Category: Group Rides

After removing the old hoods and swapping handlebars, installing the replacement hoods turned out to be a bigger job than I expected.  But with good weather I wasn’t going to miss a chance to get out and ride, even if that meant riding without hoods or bar tape.  My riding buddy also happens to be my mailman.  He noticed the packages coming from bike shops, and we got to talking about riding.  We met up for a ride at the Muscatatuck park in North Vernon on a really nice Sunday afternoon.

We headed south out of town and came to an intersection where continuing south was a gravel road.  Riding a gravel bike, going straight seemed the appropriate choice.  The bike rode fine, I didn’t fall off, and I got some mud on the bike (and on me as well).  So the Focus Mares is officially a gravel bike now.

We worked our way east and south to the Commiskey Corner Store, but they were closed.  Oh, well.  We went west on 850S for a ways and then headed back north towards Vernon.  Greg met his wife in Vernon, and I continued up IN-3/7 to the east side of the park.  Riding through the park had some unexpectedly steep climbs, almost 18%, and then I was back to the truck.

A good ride, no bike issues – except for the unwrapped bars and shifters with no hoods.  Made my hands a little achy, but I’ll get the hoods on and the bars wrapped and that should take care of it.  That’s my task to work on next.

The emails announcing upcoming events are starting to roll in, so I suppose it’s time to begin planning for the 2022 events.

I need to get the planning going for the 2022 edition of the Bourbon and Tobacco Tour.  I’m thinking this one will be up here in Indiana and I’ve selected a route.  It’s not an easy one but it’s not a leg-killer either.  Plan on saying hello to Bean Blossom and Nashville along the route.

The first event on the calendar is Storming of Thunder Ridge, in and around Lynchburg, Virginia on May 22nd.  A very well organized ride, and the climb up to the ridge is not an easy one.

Registered for the Unbound Gravel 100 mile ride in Emporia, Kansas in early June.  There is a drawing for the start positions from the folks that register, the drawing is at the end of January.  Might get to ride, might not.  Only one way to find out.  UPDATE 1/26:  I was lucky enough to be selected in the lottery!  So I need to get the Focus Mares build finished, and get the miles in so that I’m ready for the ride.  Found an airbnb up towards Topeka so lodging is handled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also planning on a repeat of the  Big Dam Bridge Century in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the end of September.  Another well organized ride and a lot of fun.

Of course, the Hilly Hundred in Ellettsville, Indiana is on the calendar for early October.  Live bands at the rest stops and just a good time on the bike.  And whether you like it or not, Mt Tabor awaits.

Other rides will undoubtedly be added to the plans as they come up.

This year, the events started to return to a semblance of normalcy.  Not completely back to normal, but at least moving in that direction.

I only rode two events this year, a repeat of a previous event and also a new event for me.

The first one was the new event for me, the Big Dam Bridge Century in Little Rock, Arkansas.  I rode with my good friend Bob, and his friend Diane.  It is the largest event I’ve ridden, and was very well organized.  Well, the event was well organized – me, on the other hand, not so much.  I left my handlebar bag in the back of Bob’s car and didn’t go back to get it – a decision I would come to regret.

I got a flat 4 1/2 miles from the finish, but with no tools, no spare tube, and no way to inflate it anyway, my riding day was done.  Completely my fault, and as it turned out I would have had time to go back and get it.  By just retrieving the bag I may have prevented the flat in the first place.  Finagles Law was out in force.  Like carrying an umbrella can prevent rain, having everything you need to repair a flat can sometimes prevent the flat.  Live and learn I reckon…

Still, it was a great ride and a lot of fun.  Some good climbs and descents, and lots of people out on bikes.  What’s not to like?

The second event was the Hilly Hundred in Ellettsville, Indiana near Bloomington.  I rode this event in 2019, in the all-day deluge on Saturday, and the much, much better weather on Sunday.  This year, I rode with friends from the Columbus area and it was a good time.  We had good riding weather both days this year.  This might be my favorite ride that I’ve done, as you might guess since I’ve done it more than once.

