Memorial Day Ride for the rest of us

By Allan Edmonds

Those wanting to get out on Memorial Day, but not up for Rudy's Medora Meander century ride, did an extended version of the the club's Forest Ride, for about 45 miles.

Tammy B. got us organized by email to the club and then with a brief discussion at the park. We had a total of 12 riders, with 2 doing shorter options.

As for the rest of us, we did Eugene K.'s extension of the Forest Ride.

Water Stop in the Forest

After descending Bean Blossom hill we turned off Anderson onto Shiloh and CLIMBED. That was the first time many of us had gone UP Shiloh.

After climbing Shiloh, most of the group went DOWN South Shore and UP Shuffle Creek. Four of us decided to skip that climb and went along Highway 45 to meet the other 6 at the top of Brummett's Creek. From there we cruised along, then did the big climbs on Fleener and Kerr Creek, before coming back into town. Here's an elevation chart, omitting the climb up Shuffle Creek:

Some of the group took advantage of the occasion by stopping in at Brusters for some ice cream.

At the beginning we worried about the possibilities for rain. But it held off nicely, all the way up to 6:30 pm. So we imagine the Medora Meander group had a wonderful ride too.

Perhaps the most remarkable rider today was Greg A. on his fixed gear bike with flat pedals and Crocs on his feet. He kept up great, and even did the "optional" Shuffle Creek segment. Finally he proved he is actually human by having to walk part of the way on Fleener.

A special thanks to Tammy for organizing the ride! She even checked in afterwards by phone, just to be sure I got home okay, since I was trailing the main group and didn't stop off at Bruster's.

Wineries Ride

It was a warm late May Saturday for biking. We had another one of our leaderless rides. Stan Ellis volunteered to get the group going, and things seemed to work out all right. This actually turned into a Jim Schroeder-style ABC ride. A relatively small group of six of us did the basic, short option of 44 miles. Perhaps some others did the 44 mile option, too. Stan was doing an 80 mile or so extension by branching out to continue on the Cordry-Sweetwater route. Meanwhile some others chose to branch out not quite so far, extending the route using the basic Gatesville ride, for about a 60 mile option.

Cell Phone break on Anderson Road

As usual there were a number of familiar faces and some new ones, too. Two special ones stand out:  Tom W was back after several weeks off after his accident and looking good. Brian F, long time member, has moved back to Bedford and will be riding with us again.

Distance about 44.4 miles. Average pace about 13 mph. Total climb around 1700 feet.

Pick out the climbs in Cascades, Simpson Chapel, North Shore, Tunnel, Firehouse Hill.

OWLS Dam Ride

From CE Taylor

Twenty four OWLS met at Sherwood Oaks Church for a ride to Lake Monroe Dam Tuesday evening.  We had a lot of regulars and some new riders also.

It didn’t take long for groups to develop as we rode along Snoddy and Harrell Roads.  We regrouped at the church in Smithville after climbing Ramp Creek hill.  Then we rode down Strain Ridge to Lake Monroe Dam.  It was a great night for a ride.

Due to the resurfacing of Fairfax Road, we returned to town on Ramp Creek.  Going north up Ramp Creek was a good challenge and everyone made it on two wheels.  My GPS registered a 15% grade on the first half and a 10% grade on the second half.  That’s a pretty good climb in my book.

A point to remember for the OWLS: From the online Ride Calendar you can connect to the map for the scheduled ride. Print the map from the website and bring it with you to the ride.  We heard several "Where are we going?" comments before the ride.  The group continues to look out for straggles. But when our rides have no assigned leaders there is more responsibility for each rider to know where we are going. Be sure to do your part!

Spoiler Alert: Answers to the Mystery Ride Quiz

From Joe Anderson

South on an ancient road:
1.  (Name that road)  Old State Road 37
Right at a burg named after a biblical king:
2.  (Name that burg)   Harrodsburg
Right on “Mystery” Road
3.  (Name that road)  Popcorn Road
 Cross into a county named after a famous bird:
4.  (Name that bird)  Larry Bird
Cross the abandoned narrow gauge B&O railroad:
5.  (Name that railroad) Bloomfield – Oolitic not Baltimore & Ohio
West on State Road (Al Abbott’s age):
6.  (Name that State Road)  State Road 54
Northeast along “Mystery” Creek:
7.  (Name that Creek)  Popcorn Creek
SAG and Refreshment stop at “Mystery” church:
8.  (Name that church)  Popcorn Christian Church
Continue north on “Mystery” road:
9.  (Name that road)  Popcorn Road
North to Alaska on a cold weather road:
10.  (Name that road)  Snow Road
East on a rocky road at a stop sign:
11.  (Name that road)  Rockeast Road
North to your home port on another rocky road:
12.  (That that road)  Rockport Road
Pass through a village named after the Star Trek Captain:
13.  (Name that village)  Kirksville
Back to Bloomington on a pike named after the Michigan Fight Song:
14.  (Name that tune)  Victors
Turn right at a T-Intersection at the top of a hill:
15.  (Name that road)  That Road
Using these fifteen clues:
16.  (Name that “Mystery Ride”) The Popcorn Ride
17.  (Name that prize)  Popcorn

“Road Biking, Monroe and Lawrence Counties, IN” was selected by National Geographic Adventure magazine as 65th among a list of “America’s Best Adventures.” (Number one is rafting the Grand Canyon”) Published in the inaugural issue of National Geographic Adventure, April 2000.  www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure

The article states, “Remember the 1979 movie “Breaking Away?” Since then, serious road bikers have wheeled along the back roads around Bloomington, including a bucolic 50-mile loop that heads south on Route 37 to Harrodsburg, then goes west on Popcorn Road and continues tacking left on a two-lane country roads past small farms, limestone quarries, and quaint towns.” The information is attributed to Bicycle Garage, 812 339-3457, www.bikegarage.com .  We have Fred Rose to thank for providing this information to National Geographic.

