April was not a good month for cycling for me. Despite the fact that spring weather finally arrived, I spent about two weeks off the bike. I had two of my wisdom teeth extracted, and had some really bad allergy problems. Shockingly, looking back on my riding, I only rode my road bike once in April.

The flipside of this has been increased productivity in other areas. I had more time for some geeky projects (and even made a little extra money), photography, hiking, and music. I am looking forward to getting more time in the saddle again, but I may need to find a better balance between riding and … well, everything else.

All told, I rode 135.10 miles in April. That’s least I’ve ridden in a full month since I started tracking my miles. That’s breaks down to 47.30 road miles,  54.30 commuting miles, and 33.00 mountain biking miles. Oh, and one half-mile errand.

I got a new lens last night, the 70-300mm lens I’ve been eyeing. I ended up with the Promaster-branded version of it, which is the same lens as the Tamron version. I didn’t have time for much testing, but I did walk around my neighborhood and take a few test shots. I’m really impressed so far, this lens captures sharp images and vibrant colors and can really get some closeup shots. Here are some initial examples.

Dogwood

Dandelion

Fence

Another dandelion

Hinkle-Garton farmstead

Gas

Great detail on this flower

Fire hydrant

I’m looking forward to trying this lens on some landscapes, more flowers, and at my nephew’s baseball games.

I was finally able to get outside and do some riding and some more hiking this weekend. My doctor gave me some Allegra D and it helps enough with my allergies that I can get outside and be active. I still get a little stuffy or sniffly and have a little trouble breathing at times, but it’s a vast improvement.

Saturday, Dave and I hit the trails at Brown County State Park. This was our first mountain bike ride together since his accident around New Year’s. It’s great he’s finally back on the trails, and we had a gorgeous day for riding, in the upper 60s and sunny, with a breeze that felt great. We rode the North Tower Loop 3 times, twice clockwise and once counterclockwise. I wasn’t as sluggish as I expected after two weeks with basically no riding. There were a few muddy spots but overall things are in great shape. We rode for about two hours.

Sunday was a very full day. After getting some breakfast, Sarah and I headed to McCormick’s Creek State Park to take some photos and do a little hiking. I borrowed a Tamron 28-300mm lens from a coworker and wanted to try it out. I’m thinking about buying one, or something similar. It has some macro capability, and having that range of zoom is great. Here are some of my better shots. First, we went by the waterfall.

Falls at McCormick’s Creek

Another shot of the falls

Redbud. These are everywhere.

Ferns and moss

My favorite shot of the whole day

Foam in the creek

Stairs

After spending some time by the falls, we decided to head over by Trail 2, which we hadn’t hiked before. We looked at the map and saw it had a side trail to an old quarry. That sounded interesting, so we went for it. There were wildflowers everywhere by the trailhead, so we spent a while getting some shots of them.

 
Wild Blue Phlox

Virginia Bluebells

Mayapples — these are all over the place, too

Trail 2

The old quarry

Hardy plant

Huge frog

Quarry ruins

Creek

Another creek

 
Trail 2 again


Fiddlehead ferns, partially unraveled

Trillium

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

After our hike, we headed home, got the dog, and headed out for another short hike in the forest in my old neighborhood. We hiked for about 30-45 minutes.

Rob

After that, we went back home and I went for a brief road ride, about 14 miles. It was a full day and at the end of it I felt tired, but great. I’m glad that spring is here, and I’m finally able to properly enjoy it.

For the first time in a long time, I drove to work today. I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon, and while I could ride there, I don’t know of a good way. That and breathing is not going so well with my allergies acting the way they are. It was too nice of a morning to drive to work. Alas.  I’m really missing out on some of the best riding weather through all this, and it’s driving me crazy. I sure hope the doctor can give me something to help with these allergies and the headaches I’ve been getting lately.

I’m hoping to do some riding this weekend, if I can breathe well enough to do so. It’s been over two weeks now since I’ve gone for a ride, a couple of commutes notwithstanding.

I missed a good portion of things blooming in my absence last week. Many things are in full bloom now, and a few things are shedding petals already. Let me assure you, this town isn’t called Bloomington for no reason. While all of the flowers and flowering trees are very beautiful, my allergies are going crazy right now. Even Claritin can’t help today, it seems.

I took it easy during my ride to work this morning, in part because I can’t breathe too well, and in part to enjoy the scenery. Here are a few photos.

IU actually goes a little overboard with the landscaping at times

Flowerbeds

We have a lot of these trees with white flowers

Mossy tree

One of a few cobblestone roads in Bloomington

Apartments