OWLS to Scott Road

We had another large group of 25 riders out for another one of our early-season OWLS training rides. We headed south on Snoddy eventually to Ramp Creek. After climbing up Ramp Creek and regrouping at the church we headed south on Fairfax to Scott Road.

 At that corner you find Bakers Junction It's a self-styled "railway museum". I've never stopped there, but it might be worth investigating sometime.

When we got to Strain Ridge several riders turned right to head back to town. Others followed the intended route, but kept going to add some extra miles. Our core group continued south to where Strain Ridge meets Pointe Road. At that point we turned back as planned to complete the originally mapped route.

I got home with 24 miles, averaging 14.5 mph, with total climb of 841 feet, mostly at Ramp Creek.

Next week the Intermediate Training Group starts up. I expect we'll see somewhat smaller groups at OWLS rides then.

Cutright and Back

Tuesday evening we had a great crowd of riders out for our simple out-and-back to the Cutright boat ramp on the south side of the causeway across Lake Monroe on 446. The group of 30 bikes included a wide range of riders, not least two tandems (well, one tandem and one pedal trailer, each with a kid on back).

We got pretty spread out along the way, but everyone regrouped down near the water at Cutright. (Click on the image for a bigger version.)

Clearly Klaus and Dan had a great time!

After a little R and R we headed back up the long hill on 446. Everyone gathered one more time at Pine Ridge. Once everyone was accounted for and ready to go we naturally broke up into small groups for the ride home. I ended up with 22 miles, plus roundtrip to the church, averaging about 14.4, with a max of 34 down the hill to the lake, and a total climb recorded by my GPS of 680 feet.

OWLS on Leonard Springs

Another amazing end-of-winter day with high in the low 80s. A large group showed up for the second week of OWLS rides, perhaps 25 riders.  Thanks to Klaus Rothe for the following photo.

We did one of our standard routes, designed a few years ago by CE Taylor, to the famous intersection of Leonard Springs and Leonard Springs (northwest corner of the route), for about 21 miles.

As we gathered up for the ride Mike Conway displayed his new-fangled GPS--no batteries required!

At our last gathering point before heading home, out where Tramway runs into Rockport (southwest corner of the route above), club vice president John Bassett offers peace to all.

Way Around Boltinghouse Cruise

By John Bassett

When I volunteered at the February ride scheduling meeting to lead last Saturday’s club ride, the Around Boltinghouse Cruise, I really did not realize that this is a very short route.  A 22 mile ride might be enough for a cold, windy, late winter day, but by mid-week the forecast for last Saturday was bright sunshine with a high in the upper 70s.  A 22-miler wasn’t going to cut it.  Further, for my first-ever attempt to lead a ride, I did not find it particularly appealing to run the thing in a clockwise direction and up that nasty hill on Lentz Road.  People let you know about stuff like that.

I had been told the ride leader sets the route.  So, I set about laying out a couple of alternatives.  First, I decided to run the route counter clockwise.  A logic extension out Shiloh Road to Anderson would add about 5 miles - still, not enough for a good riding day.  So, I decided to present an alternative route running out Shiloh, east on Anderson, up the Beanblossom Hill to the Forest Road, and then back on Old 37.  That would be a reasonable 36 miles.  I posted all three routes, the 22, the 27, and the 36 on the club calendar and hoped for the best.  The 36 miler was still true to the intent of the ride (i.e. riding around the Boltinghouse Hill).  It just happened to go way around the Boltinghouse Hill – leader discretion at its best.

I had also been told the ride leader is supposed to have a few copies of the route map.  So, on Saturday morning I made a quick trip to the office and made 10 copies of each of the three routes.  Maps in hand, I drove to the Bryan Park hoping that this multiple route strategy would work out.

It was a day of pleasant surprises.  By the 11 AM starting time a massive gaggle of 29 riders had assembled - pleasant surprise Number 1.  Even Tom Reynolds had gotten up “early” for this one - pleasant surprise Number 2.  I passed out my maps, asking each rider which of the three maps he/she wanted.  In the end, I passed out all 10 of the 36 milers, 1 of the 27 milers, and 0 of the 22 miles – pleasant surprise Number 3.  At 11:05 Kathy C reminded me in, no uncertain terms, to get mounted up because it was time to go.  It seems everyone was out for a big day.

