rider Dossiers

Tim

Info: Author of Tex’s Luavull Cycling, co-founder of River City Cycling Society (RCCS), bicycle commuter, has a serious love of gravel.

Bike: Cannondale 29er with WTB Exiwolf tires

David C

Info: Author of fatguy.org (even though he isn’t), other founding father of RCCS, bicycle commuter, coffee lover, offbeat guy who likes to freak people out by wearing jeans to a ride.
Bike: Surly Long Haul Trucker with studded tires

 

Dave G
Info: Inveterate mountain biker; enjoys indoctrinating others into the sport. Has been plagued with knee problems. Can he push through anyway?
Bike: Cannondale Prophet with IRC FreedomCross tires

Michael (me)
Info: Apertome.com author, enjoys rides of all kinds. Bicycle commuter. Possesses a (yet-unfulfilled) hankering for a pork tenderloin sandwich.
Bike: Fuji Tahoe 29er with Maxxis Ignitor tires

Route

Illustrated Ride Report

We headed out from Norman, IN at around 10:00 am. We started on paved roads with just a little snow. All of us were on mountain bikes with knobby tires, except for David C, who rode his Long Haul Trucker with studded tires.It had rained the day before and then the temperatures dropped and some snow fell. It was tough to predict what the conditions would be like.

Within a few minutes, we hit gravel. There was a bit more snow on the gravel roads. We followed a ridgetop for a while, before going into a steep descent.

Just moments after I warned the others that the hill was going to get very steep, it did just that. I must have grabbed my front brake a little bit, because right then, less than four miles into the ride, I went down, landing flat on my face. Looking at the GPS data suggests I was going about 15 mph when I fell. I slid a ways on the snowy gravel road. It took me a moment to collect myself and stand up. When I did, my foot nearly slipped out from under me. It turns out, there was a layer of ice under the snow, that you couldn’t see at all.

I couldn’t see my own face, so the other guys had a look. They said my nose had some superficial scratches, and my cheek was swollen, but nothing looked too serious. Tim took a photo of me so I could see the damage.

I felt a bit shaken, but overall, OK. Tim offered to call the ride off, right then and there, but I wanted to ride on. So, after I regained my composure, and let some air out of my tires, we did.

Fortunately for me, the descent was basically over. Normally I wouldn’t be excited about the end of a downhill, but after that incident, I was feeling awfully paranoid about any descents for the rest of the ride. My confidence was shaken.

We rode through a couple of creeks and immediately started a climb. I felt pretty good during the climb. It’s a long climb, but it wasn’t too steep until the very end.

Then it was flat riding, with perhaps some rollers in the mix. A couple of beautiful pine forests were quite scenic.

For a while, we were also riding on soft, sparkly virgin snow. You can sort of see the sparkle in the photo below, but it doesn’t do it justice. This section was bliss.

Next was a long flowing downhill that is normally a lot of fun. I still enjoyed it, but I went very, very slowly. I couldn’t seem to shake my trepidation, so I just took my time. The others waited for me at the bottom.

We stopped for a shot of this beautiful grassy field, and the intersection of two ridges behind it. It’s funny, Tim took almost exactly the same photo.

We rode on paved roads again for a bit. The sky looked amazing. Thick grey clouds, but with a few openings for the sun to poke through. There was even a spot of blue sky.

Unfortunately I wasn’t really paying attention to my GPS, and we overshot our turn by about a mile. We took that opportunity to snack and adjust layers.  When we got back on course, we had another long climb but once again it wasn’t as bad as it seemed the last time I was there. Tim and I rode ahead a bit. It was hard to stay warm unless we kept moving.

Here is my ride for the day, my Fuji Tahoe 29 mountain bike. It performed quite well. The disc brakes were nice to have, and the suspension fork soaked up some of the bumps. My wipeout was my fault, not the bike’s.

Tim also rode a 29er, his a Cannondale. He was testing a Jones Loop Bar and seemed to like it, though he said he would adjust the angle before the next ride. Also new were the platform pedals and saddle bag. This was the bike’s maiden voyage in this gravel-grinder configuration. A very nice ride.

