The problem is, Indiana roads are unpredictable. It’s very difficult to tell which will be paved, and which will be gravel. Usually, we’re seeking out gravel, and we try to plan as many gravel roads as possible. This time we had the opposite idea in mind, but we still didn’t know if all the roads would be paved or not. Tim put together a route that looked very interesting, and we scheduled the ride. Here is the route.

In the days leading up to the ride, we inspected the route more closely, and it started to look like some of the roads would be gravel. With rain in the forecast, we ultimately decided that the fast, skinny-tired road bikes were out. They wouldn’t fare well in wet gravel, which is something we had to be prepared to deal with.

The other riders in our group (David, Patrick, and Timothy) had all already chosen beefier bikes, so Sunday morning we set out, prepared for … well, we didn’t know what to expect, so, anything.

We rolled out of Orleans at 9:00 am. Here is Timothy, who was joining us for his first RCCS ride, or at least the first one that I have been on as well. He was riding a rigid, steel Trek mountain bike. He’s training for the Heck of the North ride in Duluth, MN in October. We crossed paths at the Louisville 100k populaire, but only spoke for a few minutes on that ride.

Here is Patrick, on his Rivendell Bombadil. This was my first time riding with him, though he rides with RCCS sometimes, but usually in Louisville. It was also my first time seeing a Bombadil in person, and it seemed like a fine rig, extra badass, with its second top tube.

Here are the two Tims. The day got off to a brisk start, with the two of them setting a strong pace.

We saw a lot of dogs this day, many of which gave chase. I find this photo amusing because the dogs are smiling, but David isn’t …

We made a brief stop in Campbellsburg, where Tim had to make a few fender adjustments. His front fender actually snapped off, and he had to chuck it.

Campbellsburg seemed like a scrappy little town, with lots of run-down homes. Many were worse than this — some had holes in their crumbling walls.

But, that didn’t last long. We were out in the country again, with a mild climb and some stellar views.

We went into a wonderful, mile-long decent into a valley bottom with flat fields surrounded by hills. We were less than 20 miles into the ride, and already we had some excellent highlights.

David picked up a hitchhiker in the form of a grasshopper under his front rack.

After a few flat miles, we had to pay for that stellar descent, with a long climb. It was tough, and the weather was warming up. Soon thereafter, and much to our surprise, we hit our first gravel for the day. Then there was another crazy downhill, this time on loose gravel. I wimped out and went really slowly. I’ve had a few too many crashes on these rides. Fortunately none have been serious, but I’m a little spooked when it comes to gravel downhills.

The pavement soon came back and we had another big climb. I can’t remember if this one was on pavement or gravel. Timothy sure was enjoying the ride.

After a brief section on State Road 135, we turned onto Old SR 135 for what would be a highlight of the day for many of us. A long descent, nearly two miles, with quite a few switchbacks which meant the ride was never too steep but we could build up some speed and carve through the sharp turns. This was bliss!

We stopped about halfway down to check out the views. Here comes Timothy down the hill.

We had a great view out into the distance, with the road curving well below us.

Toward the bottom, after the road straightened out, we saw several kittens alongside the road. I didn’t stop to photograph them. Soon we reached the Muscatatuck River, and another surprise. Our route had us turning here.

Naturally, we were able to crawl through and lift our bikes over the fence.We took a few photos from the bridge.

Then, we rolled on, and enjoyed a few flat paved miles, surrounded by farmland.

At this point we reached a couple miles of rough gravel.

We found a covered bridge to explore.

The small town of Medora appeared in the distance. This would be our only store stop, roughly halfway through the ride.

I kept seeing these white wildflowers, but I’m not sure what they were.

Soon we reached Medora.

A stop there was much needed. Some of us were out of water, or nearly out. We all stocked up on water, and ate some lunch. The place where we stopped served food, in addition to being a convenience store. I had brought a sandwich but some other folks bought some sandwiches there.

After refueling, we rolled out again. Everyone was moving slowly after lunch, with the heat kicking in and lunches not yet settled. We thought the return trip would be easier, but there were some more surprises in store for us.

First was the wind. We knew we had a tailwind much of the way out, but we hadn’t realized how strong it was. The wind was quite strong at times, though in some areas, we were shielded by hills, trees, etc. But when we were out in the open, we were pushing against the wind.

The reflection in this pond looked absolutely perfect. An idyllic spot, an image captured in a fraction of a second, but I could have lingered here for hours. Staring at the photo takes me right back to that spot. It’s funny, we didn’t even stop here, but I keep looking at this image and thinking how perfect that spot was.

Soon we reached the East Fork of the White River, which we would see at several points along the route.