Saturday’s ride was a cool start but the hills warmed you up pretty quickly.  This seemed like an easier day than I was expecting, but I have been doing a lot of hill work so maybe that helped.  Sunday, on the other hand, was a hard day on the bike.  The hills were harder on this route, and just when you think you might make it back, you turn onto Mt Tabor road and you know what’s coming – the climb up Mt Tabor.  It’s a bugger of a climb, and you don’t have a lot left in the tank after that one.  Then you descend into Stinesville and the last rest stop, and you think you’re going to finish just fine.  But no, you have to climb out of Stinesville and those aren’t easy climbs after the miles you’ve already done.  But you persevere because that’s the way you roll, and you finish.  A great feeling of accomplishment.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re first or last or somewhere in between, it matters that you challenged yourself.  I’ll be back in 2022.

I’m hoping that more events come back on the calendar in 2022.  Good luck to all that rode these events and I hope to see more folks out riding next year.

The 3rd annual Bourbon and Tobacco Tour was held on September 12th and 13th, with the road and trail routes both in Land Between the Lakes (LBL).  The weather was good on Saturday morning, but the afternoon proved to be a wet one.

We were fortunate that a friend and local cycling buddy volunteered to be our SAG driver for the road ride.  Many thanks to Greg for his time and effort on our behalf.  Having a SAG driver was a first and a luxury for our little ride.

We rolled out from the Golden Pond visitor center just after 10am with 5 riders – myself, Doug from Madisonville,  KY, Nic from Springfield, IL, Mike from Louisville, KY, and Bob from Memphis, TN.  The temps were in the 70s, and the humidity was up.  The clouds parted once we were on the course, and we had sunshine for probably half to three quarters of the ride.

We headed north on the Trace road, no steep climbs but longer shallower climbs than we would see later.  We were pretty much together as we reached Silver Trail road where we turned east off the Trace road.  Silver Trace is a really nice section, maybe 3-4 miles long, running through the LBL forest.  At the Nature Center, we turned south and immediately passed an old iron ore furnace from the mid-1800s.  After this point the hills start to show up pretty quickly.  Up and down some nice rollers, and we cross the Energy Lake dam.  From this point south to 68, the hills start to bite.  Some steep climbs at up to 14% but most not quite that steep tested the legs.  This was the hardest section of the north loop.  We regrouped at the parking lot on the north side of 68, the hard climbing done for the north loop.  We headed west on 68 to the turnoff for Wrangler’s Camp, and headed south away from 68.  Some easy rollers and we turned right to head back to the Trace road.  A few more rollers on this section, and we came out on the Trace road about a half mile south of the visitor center.  Just a few minutes later we were back to the start point.

The plan was to re-hydrate, re-fuel, and head out for the south loop.  But we heard some sounds that were suspiciously thunder-like.  It could have been trucks on 68, but sadly it wasn’t.  Checking the radar, there were storms coming in from the west, and a large blob of rain following them.  We decided to pack up and head into town to get takeout for a late lunch at the park in Cadiz.  I went home and changed clothes, got lunch and met the others at the park.  It was nice to sit around and talk while we were rained on.

We decided to meet on Sunday for the trail ride, and we talked our SAG driver, Greg, into riding with us.  It was very generous of him to follow us around LBL and to help with drinks and snacks as we rode.  Quite a luxury.

We met Sunday morning at the Wrangler’s Camp turnoff on 68, and we took Greg’s truck up to the Golden Pond visitor center and left it there with drink and snacks in it.  We rolled out at roughly 10am.  Doug, Greg, and myself were the only victims today.  The Hardwoods Trail is in very good shape and we had a good climb up to the visitor center.  A bottle of water and some fig newtons and we continued west towards Kentucky Lake.  This section is mostly descending, going down English Hill, which we will have to climb very soon.  We stopped at the Fenton picnic area and shot the breeze for a little while.  Then we headed out to climb English Hill on our way back to the visitor center.  Greg decided that he would take his truck from there, and meet us back at the Wrangler’s Camp turnoff.  Doug and I continued east and met Greg there.  A good trail ride, good company, and cooperative weather made for a really good day out on the bikes.

That’s the 3rd annual Bourbon and Tobacco tour post-mortem.  We’ll be back for the 4th annual ride in 2021, hopefully in mid-April depending on circumstances.  Best wishes for safe riding in 2020, and for a better year next year for everyone.