I guess I didn’t get a shot of the Daves’s bicycles, but they have been documented here before. Around this time, Tim commented that it was getting dark and the clouds much denser than before. Would it snow soon?

Here are the Daves, coming up the hill.

Now we had some flat riding, and another long downhill. Once again I kept my speed extremely low on the descent.

The road surface played tricks on my mind. Here we had rough gravel with a thin layer of snow. It didn’t look too terribly different from a clean white gravel road, so I nearly forgot about the snow. It was hard to discern what was just gravel, what was snow, and what was ice. Fortunately there wasn’t much ice, but knowing there was some out there was enough to slow me down.

We rode by a beautiful rock wall.

And the road followed a creek for quite a while. Beautiful.

We rode on pavement for a while.

The snow picked up, gradually at first …

… but for the rest of the ride, it was just snow harder and harder. The apparent vignetting in my shots is actually snow on my camera lens.

Eventually we reached the small town of Houston, where we took a break in the middle of the road, without getting in the way.

Once past Houston, things got gnarlier. More hills. More wind. More snow.

And, Dave G’s knee started acting up. You can see him stretching it out in the background below.

At some point the road turned to gravel. There were times when I couldn’t tell if there was pavement or gravel under the snow. Not that it made a lot of difference, at that point. We entered another beautiful wooded area.

And, we started a very long climb. Looking at the map beforehand this didn’t look so bad. Being there on the ground, in the snow, it was brutal.

There were some nice views of a ravine beside us, poorly captured here.

At some point we had to make a decision: should we return through the National Forest, or take the “easier” way, the highway. Dave G’s knee wasn’t doing well. We opted for the highway.

Unfortunately, this didn’t end up being easy at all. The snow was picking up, as was the wind. There were more hills on State Road 58 than we realized. We faced four miles into strong winds on the open road, with snow blowing all around, so visibility was poor.

Here you can get an idea of my mental and physical state. Bloody face, snow on my eyebrows despite my glasses, just determination to get back. Also apparently my cap was very askew.

And here comes Tim. We rode ahead of the Daves, out of sheer necessity. We were desperately trying to keep warm at this point. I was mostly OK except my feet had gotten very cold, even though they had been fine most of the ride up to this point.

I won’t say this part was fun, but it was an adventure, and the scenery was stellar.

As soon as we climbed the killer hill back to Norman and arrived back at the parking lot, we looked back to see a snow plow come up the hill, right behind us. We just missed the luxury of a plowed road. We later learned that the Daves had to jump out of its way. They pulled up just a few minutes later.

We intended to all catch a meal together after the ride, but both of the local options were closed. Damn.

I can’t speak for Tim and David C, but Dave G and I had very interesting trips home. The snow just kept coming down and the roads were terrible. Particularly disconcerting were the cars strewn about the ditches right by the Lake Monroe causeway. But, everyone made it home safely, it just took a while.

This was a truly great ride. The conditions basically guaranteed an epic experience, but the group of riders was just phenomenal and made the adverse conditions a lot of fun.

As for my injuries, I’m feeling worse today than I was yesterday, mostly in the form of a headache and a sore neck. Hopefully those problems will take care of themselves. Also, I will be buying a new helmet, just to be on the safe side. Mine is old anyway.

Then I got sick. I could feel it coming on last night, so I took a bunch of meds before bed. I woke up still feeling crummy, but not as bad. I still have a sore throat. Not sure what’s going on, but I don’t like it.

So, I guess I’m taking it easy for the time being.  I found time to work on some music over the weekend, which was enjoyable at times, but overall it was frustrating. I ran into a bunch of boring technical problems. I managed to get a few things accomplished, but until I have all my equipment set up, it’ll be difficult.

I have missed riding, but I’m also enjoying a bit of a break. Hopefully I can get out soon.