We saw another closed bridge, but this one was not on our route.

And a lot of run-down barns and the like. For a while, the road had the river on one side, train tracks on the other, and shacks on the other side of the tracks.

Then, another surprise: more gravel. This time, in the form of an 8.5-mile stretch, with a few hills thrown into the mix. None of the hills were too extreme, but the hot conditions, dusty gravel road and some hills, made for a very challenging section of road.

It started off well enough, with some fun gravel, and even some shade.

Part of the challenge was mental. Somewhere along here, Tim and Patrick rode on ahead. I was having problems with my GPS crapping out on me (I think due to the vibration on the rough gravel), and at one point, I tried to push my sunglasses up and the lens popped out. I managed to catch it in my hand. I tossed it in my handlebar bag until I could find a good time to stop.

Every time I’d see a bit of shade, I thought maybe Tim and Patrick would be stopped there so we could regroup. My GPS kept beeping at me every time I hit a bump. I wanted to put my sunglasses back on. I just kept on riding and still, no Tim or Patrick. Eventually I just stopped and fixed my glasses, and tried to fix the GPS. Then Timothy caught up with me, and I rode with him for a while. This was a nice stretch of road, but it was too hot and I didn’t know how far ahead Tim and Patrick were, and my stomach was starting not to feel very well. I was ready to get past this road.

After what seemed like forever (and in reality was probably not more than 45 minutes), I reached the end of the road and there were Tim and Patrick. Timothy was close behind me, and David a bit behind him. We got stretched out a little bit on this road, but not by more than a few minutes.

We crossed the river, which felt like an important benchmark on the return trip. Maybe we were on the home stretch now.

Not long after that, it started raining. It never rained very hard, but it did cool us down for a few minutes — except in sunny spots, where you could feel the steam coming off the road as the rain fell. Wow. Naturally this was happening during a climb. This house was not in the greatest shape, but they did have a nice river view.

Then the road got hillier. My stomach started feeling better. I wasn’t climbing too vigorously, but I felt decent most of the time.

After a few ups and downs, the road got a bit flatter but then we were headed directly into the wind. The hot air blasting in my face made it difficult to breathe at times. I ran out of water a few blocks from the end … much further and I would’ve been in trouble in terms of water. But given that it was a 70-mile ride with only one refueling stop, it worked out perfectly.

This was just a wonderful ride all around. The scenery was great, the terrain challenging, and most importantly, I had a blast riding with these guys. RCCS rides are always fun, but having Patrick and Timothy join us made it that much better. We had a great group of riders with varying gear and philosophies. Never a dull moment with this group.

School starts back up for me in a week, so my riding will probably be more limited after that. I’m hoping to get a ride or two in this weekend, but if not, this was a great way to end the summer.

It rained on and off all day, but we really wanted to get out. We discussed possible trails and settled on the Sycamore Loop, a trail we’ve hiked a couple of times before.

We thought the rain was done, but as we were getting ready, we looked outside, and it was raining again. No worries, we just put some ponchos in my pack, and we were ready to go. I was going to take my DSLR on this hike, but given the rain, I decided against it.  Here’s a map of the hike.

We started off on a fire road, then turned onto the trail. At this point, the rain had stopped and it was rather sunny. We were all excited to be out in the woods.

Here, you can see that Rob was sitting for the photo, as instructed, but facing the wrong way …

At every opportunity, Rob would lay down in a puddle or creek.

Though many of the creeks were dry, like this one.

Not to be deterred, Rob found another secret swimming hole, this one about two feet in diameter.

After that diversion, we were moving again. The trail was getting a bit overgrown in places, though not entirely. Here’s “dog’s eye view.”

We found lots of these little orange/yellow flowers.

It was a great day to be in the woods. Then, it started raining. We put on our ponchos.

Sarah was wearing her “wedding poncho,” though fortunately she did not need it on our actual wedding day. No one told me just how much I looked like Little Red Riding Hood in my red poncho. Next time, I’ll have to bring a wicker basket.

The rain wasn’t bad at first, but it picked up some more. For a while, it rained hard. We really didn’t mind. The cooler weather was wonderful, and we got a little wet, but the ponchos worked well enough. We were in pine forest for a while, with very tall pines. With a bit of fog/mist from the rain, it looked beautiful.

After a while, the rain subsided and we no longer needed our ponchos. We passed some more scenery, such as this pond, right by a campsite.

And this was just one of many shaggy trees.

This segment of the trail felt longer than I remembered. There’s a long, gradual climb out of a ravine that just goes on and on. At times the wind would pick up and we would hear the leaves rustling, and water being blown from the leaves, falling to the forest floor. Then the wind would travel slowly through the trees, the falling water moving toward us, washing overhead and finally moving past us. The canopy was so dense that we didn’t even get wet when this happened, but it was really something, hearing it overhead.