Heading east out of town, we picked up Ben E, and John C, bringing the total, by my count, to 31.  The group headed east on 45  We did a brief regroup at Tunnel Road letting some straggles catch up who had serviced a small mechanical problem.  We then proceeded pretty much as a group out Shiloh Road.
Shiloh Road is like splitting a stubborn piece of firewood.  Turn it around and you get a much better result.  Riding south will beat you up.  Riding north, as we were doing, is primo.  You gradually descend into the Beanblossom valley down a great section of wooded county road – see photo.  At Anderson Road a few riders headed back west following the 27 miler.  Most headed east on Anderson following the Day 2 Hilly Hundred route to take on the Bleanblossom Hill up to the Forest Road.

We regrouped again at the Forest Road and Old 37.  Here, and ran into Clair M and Dana M who were creating yet another version of the ride and own epic ride north on Old 37 (46 miles, as it turned out).  I got a little behind helping fix a flat near Dolan but soon caught up with the waiting group at the top of Fire Station Hill – pleasant surprise Number 4.  We proceeded back into town opting for North College and the B-Line Trail back to the park.  I think it noteworthy that a pack of maybe 20 riders rode North College together.  Touring rides usually get pretty strung out at the end, but this group was riding at pretty much the same pace – pleasant surprise Number 5.

Overall, this was a very good day for a ride.  I was impressed by the overall conditioning of our riders.  Maybe all the winter riding, mountain biking, and stair climbing paid off.

Sensible OWLS

I felt guilty bailing out of Thursday's OWLS ride, especially after it turned out we hardly got more than sprinkles. The weather report WAS calling for 100% chance of rain and there was a little lightning in the distance.

We had a report from one person thought she saw a break in the clouds and who decided at the last minute to ride. She was there at 5:45, but no one else showed. I guess 99% of us were being sensible after all.

My source got a call from a friend who said it was raining out along our route. So she went home, too.

Typical March weather I guess...well, not the heat, but the rainy, windy part.

We'll hope for a good ride Around Boltinghouse on Saturday.

Southern Indiana Mini-Tour

The Berger’s Southern Indiana Mini-Tour – Spring Break 2012

Glenn and I took the opportunity to try out a self-sustained multi-day bike trip for spring break this year.  As this was our first time we decided to make it close to home in case we would happen to need a rescue.  Our planned route was to be 4 days of riding with each day approximately 60 miles.  As it turned out we modified the trip on the fly and made it into a 3 day trip with two approximately 65 mile days and one century.  We could not have asked for better riding conditions and we had a great time.

Tuesday we set off from home headed for Columbus.  Only 1.5 miles in we realized we had forgotten to pack our bike locks, so I turned around to get those while Glenn rode on ahead (he was carrying the load so I was able to catch back up to him at Mt. Gilead).  We chose to take a slightly longer, but in my opinion nicer, route to Columbus and went out to Gatesville instead of climbing Helmsburg Rd to Nashville.  We had a nice quiet ride on beautiful Brown Co. roads.  Shortly after passing Stone Head a rider from Columbus caught up with us and kept us company the rest of the way into Columbus.  He warned us of possible dogs, pointed out a reindeer farm as we approached, and rerouted us slightly for roads with better pavement than the route I had planned. We ended our ride with me showing 65 miles and Glenn at 62 miles at the Hotel Indigo in Columbus for the evening.  We soaked in the hot tub for a while, strolled around downtown, ate great burgers at Scotty’s, then had a relaxing evening in our room.

Wednesday we set off with our destination to be Clifty Falls State Park in Madison.  We fought a strong south wind all day and had to detour out to Hwy 3 one time when my route turned into gravel.  Overall though a nice ride with lots of horses and ponies scattered across the pastures.  We arrived at Clifty Falls around 2pm with about 65 miles showing for our trip.  Both of us needed to refuel a bit and get more water, but after a little rest and sightseeing around the park we decided to ride on to Scotsburg for the night. We headed out again and shortly after leaving the park my route once again found gravel.  We decided to trust our handy GPS to route us on to Scotsburg.  Unfortunately the best alternate to the gravel meant that we spent most of the next 30 miles on Hwy 56 which carries slightly more traffic than Hwy 45 toward Unionville does, but we finished the ride with 98.1 miles for the day.  We finished our first century of the year fighting a strong head wind most of the way and with Glenn hauling our gear!

