This weekend Chris and I did the “Limestone Tour” ride. I did this once last year and while it’s only a bit more than 40 miles, it’s a brutal ride. I tend to forget how many big hills there are out on the west side of town. They can be relentless at times. I gave some background on this route last time I rode it.

We lucked out and had a gorgeous day for riding, in the mid-60s and sunny, but blustery. Getting started was a little rough, as I took a wrong turn on the way out of town that added a few miles to our ride, on a high-traffic road. But before long we were headed out of town and the scenery gets pretty really quickly once you cross State Road 37.

Hill by Bachelor Middle School

Countryside on Victor Pike

Right away, we were treated to a couple of great downhill runs on Victor Pike. The one pictured below turns off to the left at the bottom. I think I hit 38 mph on this hill, and we were riding into the wind.


Big descent on Victor Pike. If you view this large you can see several cyclists coming from the other direction.


Chris


One of many huge houses in the area

Even though there are some great descents, you pay for them with a couple of hard climbs on the way up to the Victor Oolitic Stone Company.


Victor Oolitic Stone Company


Nearing the top of the second big climb on Victor Pike


An attempt to show the scale of what we’d just climbed. I’m not sure it worked too well.

I was looking forward to taking a break at the top of the hill and enjoying the view from the spot behind some rocks that I found on a previous ride (see here). Unfortunately, they’ve really tighted up security and put in a fence preventing access to this area.


Industry meets nature


Rockport Road descent (we went the other way)

After a little more climbing, we were on flat ground for a couple of miles and then enjoyed another great ride down a big hill. We soon paid for it and made the climb up Breeden Road. This is one long climb, it really seems to go on forever.


Farm in the hills

Barns and silos

After meandering through the countryside for quite a few miles, we found ourselves on Rockport Road, which is, as Chris put it, “like a huge roller coaster.” We started by going down a huge hill, but were able to carry our momentum through several rolling hills after that, each with its own fun descent on the other side. In some places the road is fairly straight but sometimes there are turns at the bottoms of the hills, and it is quite a ride indeed. It’s also very tiring. Even though you can make good use of your momentum, it still amounts to a lot of climbing.


Independent Limestone Quarry


NO PARKING VEHICLE WILL BE TOWED AT YOUR EXPENSE

Somewhere along the line, I lost my map of this route. I’ll have to get another copy, or make my own. I have a pretty good idea where the turns are now.

This was a really fun ride. We didn’t break any speed records, but we rode on some great hills and had some excellent conversations along the way. By the end of the ride we’d gone 42.5 miles.

My ride home last night was wild. I rode to work despite rain in the forecast, as I often do. I got two offers from coworkers to for a ride home, which I appreciated, but politely declined. I don’t mind getting wet. I soon discovered that it was raining harder than I expected. It was really rather ridiculous. By the time I was 100 yards from the office, my pants were soaked and sticking to my legs. I was pelted with huge rain drops which stung as they hit my face. I felt alternating resistance as I passed over wet pavement and through deep puddles, watching the water part as my wheel cut through it, leaving a wake. I rode by a storm drain, but it was so full that water was flowing out of the drain and onto the road. Drainage ditches were saturated and full, gushing audibly.  The bike path had a stream running over it.

I wasn’t expecting such a thorough soaking, and even though it was a bit chilly, it felt good. There’s nothing like a cleansing rain — it’s both refreshing and humbling. My shoes sloshed when I got off the bike and started walking. I was saturated.

On Saturday, we finally got a break from the rain that had been falling for several days.I decided to to the “ride around Lake Monroe,” which roughly follows the Hoosier Hills 60K route. This time, I didn’t get lost, nor did I get a flat tire. (Last time, I did both). Amazing!

It was in the upper 60s and sunny — fantastic riding weather. It felt great to be back on the bike after a few days of rain, and only commute rides. My road bike made me feel strong and fast. I savored the feeling of the sun warming my face, while the cool wind felt refreshing.

Riding on 446

I enjoyed a fast descent toward the lake and rode across the causeway. An SUV passed me and leaned on their horn as they did so, startling me and almost detracted from the exhilarating feeling of riding across the lake. I’m not sure what they hoped to accomplish by blaring their horn.

Fishermen on Lake Monroe

I started the climb away from the lake and really took my time. It’s over a mile of climbing but by not pushing it, I manged the climbing without too much difficulty, and even enjoyed it. I saw a lizard sunning itself on a rock. As I rode by, it looked at me curiously, then darted under a rock.

Looking toward the climb on the opposite side of the lake

Looking back; Leaving the lake below

After the climb, 446 is fairly flat and gently curves; it’s easy for a few miles. I turned on Chapel Hill Road, which was a fun ride. Parts of this road are flat and easy, while others have some rolling hills and tight turns.

S&M Bait & Tackle

Handlebars


Front wheel in motion


Old Chapel Hill Church

A car passes with plenty of room on a curvy road

Cresting a hill

Rolling farmland

I took a break at the intersection with Coveyville Road.


My bicycle at Coveyville Road

Barns, etc.

About to ride downhill

I flew down the hill, hitting I believe 41 mph. It’s a short hill, but it’s steep. After that it’s flat for a couple of miles, and it’s a bit of a shock to the system to suddenly find yourself in wide open fields. Then there’s a big climb.


Fields yellow with wildflowers

Bottom of the Valley Mission climb

Getting a sense of how far I’ve climbed

My ride back from this point was about 15 miles, mostly uneventful. I mostly stopped taking photos and focused on riding. I did, however, have to get a shot of this:

Buddy Bill’s has an interesting way of handling bad checks.

All told, I rode a bit over 40 miles.

It rained most of the day yesterday, and my ride home was quite wet. I was soaked to the bone by the time I got home — fortunately, it was in the 60s, so I wasn’t too cold. It rained pretty hard all night and the rain continues today. I drove to work so I wouldn’t arrive soaked. It looked like a possible inch of rain last night, and maybe another inch today. I’m wondering how much flooding we’ll get, with all this rain. I’m itching for some more rides. I managed to get some work done while it rained last night; it’s nice to get some of that out of the way so when it clears up, I can ride.

Sarah and I spent Sunday driving around rather aimlessly, exploring the countryside for good photo opportunities. I brought my new lens, although it didn’t end up getting a lot of use. Instead I spent most of the time doing infrared photography. Hopefully soon I’ll write a post about the equipment and techniques involved in making these images. For now, I’ll just post some photos.

Sarah drove, which is unusual as she is just learning to drive. Country roads afford a lot of opportunities to practice the mechanics of driving without a lot of complicated intersections, or traffic. This also freed me up to navigate. I opened our Indiana Atlas and Gazetteer to the area where we were and started looking for interesting things to check out. The first thing to catch my eye was the Cataract Falls Bridge. I didn’t know if the bridge was noteworthy, but waterfalls are rather unusual around here, so I thought we should check out Cataract Falls. As it turns out, Cataract Falls is the largest waterfall in the state of Indiana.

A couple of normal shots of Cataract Falls

Cataract falls in infrared

Infrared bridge

The falls in infrared, another perspective

Normal shot

Small falls by the main waterfall. Black & white infrared.

Lower Cataract Falls

After visiting Cataract Falls, we took the long way to Patricksburg, a small town we’ve gone to before and liked. On the way, we stopped at Cagles Mill Lake.

Cagles Mill Lake

We drove through Patricksburg but only stopped a couple of times on the outskirts of town.

Barn

Hill

Hill, in infrared

Field

Road and fields