Eventually we reached the fire road and headed back.

It was a great hike — it was either 5.3 or 6.7 miles, depending on which program you believe. Something is screwy with my GPS track on this one — oh well. In the past, it’s been around 7.5 miles, but in those cases, we had added on a little extra side trip.

It’s definitely time for more hiking. There are many great options around here, and we tend to do some of the same repeatedly. I hope we can explore some new trails soon.

I rode with Bill Lambert again – this time, we rode with the Three Rivers Velo Sport club. Bill rides with them sometimes, and I rode with them once a few years ago, on the opposite side of Fort Wayne.

This ride started in New Haven, just east of Fort Wayne, took us into Ohio for a stop in the small town of Hicksville. Then back, with part of the return trip along the Maumee River. Here’s a map of our route.

The ride started early, at 8:00 am. At least, that’s early for me. I drove to the ride start and got ready. I arrived a few minutes early, unusual for me. I connected with Bill, and in a few minutes, we were off.

The morning was wonderfully cool. I don’t know what the temperature was, but after weeks on end of 90+-degree days, it felt quite refreshing. Also, there was a bit of fog over the fields.

A few minutes after we rolled out, I heard a train horn blowing in the distance. Soon the train caught up with us and was moving along on tracks parallel to the road. We picked up the pace a little, as if being pulled along by the train.

The terrain in northern Indiana is quite different from what I’m used to: it’s quite flat. I enjoy having opportunities to ride in areas with all kinds of terrain, so it’s a nice change of pace. Speaking of pace, we were moving at a good clip, but being in a double-paceline most of the time, I just had to hold on and try to stay with the group. The pace was brisk, but not so fast that I couldn’t hold on. Drafting can do wonders, especially on flat ground.

As we rode, the sky grew more and more ominous. Eventually, it started raining — lightly at first, but falling harder and harder.

I’ve done plenty of rainy rides, but usually I’m on the Trucker, which is equipped with fenders. I consider this the “best” way to ride in the rain, but riding in a double paceline in the rain is another experience entirely. There’s something visceral about riding a skinny-tired road bike in the rain, with water and grit flying everywhere, getting drenched to the bone, water getting in your eyes and on your glasses, but still spinning right along. I quite enjoyed it, and the rain cooled me off even more. So refreshing!

It rained for quite a while … maybe 20 miles. It was challenging at times, with brakes not working well in the rain, and not being able to see very well. But we just kept on going.

After a while, we reached Hicksville, OH. At this point I realized that I had been meaning to pay attention when we crossed the state line, but it had completely slipped my mind. After a convenience store stop, we were rolling again.

At some point, the rain stopped, but it mostly remained cool and overcast. Eventually Bill and I felt that we had had enough of pushing the pace, and we dropped off the back. It was fun to push myself for a while, but really the later part of the ride, once we slowed down, I got to enjoy the scenery, and conversation, more.

Check out Bill’s snazzy Ohio Randonneurs jersey!

Crossing the Maumee River

Amish country

When we were just a few miles from the end, the sun managed to burn through the clouds, and the air started to warm up immediately. It never got terribly hot, but I sure appreciated the cooler weather earlier in the day.

We rode through New Haven on our way back, and saw folks setting up a tent with a sign that read, “Brew Haven.” Apparently, they were having a craft beer festival. If it had been later in the day, I might have been tempted.

We finished the metric century around noon. I couldn’t believe how quickly we completed this ride. Drafting a lot, on flat ground, certainly helps. Actually, Bill had ridden to the ride start, and was going to ride home, so he probably finished the day with 85 miles.

I enjoyed this ride immensely. It was different from what I’m used to, but that made it even more fun. Riding in a double paceline in the rain was a blast, the Three Rivers club guys have always been good to ride with, and Bill as well.

I headed out late last week for a ride and decided to check out the flooding, though not in the area described above. I thought I’d check a couple of other spots.

On my way there, I saw a pond that is normally fairly small. It’s noticeably bigger than usual.

A closer look showed quite a few turtles sunning themselves on logs, including a couple of rather large snapping turtles (though I was not able to get a good shot of them).

After a while, I was at Moore’s Creek State Recreation Area, on Lake Monroe. Below you can see a lamp post that’s partially under water.

This little road normally goes through to a picnic shelter and a popular fishing area.

Here’s the picnic shelter.

This sign gives you a good idea of how much higher the water is than usual. The sign reads “Road ends in water” 300-700 feet, but yet the water is just a few feet behind the sign. This is at a boat ramp.