1. Found out that my riding buddy, Dave, had a wreck and injured his spinal cord (he is recovering very well, and is back to riding the trails)
2. Got engaged
3. Had my wisdom teeth removed
4. Celebrated Sarah’s graduation from grad school
5. Took a trip to North Carolina and Virginia, to explore some job possibilities for Sarah.  While there, I was hit by a car (which then “ran”). I had some scrapes and a broken/dislocated finger, which still hurts sometimes (it happened in June). Then our car broke down. We did manage to see some beautiful sights while we were there, but the trip was pretty much a complete bust. Sarah did not get either job. Actually, we thought she was getting the one in Virginia, and just as we thought they were going to make an offer, they told us they had a hiring freeze, and could not fill the position.
6. Got married
7. Moved to Pennsylvania, since Sarah found a job here. I kept my job, and have been working from home.
8. Found out I’m getting laid off from my job. December 31 (tomorrow) will be my last day.
9. Took steps to form my own company providing Web development and other services. This is the first I’ve mentioned it on the blog, I’ll say more later.

Unfortunately, most of the money will go to pay for x-rays and physical therapy for my finger. Easy come, easy go.

The first part of the ride was the reverse of what I rode the day before, taking me through town and Cascades park, climbing up Clubhouse Drive (which is oddly not as hard as I thought it would be), up to Kinser Pike, across 37 and on Bottom Road for a while. This time I enjoyed a long descent down Bottom Road, but kept my speed down due to the rough road surface, sand and gravel on the road, and my (still weak and easy to hurt) finger that means my grip on the bars/brakes isn’t 100%. I wasn’t on Bottom Road very long, though, turning off onto Maple Grove Road.

Maple Grove was flattish and curvy for a while, later straightening out and leading into some great rolling hills. I would have done a lot better on those hills if I’d been in slightly better shape; as it was my energy often got sapped two thirds of the way up each hill and I struggled over the top, rather than carrying my momentum through the whole hill. I chuckled when I reached the intersection of Maple Grove Road and Maple Grove Road. Fortunately, I knew I needed to keep going straight. This has been a source of confusion for me in the past when driving through this area.

Maple Grove Road

Solitary Tree

Intersection of Maple Grove and Maple Grove

One of many rolling hills

Field

The rolling hills continued relentlessly for quite a few miles. I enjoyed them, especially going downhill, and savored every bit of shade I could get. It was really heating up and I felt a bit sluggish. I rode up a hill through a new development and threw my chain. I had just washed my gloves the night before, of course. I got it back in place and rode on. This wasn’t a huge hill, but it felt like it went on for a long time. I enjoyed a fast, twisty descent into Stinesville. The Hilly Hundred route went through Stinesville and I passed the park where a band had been playing that day, where the SAG stop had been, by the creek. I could have used a stop but kept on riding, on up the big hill out of the valley where Stinesville sits. The climb was tough, but not quite as bad as I expected.

Approaching Stinesville

Tough climb away from Stinesville

I felt a bit energized after riding that climb well, and a few more rolling hills didn’t bother me. I rode over to State Road 46, which is a fairly busy road with high speed limits, but there’s no way to get to McCormick’s Creek State Park without taking 46 (actually I learned that there is, but since I was riding in a loop the other way was saved for the ride home).

My handlebars, while taking a breather

Farm

Field and power lines

I rode less than two miles on 46, fortunately, and traffic was relatively light. I turned into the state park, glad to be there, ready for a leisurely ride through the park and hopefully a rest in the shade. In fact the roads through the park were very shady and easy to ride on — smooth and curvy but with very mild hills. It’s a beautiful park and I enjoyed the scenery as I rode through it. You can’t see a whole lot of it from the road, but my ride was strenuous enough; I didn’t feel like doing any hiking, and I was wearing my biking shoes anyway. Normally it’s a great place for a hike.

I meandered through the park for a while, planning to end up at a picnic area.

Shady road through the park

McCormick’s Creek

My bicycle on the bridge over the creek

I reached the picnic area where we had a Mother’s Day picnic with my mom last year. There were some picnic tables in the sun right by a couple in the shade — perfect so I could dry out my gloves and helmet on a sunny table while getting some respite from the sun. I had a snack and relaxed a bit. Even though it was hot, and I have trouble with heat sometimes, it was great to get some good riding in. The ride sure felt longer than the 26 miles or so I’d ridden so far, with the heat and the endless hills, so I took a longer break than I normally would.

