Sarah and I tried an experiment this weekend. We did a camping trip, with a twist. I rode to the campsite, and she met me there with the car. And the next day we went further, me on my bicycle and her driving. It was almost like a supported tour.

We had mixed results. I didn’t plan well enough, and we both had poor to nonexistent cell phone reception, so we had a little trouble connecting in Brownstown, IN. Also, what I intended to be a way for me to get some riding in while allowing us to spend a lot of time together became a little more complicated and bike-centric than I intended. Sarah was very patient and we had a great time together, but in the end it felt a little selfish. If we do something like this again, I’ll need to plan things out a lot better. It was also really hot, which effectively meant that by the time we got anywhere, it was too hot to want to do very much.

I plan to write about this trip in three parts:

1. Riding from Bloomington to Brownstown and Jackson-Washington State Forest
2. Hiking at Jackson-Washington State Forest
3. Riding from Jackson-Washington State Forest to Clark State Forest and Henryville

I won’t call these New Year’s resolutions, exactly, but I’d like to set some cycling goals for 2008. Here are my goals, in no particular order.

• Ride 4,000 miles.
• Ride at least one century.
• Complete at least two Sub 24-Hour Overnight (S24o) camping trips. Preferably more.
• Go on tour.
• Ride with Sarah more often.
• Ride with my friends and family more often.
• Make some new friends with whom to ride.
• Run more errands by bicycle.
• Do the Brown County Breakdown again.
• Do the Hilly Hundred again (this may get traded for a short independent tour).
• Ride in some real mountains again.
• Improve my photography and writing.

The only potential problem I see is that I also want to do more hiking this year, and I’m not sure I can find time for both more cycling and more hiking. So, some cycling miles may get traded for hiking miles.

I had a great four-day weekend, since I took the 24th off and the office was closed on Christmas day. I did a fun road ride on Christmas Eve Day, once again doing the Shilo Road route of which I am so fond. That was a good length, about 25 miles. Sarah and I exchanged our gifts on Christmas Eve. Her gifts to me followed a bicycle touring theme, including a book and a backpacking sleeping pad and sleeping bag.

They are incredibly compact and lightweight, the sleeping bag weighing exactly 1 kilogram. I’ve been talking about doing a bicycle tour for a while now and I’m feeling more and more confident that I’ll be able to do one sometime in 2008. Last year, fitness would have been the biggest concern but hopefully I can stay in some semblance of shape over the winter and be in better shape next year. And now I have a lot of the gear I’ll need to do some sub 24-hour overnight trips and/or a longer tour. Thanks, hot stuff!

Christmas morning, we went over to mom’s house to exchange gifts with my family. We had a great time. Mom made lasagna for dinner as is becoming a tradition, and after dinner, I proposed a hike. The high was 47 degrees, and it was sunny — an incredibly beautiful day and surprisingly warm. After some discussion, everyone decided to come. We decided to hike the Wolf Cave trail (trail #5) at McCormick’s Creek State Park. It’s an easy two-mile trail.

Everyone really seemed to enjoy the hike, including my sister Becky, who hasn’t gone on the past few family hikes. I was really glad that everyone went and had a good time. In fact, it had been a long time since Sarah and I went hiking, and I think I had forgotten just how much I enjoy it. Here are some photos from the hike. Sarah took some of these.

Shadows

Sarah and me

Avery (my nephew) showing me a hiding place in Wolf Cave

Avery, mom, and me

Rock bridge with icicles

Avery and mom crossing the creek

Becky (my sister) and me

Becky, looking aloof

Avery, hiding in a tree

Hiking into the sun