This next shot is not relevant to the flooding, but I was inspired by Alfred Stieglitz’s “Equivalents” series, which we studied in my photography class.

I rode a bit more …

And eventually made my way over to Moore’s Creek Road, where I expected to see some more flooding.

I thought I would be able to make my way over to Swartz Ridge road and climb up that way, but I hit flooding sooner than I expected. I couldn’t even make it to Swartz Ridge.

I thought about trying to cross the water, but it looked like it was at least knee deep, probably deeper than that. I decided to turn back.

I’ve seen this barn several times but never got a satisfactory photo of it before.

The trees and grass look so lush and green.

For the most part, the creeks didn’t seem overly deep. I guess most of the water had already rushed down to the lake by this time.

Sometime after my visit, the lake levels began to get lower. Hopefully the flooding will subside soon. I’ve read about a number of other roads being underwater. I haven’t heard about much or any damage to homes yet, but newspaper coverage has been a bit spotty. I do know that many local cycling routes are affected.

Yesterday was actually pretty nice most of the day, and today is good so far. But, I’ve been taking the bus a lot in the past week or so. Actually, now that I think about it, I guess the longest riding gap was two rainy days on the bus, surrounding a weekend with no riding. But, four days felt like a long time off the bike.

In my classes, I’m mired in final projects right now, and next week I have finals. Actually I think this week will be the worst, though, and it’s halfway over, so I’m really looking forward to getting these projects done.

Hopefully, I’ll have time to write some more posts soon. I’ve got a lot more photos I’d like to share, as well as something a bit different.

Maybe I’ll even ride my bike this weekend?!? I can only hope!

Despite (or maybe because of?) the conditions, my ride home was surprisingly enjoyable. I feel a lot more confident in the rain with additional lights and reflective gear, and I’ve got my clothing figured out fairly well for the most part. I was also lucky that it was just a good steady rain, and not a deluge.

We had an unreal warm spell for a while, and now it’s cooling off once again.

I’m trying to psyche myself up for winter. I love winter riding, even though it is more difficult to ride as regularly. But, scenes like these get me pumped. All these are from winter rides I did last year. Mostly likely, it will be quite a while before we get any snow … I’m just thinking ahead.

… 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.

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’ll take snow over this, any day. There’s just no way to stay warm when you are that wet. And no way to stay dry when it’s pouring that hard. And no way to see, when your glasses are covered in raindrops, and fogging up. Rain drops pelted my face, stinging, until the numbness set in. In hindsight, I should’ve had another layer or two of clothing.

So, it wasn’t exactly a glorious day for commuting. These things happen, but I made it anyway.

Tomorrow looks to be interesting as well, but with snow, rather than rain, and 50 mph winds. Whatever the conditions are where you’re riding … be careful out there!

As soon as I got outside, I noticed it was drizzling. I hadn’t counted on rain, but I was dressed warmly enough that I wasn’t too worried.

I rolled away from town, heading for some back roads. I got on Mount Gilead Road and the rain picked up slightly. It wasn’t raining hard, but the roads were wet enough to be rather slick. I rode my brakes down a big hill, and at one point I felt my rear tire slipping a bit. This is the second time this has happened; I think it’s time to get a new tire.

I reached the bottom of the hill and turned onto another road. I stopped by a creek to turn on my headlamp and take a few photos. I wasn’t sure if they’d turn out, as my point & shoot camera does not do too well in low light, but the gamble paid off. Actually, if anything, the photos look too bright.

I cruised for a few flat miles, seeing a few deer along the way. Eventually, I had to ride on State Road 46. By this time, it was getting quite dark, and the rain had picked up. I was glad I had dressed warmly enough, and glad I wore my wind and rain-resistant cycling vest. I had many lights blinking but I was still nervous about this brief section of highway. It was over in a few minutes, with no problems.

I turned onto Friendship Road for a brief section of gravel, and stopped on a bridge over a creek to snap a few more photos. I’ve taken photos here several times before, but of course it looks different when it’s raining and nearly completely dark. My glasses kept getting covered with rain drops, I would wipe them off frequently, but it didn’t seem to help much.

After a brief section of gravel, I turned onto Lampkins Ridge road for a long climb. By this point it was completely dark, and it started raining even harder. The climb seemed very long in the dark. It was hard to tell I was, or how much longer I had to climb. It didn’t help that a dog chased me; I always hate being chased uphill, and since it was dark, I couldn’t tell if the dog had stopped chasing or not.

I made my way back toward town, soon reaching Smith Road. From this point it was only a couple of easy miles home.

This was a surprisingly fun ride, given that it was cold, windy, raining, and dark. I loved it!