There is a trap range close to the Lake Barkley Lodge, so if folks are interested we can shoot some clay targets.  No prizes, just bragging rights.  I have shotguns, ammunition, and clay targets – so all you’ll need is hearing and eye protection.  If you’ve not done this before, it’s challenging and fun. If you’re new to this, I’ll be happy to help you shoot safely.

Contact me if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to help.

Please watch your speed while driving in LBL, it’s federal land, so speeding tickets are expensive – paraphrasing Agent K – “the rangers do not have a sense of humor they’re aware of.”

I’ve been looking at a calendar and conversing with some fellow C&V enthusiasts (inmates) about meeting up at some rides next spring, summer, and fall.

The COVID-19 problems have put a wrench in many planned rides, and some have been cancelled or delayed as a result.  As soon as I have information for the rides I’ve included here, I’ll update this post.

There will be the Wednesday evening shop rides, and the Saturday morning rides throughout the season.

CANCELLED FOR 2020 – May – on the 9th, I’m planning on the Rockin River City Ride, a metric century in Evansville, Indiana.  Should be a good warmup for the Storming of Thunder Ridge ride later this month.  I’ve emailed the ride organizer asking about 2020, but have not received a response.

CANCELLED FOR 2020 – Later in May – on Sunday the 17th is Storming of Thunder Ridge in Lynchburg, Virginia, which is a very popular ride and a challenging century.  Registered for this one.  I’m planning to ride the Masi, but if the weather is iffy, the Merckx is well set up for climbing.

June – a couple of riding days are planned in and around Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Good friends, good roads, and hopefully good weather will make this an enjoyable trip. I really enjoy riding with this group, so an opportunity to do that won’t be missed.

CANCELLED FOR 2020 – July – on the 18th is the Ride Across INdiana (RAIN) that goes from Terre Haute to Richmond in a single day.  165 miles, mainly on US-40.  I sure hope it’s not as hot as it was last year, that was just brutal.  The organizers are planning a go/no-go decision by June 1.

August – the Wabash River Ride is on the 29th.  I haven’t ridden this one before, so right now it’s tentative.

RESCHEDULED – September – the Bourbon and Tobacco Tour will be the weekend of the 12th-13th.  Road on Saturday, gravel on Sunday – should be a good weekend of cycling in the hills of western Kentucky.

CANCELLED FOR 2020 – September – the Big Dam Bridge century in Little Rock is the last Saturday of the month.  Registered for this one.

The Tanner’s Orchard ride is planned for sometime in September.  I hope the weather cooperates, I don’t want to miss the ride this year.

CANCELLED FOR 2020 – October – the Kent Jones century is scheduled for the 10th in Jackson, Tennessee.  A nice route, good rest stops, and a good warmup for the Hilly Hundred later in the month.

CANCELLED FOR 2020 – Later in October  – is the Hilly Hundred century, in and around Bloomington, IN.  Unusually for a century ride , this one is split into two days of riding over Saturday and Sunday.  A good time, great route, hills (as you would expect), and fun rest stops.

This is a tentative set of rides.  Life happens, so changes are possible.

The temps were close to 60 degrees which is a little unusual for early December in Kentucky.  Not willing to let that pass us by, we headed over to Land Between the Lakes for a paved/gravel/trail ride.  I rode my Cannondale ST600 with 35mm tires, Bobby was on his Trek Boone.

We started at the same place the Bourbon tour started, and rode north.  There are some good climbs in the first few miles – all of them over 8%, one at 10% and one at 11%.  A quick wake-up for the legs.  We went north to the 4-way stop and turned right.  The Bourbon tour route continues north to the nature center.  Today we chose a more circuitous route.  We rode to the old Empire Farm and saw the Silo. Quite the visitor attraction a few years ago, closed now. Check out this article about it.  For some reason that I cannot remember, we rode back to the nature center on a hiking trail.  We crossed a gravel causeway over Honker Lake.  Roots, slippery leaves, a creek crossing, a sketchy descent down a hill with leaves covering the trail and roots hiding under the leaves, and some stairs going up and down all thrown in for good measure.  I’m not sure we should have been cycling on the hiking trail, but we made it just fine.  Maybe not our best decision, but we made other dubious decisions today – just to keep things in perspective.