Resting in a picnic area

Peering into the woods behind me

After that much-needed break, I got moving again. Almost immediately after crossing 46, I enjoyed a long, winding trip down River Road with probably a solid mile of downhill riding. The wind rushing over me as I coasted easily down the hill felt great and gave just the cooling effect I needed.

Once at the bottom, the road followed the river for a little while, with a few smaller hills. It was nice to ride right by the water, and there was some beautiful farmland as well. The road surface got very rough and heavily scored at a couple of different points.

Following the river

Farm

Scored road surface

Curvy road

When I reached Pea Ridge Road, I was in for quite a surprise: it’s gravel. I’ve ridden my road bike on gravel roads before and it does well with tightly-packed gravel, but in case it seemed like the road had been paved but fell into a state of disrepair and someone scored the road and spread a thick layer of loose gravel on the pavement surface. My bicycle felt pretty unstable, and to make matters worse it was a hilly, curvy road. It was extremely challenging riding. I was glad I run relatively wide tires (28s) on my road bike, rather than the skinnier 23s or 25s a lot of roadies use.

Tough gravel climb

There was very little shade on this road. I really wasn’t prepared for this. The sun blazing down on me and the lack of breeze from my slow speed had me worried I’d overheat. I took it slow (not really by choice) and took a few breaks along the way. Even the downhill parts were tricky because my traction was so poor and I had to keep my speed down, knowing if I picked up too much speed I wouldn’t be able to stop. Through all this hard braking on a loose gravel road, my finger felt surprisingly good — it’s healing well. I tried climbing out of the saddle a bit but my rear tire spun out when I did so. I sat back down and spun up the hill, ever so slowly.

Road bike tire on gravel

Handlebars and gravel

Right-angle turn in the road

Greenery along the road

More gravel

What a remote area … I only saw one car the whole time I was on the gravel road, and only a couple of people at their homes. The people I did see seemed surprised to see me … I don’t imagine they get many cyclists on this road.

While the gravel was a fun challenge in a way, I was glad when I reached a paved road. I think I spent about 2 1/2 miles on gravel, most of it climbing. It felt like much more than that. However, the paved road didn’t offer much respite. It was flat briefly but then threw at me the biggest rolling hills of the whole ride. 200 feet of elevation loss, 200 feet of climbing, a couple of times, and some smaller hills. I even walked up part of one hill (I can’t even remember the last time I did that).

Farm

About to descend

Cruising

A flatter section

I about ran out of energy during those rolling hills, but they let up and I got my second (or 17th) wind. Once I hit Vernal Pike I felt I was on the home stretch. It was still hot and there was no shade and I was tired, but I kicked up the energy level and got home fairly quickly from this point. I still felt sluggish but I did pretty well on the remaining hills.

Stop sign

Barn

Overall, it was a great day — but I’d say this is one of those rides that’s more fun in hindsight. Next time it’s this hot, I swear I’ll leave earlier. Really. I rode through some beautiful country, learned some new roads and got an excellent workout, but there was plenty of pain involved, too.

Yeah, it was a great ride.

At one point, the doctor also grabbed my hand and pushed my finger back to straighten it out as much as possible. It hurt like hell, but he was able to get it fairly straight that way. When he let go, it went back to being bent. It’s encouraging that while I can’t move it that way myself, at least the joint will allow it. It’s weird how exciting it is to see your finger almost completely straight after having it bent for a few weeks. As I winced in pain, I looked at my finger and thought “COOL!” I doubt I’ll ever be able to get it that straight on my own, though.

The doctor also reiterated that my knuckle is going to be swollen for the rest of my life. This isn’t that big a deal, I guess, but right now it looks like I’ve stashed a walnut in there or something. He said the swelling should go down a little; I’m hoping it goes down a lot.

It was a bit odd hiking a trail with which I’m quite familiar from bike rides. It was a completely different perspective, and most of the parts that are tricky on a bike are quite easy on foot. The slower pace allowed me to enjoy the scenery more and take some photos with my good camera, which I never take on bike rides.

We ran into my mountain biking buddy Dave, who was out riding. We talked for a few minutes before he took off. He was riding the trail in both directions, so we expected to see him again.