Thursday morning we woke up to find the weather was not great for our start.  We had breakfast at the hotel and waited out the worst of the storm and the rain.  When we started out it was raining lightly, but lucky for us it stopped about 6 miles into our ride.  We shed our jackets and continued our trip toward Brownstown.  From the time we left Scotsburg until the outside of Brownstown we only saw about a dozen cars in the nearly 30 miles and it was smooth pavement the whole way! We stopped in Brownstown for a typical cyclist lunch at Subway and headed out.  We had 4 miles to travel on Hwy 50, then it was 135 to Freetown, 58 to Heltonville, and then we felt like we were nearly there with the last 20 miles on 446.  We arrived home around 3pm, just about an hour before the rain moved into Bloomington.

We had a lot of fun on our 3 day adventure, surprised ourselves on our ability to get back on and keep going, and surpassed any of our goals by completing a century on March 14!  If you have ever thought about trying a multi-day trip, I recommend starting with something easy like this.  Maybe next time we will get more adventurous or plan for a longer trip, but right now I am proud of what we did.

(Thanks to Charles C. for the loan of his trailer, which we did not end up using this time and to John B. for the use of his pannier bags.  It turns out that for a planned 4 days, 2 people really can fit all their gear in 2 panniers, 2 seat bags, and 1 frame bag if you pack wisely.  And the biggest thanks to Glenn for carrying the panniers!)

-Tammy Berger

Dan Henry, Age 98

Jim Schroeder passed along the information that U.S. cycling legend Dan Henry died recently at age 98. He is known especially for his effective system of road markings, built around a 10 inch circle spray-painted circle with a straight line emanating out from the center in the direction of travel. Around here you might have thought those marking were call "Joe Andersons." But Joe developed his skill and style based on the original "Dan Henrys."

His obituary is in today's Santa Ynez Valley News.

Here is a copy of a remembrance by his friend and fellow cyclist John Sherman:

Dan Henry, one of the grand old men of American cycling passed away on March 7 in Solvang, just a few days shy of his 99th birthday and the Solvang Century.


Many of the locals remember him and his wife Trudi riding their tandem nearly every day around the Santa Ynez Valley until she passed away five years ago. And of course there is the Dan Henry Bike Route on Alamo Pintado and Grand Avenue in Los Olivos.


But few know the wide range of his exploits As a young pilot he was a skywriter, towed advertising banners, and was an aerial photographer when he was in his twenties. He then spent 25 years as commercial pilot for American Airlines, starting in 1939 flying first DC-2, DC-3’s and finally the Boeing 707 the, first passenger jet.


His biking interests were wide-ranging. He participated in and led cycling tours through the eastern US and Europe with the International Bicycle Touring Society. Those route markings you see for the Solvang Century and other rides are called Dan Henry Markers. Dan was an innovator. He designed and built a road bike with a front and rear suspension, and a “sling”saddle that he used for years.


He also was an early advocate for biking facilities in Santa Barbara County and promoted and wrote poetry celebrating the benefits of cycling.

In 1992 the League of American Bicyclists awarded Dan their prestigious White award for his efforts on behalf of cyclists over the years.


Dan was one of a kind and will be missed.


-John Sherman,
Local Cyclist and Friend of Dan Henry

OWLS Do Pine Grove

Thanks to Daylight Savings Time the OWLS (Older or Wiser or a little bit Slower) group started its Tuesday-Thursday riding season this week.

For now we are limiting ourselves to about 20 miles. Before sunset at 7:50 it's already dimmer than I like to be out riding.

We had a nice group of 17 riders who left the parking lot promptly at 5:45 to head out to Pine Grove. We went south toward Waterworks, down the big Stip hill to the lake, then up Swartz Ridge to 446. Then down Pine Grove to the boat ramp. There we gathered for a group picture. Just then along came someone in a VW wagon with a kayak on top: It turned out to be Dave Tanner out for an evening voyage across the lake. He snapped a group photo for us. Now that I told you, you can identify Dave and his shadow and his kayak's shadow in the picture (click for larger version):

From there we headed back up Pine Grove to 446 on the second climb of the evening. After a moment to catch our breath we headed back to town on Knights Ridge Road.

Altogether 20 miles, 13.5 mph, two good climbs, two views of the lake (a bit low for so early in the season), temperature in the 70s, no mechanical difficulties, no one lost, home by 7:30. A perfect spring evening. A perfect start to the new riding season.