It was getting dark when we left the nature center with about 18 miles to go.  West to to the Trace road, then south to the visitor center, then east back to where we had parked.  Riding on 68-80 with only 1 rear light and no headlights between the two of us was just another not-so-bright (pun intended) decision.  We got back to the parking area just fine and headed home.  Trying to stay on a hiking trail in LBL at dusk is not recommended. In retrospect, we should have started at least an hour earlier, 90 minutes would have been better.

I had a bright yellow jersey on, and Bobby’s bike is painted bright yellow too, so there’s that.  I know both of us should have had front and rear lights, and we will next time for sure.

Our route was a bit over 31 miles, with over 2000 feet of climbing.  Most of the climbing was in the first half of the ride.  Tired legs are the result.

First, sincere thanks to Dave and Rob for their behind-the-scenes and in-front-of-the-camera hard work. It would not have been the success it was without your efforts. THANK YOU.

I missed the warmup ride on Friday, but the Friday get-together at Tony’s Tap was great. Nice to see some friends from previous rides, and to put names with new friend’s faces. This is a really remarkable group – different backgrounds, ages, education, jobs, from different parts of the country – but we all enjoy cycling and the people it brings together.

On Saturday morning, we met at the guest house for another warmup ride. Immediately, we’re climbing – this is a theme that repeats itself many times. Good roads, and the group stopped often enough to keep everyone together. In Dodgeville, we rode a rails-to-trails that I think is called the Military Ridge Trail. It ran the gamut – pavement, chip-n-seal, gravel, sand, and mud. The muddy parts made it a little risky to keep the speed up, but I don’t think there were any casualties. We agreed to meet up again at the A&W in Dodgeville for a root beer (as a recovery drink, of course), and then to head back together. A quick shower, and it was off to Hollandale to set up the bikes for the show. There were some VERY nice machines there, and some that are the only example of the breed (at least the only examples I’ve seen). A lot of time to talk and meet folks that weren’t at Tony’s the night before. There was a lot of accumulated bicycle knowledge in the Hollandale town hall on Saturday – truly staggering. There was bread, olive oil, and parmesan cheese to take the edge off before dinner. The dinner was first rate, can’t say enough good things about it. Afterwards the awards were handed out, and I apologize for not remembering the recipients. Then we packed up the bikes, cleaned up, and headed back to our various accomodations. Sunday’s ride awaits.

We met at the Hollandale town hall again Sunday morning at 8am, for coffee, scones, bananas, and other assorted delicacies. Fuel, you know. Dave and Rob were in the cat-herding business and were mostly successful. We rolled out around 9am, and guess what – a relatively flat start for a little while, then a right turn and a respectable climb. Someone had painted a purple COPPI on the road about 2/3 of the way up. The climb and subsequent descent theme played out often and was unrelenting. A couple of the climbs on County Road Z and Sandy Rock just weren’t fair – you crest what you think is the top, only to see a “wall” yet to be climbed. It wasn’t actually a wall when you got to it, but it was a little demoralizing to see it and realize that you’re not even close to being finished with that climb. But you persevere and you earn the reward on the other side.

One of the descents early on came up to a T, with a left turn and the fresh chip-n-seal had left a fair amount of loose gravel right where you needed to stop and check for traffic. There were a few skidmarks in that gravel when I got there, but I didn’t see any evidence of bandages, blood, or abandoned bike parts – so apparently everyone got through that part safely. County Z had a few rough spots, but for the most part the roads were in great shape. My GPS track showed a couple of descents at over 40mph, so I guess the work to climb up for them was worth it.

The rest-stops-that-weren’t-rest-stops-because-this-was-an-unsupported-ride were welcome, and a sincere thanks to those folks spending their time to help a bunch of moderately-insane cyclists enjoy a great ride in beautiful southwest Wisconsin.

Brats back at the Hollandale town hall afterwards were a nice way to crown off the weekend. Congrats to Allan and Pete  for being beasts. A welcome to his first event to Nic with his very nicely done Trek. Nic and I rode together on Saturday and Sunday, and I enjoyed that very much.