We saw Dave sooner than we expected. It turns out that the trail meanders so much that there’s a spot where two disparate parts of the trail come within about 30 feet of each other — we just never noticed before because unless someone’s riding on the other part at the same time, you can’t see the trail through the brush. You learn something new every day!

It was a really fun hike. I’ve seen this trail in all seasons and conditions, but always from my bike. It was cool to get a different perspective; we’ll have to go back and hike some of the other mountain bike trails sometime.

The Bad

1. My finger will never work quite right again.
2. The swelling in my knuckle will probably never go away.
3. The fracture was much worse than I realized. I either misunderstood what the other doctor said, or he explained it wrong, or he misinterpreted the X-Ray. I thought a small piece of bone chipped off at the joint. But my new doctor showed me that that small piece wasn’t what broke off, it was the only part that didn’t break off. Allow me to illustrate.
   
   So as you can see, what really happened was the entire top half of my finger broke off. Only a little piece held on, attached by ligament. The doctor said this is quite an unusual fracture and showed it to several other people there so they could see what had happened. I was glad I could keep their jobs interesting.
4. In the time since the other doctor popped my finger back into joint, it has shifted a little bit. In order to correct it, they would have to re-break it, which would do more harm than good. This means my movement will be restricted permanently. We will get back whatever mobility we can.
5. The doctor gave me a splint to wear basically all the time to help make it so I can straighten my finger out again. This is making a lot of things very difficult, including typing.

The Good

1. The other doctor did a great job of popping my finger back into joint.
2. While it was a serious fracture, it is healing surprisingly well, in part due to #1. The doctor was very optimistic.
3. The pain I am still feeling is completely normal for an injury like this after only two weeks.
4.  When I took the splint off to shower this morning, I could already see improvement. My finger was straighter than I’ve been able to get it on my own.
5. At three weeks the bones will be mostly fused back together and very strong (that’s next week).
6. The doctor says I can ride my bike, as long as I wear my splint.

Next Steps

1. I need to wear the splint all the time, except to shower.
2. I need to do an exercise where I bend the tip of my finger. I need to do this as often as possible.
3. Next week, the splint comes off and we will start working on bending the finger.

After my test ride, Sarah and I went for a hike. More on that in a minute.

On Sunday, I rode the Water Works route, and it went really well. I wasn’t sure if my finger could handle 20+ miles of riding, but it really didn’t bother me too much. It’s funny, I still can’t open a bottle of soda, but now I can ride 20 miles without too much trouble. Then again, if given the choice, I’d rather ride. I did feel some pain when I went over big bumps, but otherwise I was fine. Riding in the hoods or drops works better for me than sitting more upright and using the flat, middle part of the bars.

Anyway, it felt great to ride. I put forth a medium amount of effort, enough to feel I was getting a good workout, but I didn’t go all out. Even though I rode early in the afternoon, I saw two deer and had to slow down to let a wild turkey cross the road in front of me. I’m not sure who was more startled: the turkey crossing the road, or turkey on the bicycle. I was surprised to see so much wildlife, normally I would only expect to see those animals in the early morning or late evening.

Back to Saturday’s hike, Sarah and I took Rob (the dog) to hike the Pate Hollow trail near Lake Monroe.  We’ve hiked there before, but that was back in January. Everything looks so much different now, very green and lush. I forgot how cool this trail is — it has a lot of switchbacks, some fairly long climbs and a few creek crossings. We did a shortened version of the trail again this time; sometime we’ll have to go back and do the full 7+ miles. I’ve heard the other half of the trail is even better. It felt great to be outdoors together and get some exercise without aggravating my finger. Here are some photos from our hike.

Creek

The trail. If you look closely you can see the dog in the distance

One of many switchbacks

Rob

Shadows

Climbing

Wild raspberries

Sarah

I did try a test ride on Sunday of about 4 miles and while I was able to ride, I felt a lot of pain in my finger every time I hit a bump. I should probably wait at least a few more days before I try riding again.

The good news is, my finger feels a little bit better every day. If it continues to heal at this rate I’ll be back in the saddle before long.