Hendricksville Ride by Rosie's

Since I missed last Saturday's ride today's Hendricksville Ride marked the beginning of my club biking season. It was a beautiful day, bright and clear. At start time it was a bit nippy at about 39 degrees. Everyone had tights on. Jen Miers led our group of some 19 riders on this club favorite early season ride.

Ron Brown led us out of town via the new part of the B-Line Trail. We took Second Street to Morton and from there got on the trail headed north through town. The new part curves around northwest allowing us to get onto Vernal Pike AFTER the infamous RR crossing. The paved trail comes to an abrupt end at Adams Street. Going straight onto the street involves dropping off a curb probably 4 inches high. The better plan is to stay on the sidewalk for half a block to the intersection and roll onto the street through the curb cut. We took Adams north to 11th Street (where there is an all-ways stop at a T intersection) and then 11th Street west to Vernal.

Our main re-grouping spot was at the R & J Store at 43 and 48.  Although I was in the trailing group, when we got to the store another group of 4 or 5 was missing. We never found them. We suppose they failed to stay on Vernal as it goes up to Highway 48 and took the Oard Road short route by accident. I've done that before, but soon turned around when I hit Rock Crusher Hill. I'm still waiting to hear from those riders.

New Board Meets

The BBC board had its March meeting on Thursday evening, the 8th, at the MCPL. The elected officers Keith Vogelsang (president), John Bassett (VP), Kathy Cummins (Sec), and Jerry Arveson (treasurer). In addition Allan Edmonds (blog), Tammy Berger (membership), and Ron Brown (advocacy) were present for one of the shortest meetings in recent memory.

The meeting started with approval of the minutes of the January meeting and the February annual business meeting.

Jerry made a brief treasurer's report. We currently have a healthy bank balance with RAIN reservations coming in. The RAIN jersey for 2012 has been designed and can be viewed on the club web site. Ron Brown has purchased some special timing and recording equipment for helping at the finish line. With his system in place he plans to post the finisher list by sometime Saturday after the big ride is over. Tammy reported that we still have trouble with people not confirming their addition to the BBC email list at Google. If a new member doesn't click on the confirmation button they will not be added to our list! Blog activity is just starting to pick up as the ride season gets going.

Under new business board members filed their conflict of interest forms with Kathy. We approved Keith, Jerry, and Kathy to have signature rights on our checking account. We also discussed procedures for handling our credit card accounts, which have separate numbers for all users, mainly associated with running RAIN, but all go to the same monthly statement that Jerry receives. One informal goal for later this year is to develop a regular budget based on the last couple of years of experience.

WE named Ron Brown as our club representative to the Citizen Action Committee associated with I-69 Section 5 planning.

More financial business: Keith is preparing the IRS 90 form, with assistance from Jerry, to be submitted by the end of the month. Finally we authorized disbursement of funds to the grant winners determined at the last board meeting. Keith will write to each applicant, explaining as much as possible to those that went unfunded why their application was not approved. Jerry will add a check and mail the letters.

Grant awardees include Banneker Community Center, the Bike Project, Bloomington Parks and Rec, Boys and Girls Club, DeCycles, Girls Inc., Monroe County Parks and Rec, New Hope Familiar Shelter, and Stepping Stones.

For members who are interested, more formal and complete minutes are being posted in the Members-Only part of the club web site (after they are approved at a subsequent board meeting).

Flash: Investigation Ends

By Jim Schroeder


I've seen quite a few interesting signs on roads in southern Indiana since I moved here eight years ago.  There's this one sign that always made me wonder and I've never gotten an explanation from fellow riders and I've never had enough guts to ask the county engineer.


All of you have ridden Vernal Pike just before the western end, haven't you? Remember the sign on both directions "Road Under Investigation"?


Well, it's gone!  


It's been at least a long eight years worth of long hours of detective work, but it's been solved!  What? I have no idea.  All I can say is, "Good bye signs, hello new asphalt!"


Well, at least all the pot holes on this miserable pike have been patched with some decent asphalt.  That stretch of road returning home for supper or a Bakehouse smoothie had always been a struggle, but tonight it was rather enjoyable.


Oh yeah, the case of Vernal Pike in the City has been solved, too.  It's open!