I feel privileged to have enjoyed the people, bikes, and the rides as much as I did.

It’s ambitious – a one day ride across the state of Indiana – 165 miles from Terre Haute to Richmond.  Not impossible, but definitely a challenging ride.  The forecasts had temperatures in the mid-90s, with a light wind out of the southwest.  Those forecasts were pretty close, but on to the story.

I got to Richmond about 3 in the afternoon, just minutes after my riding buddy Rob.  We got our bikes ready to go on the bike truck for their trip from Richmond to Terre Haute.  We were supposed to leave at 4pm, but we wound up leaving at 4:45, and after some rerouting around a crash and road construction, finally got to Saint Mary of the Woods College, the start point and our accomodations for the night.  We picked up our bikes, rider packets, and dorm room keys.  I took my bike, overnight bag, and the bag with my cycling gear up to the room.  I put lights, the GPS, and top tube bag with energy bars and gu on the bike.  It’s ready to go, just need to air up the tires before we head out tomorrow morning.

Went out to get a bite to eat with Rob, Allan, and Allan’s wife Donna.  Good conversation and dinner, but we all needed to get some sleep as tomorrow’s start is coming early.  Rob and Allan were going to ride from the Illinois state line to the start, and I was going to meet them at the start at 6am.  While we got ready to go, it was dark but sunrise was imminent.  Filled the water bottles with Gatorate, and the Camelbak with ice water.  Since we weren’t coming back to Terre Haute, my overnight bag went in the back of Allan’s truck for the trip to Richmond.

Turned in the room key, and I was off and riding. not knowing what the day would bring.

The first bit of riding is in Terre Haute, basically south on IN-150 towards US-40 which is our main road to Richmond.  There were some climbs in the initial miles, but nothing I would call a major climb.  Made it to the first rest stop at 40 miles without too much trouble.   I fell in with a group of riders from Columbus, Indiana.  They were riding at 16-18mph, which is a good pace and the paceline made it very manageable.  About 30 miles or so into the ride, the group ramped up the pace on a climb and I let them go.  I probably could have stayed with them, but I would have paid a price for that effort later in the day.

From the first rest stop to the second at 66 miles in, the route was basically east on US-40.  A few climbs,  again nothing huge, and made it to the second rest stop.  Close to the rest stop, we left US-40.  The temperature was climbing and the sweating was in top gear.  I was drinking a lot, and eating as I rode.  I filled my bottles and the Camelbak, and set out for the lunch stop.

The third stop, the lunch stop, came at 95 miles in.  I stopped several times in the shade of trees on this stretch, to drink and eat, and to rest a bit.  This was the hard stretch for me, as the temperature continued to climb and the heat was catching up with me.  This section was on narrower roads, 2-lanes, and being later in the day there was more traffic.  There was a detour around construction just before the lunch stop, by the time I got there I was pretty much done.  Sat around a bit, drinking and eating a little, and made the decision to call it at 95 miles into the ride.  Not an easy decision, but it was the right one to make.

However that left a minor (major) problem in that my truck was waiting for me in Richmond, 65 miles away.  I needed to find a ride from Franklin Community School that could take not only me, but my bike as well.  Luck was with me, because the first people I asked about a ride to Richmond were happy to haul me and my bike.  Really nice folks, and a sincere thank-you to them for their Hoosier hospitality and the ride back to Richmond.

Back in Richmond, I was there to see my riding buddy Allan finish the ride.  That left Rob still out on the route.  Went to take a shower, which was good but would have been better had the water been a little cooler.  Oh, well.  I was back in Richmond, Allan had finished, Donna was there as well, and Rob was inbound.  When I got back from the shower, Rob had texted Allan that he was a couple of hours out.  I made the difficult decision to head south for home instead of waiting 2 hours for Rob to finish.  I know he will be OK with it, but I will probably regret that decision for a while.  I told Allan and Donna goodbye, and headed back home.  With construction delays and closed roads around Indianapolis, I finally got home at 11:15pm.  A long day, but I will be back to start and finish next year.