Southwest to Hobbieville

By Allan Edmonds

Over 30 riders gathered at Bryan Park on a perfect May Saturday morning. Mike Finger got us organized on this ride that turned out leaderless because the scheduled leader was out of town for the weekend. We decided on regrouping after crossing 37 and again at the turn from Rockport onto Rockport East, and stopping only at the store in Cincinnati where 54 and 45 intersect.

As usual we naturally fell into riding groups. Around 10 people left the main route for the 30 mile short option. They took Harmony Road off of Rockport, heading north at that point, eventually reaching Vernal Pike.

The rest of us continued on to Cincinnati. As usual more than one person remarked that they hadn't known there is a Cincinnati, INDIANA. Indeed, it doesn't rate a name on the map above. And you don't find much through Google: http://indiana.hometownlocator.com/in/greene/cincinnati.cfm  At the park we had discussed the state of Rockport East, which last year was in bad condition. We can report that it is absolutely terrible. Perhaps the worst excuse for a paved road that I have ridden on.

At the stop in Cincinnati we all got a bit nervous about the ominous weather with a little thunder in the distance. One rider used his smartphone to check out the weather map and found an active thunderstorm at Bloomfield, 10 or 15 miles away. We all took off pretty quickly at that point.

Pretty soon the rain came. It was never hard, but we did get wet and uncomfortable.  Our little group of 5 never stopped again more than for a few moments of regrouping. After Solsberry the rain was never more than a sprinkle.

Considering that the morning seemed almost perfect it was something of a downer to have the rain. I suppose the temperature was in the upper 50s, which wasn't too uncomfortable.

We do wonder whether the short route riders made it home without getting wet.

Up Rock Crusher Hill

By Allan Edmonds

Thursday evening saw a group of 19 OWLS do their Rock Crusher training ride (about 26 miles), out Vernal, up Oard Road, by the gravel operation, and by the Airport, eventually coming in on Rohrer Road via Eagle View. See Rock Crusher Map (PDF).

The ride was unusual for us because it takes us all the way through town from SE to NW. As a result we got split up. A few of us passed the Bryan Park training group as they headed south, presumably doing their "Thursday night ride" to Harrodsburg. Together our two groups must have had at least 35 riders out for a fine evening ride. I wonder if we might break 50 this summer sometime.

My trailing group got a little behind on Woodyard as we waited for a few people that got caught at a light. As a result we were out of sight of the bulk of the riders and succeeded to miss our turn onto Loesch Rd.

We ended up riding a couple of extra miles, including the serious hills on HartStrait Rd. We communicated with people in the group ahead but never saw them again.

Our little group of six included three board members, which wasn't sufficient to keep us from going astray, and three people on their first OWLS ride. We tried to convince them that we don't always get lost. But I'm not sure they believed us. In any case we all made it back in good shape with only a few extra miles and a slightly slower moving average than usual. So John, Karen and January: hope to see you again soon on an OWLS ride. Next time we promise not to get lost!

Historic Membership Meeting

For over 10 years the only BBC club meetings have consisted of board meetings every month or two or three, and the annual meeting (usually combined with a social event in the off-season), plus the pool party we've had in August for several years.

Saturday evening, May 8, at 5:30 pm the membership of the BBC convened in a special meeting called, according to club by-laws, by a petition of members. The meeting took place in the social hall of St. Mark's United Methodist Church on the By-Pass. Approximately 25 club members were in attendance.

Members gathered at St. Mark's Church for the meeting.

(Thanks to Klaus Rothe for the photos in this post.)

The original purpose of the meeting was to consider how the relationship between the BBC and TRIRI (Touring Ride in Rural Indiana) could or should be maintained into the future. More generally it was to discuss what kinds of events with paid admission the club can sponsor, under what conditions the club can arrange with vendors to manage such events, to discuss the ways such activities further the stated goals of the club, and how the funds of the club should be used in support of such activities.

Keith presides at the meeting.

As it happened, the purpose of the meeting was largely moot because of a decision of the board of directors, meeting the night before. At that meeting there was an amicably-arrived-at decision to move toward severing the historical relationship between the BBC and TRIRI. For now rides already scheduled for this season will continue, but the club and Joe and Barbara Anderson, long-time directors of TRIRI and the related September Escapade and RAINStorm rides, will negotiate a separation, to be concluded no later than December 31, 2010. Joe Anderson will continue to serve as ride director for the Ride Across Indiana this summer.

Joe shares some of the bicycling publicity generated by TRIRI

Issues still to be negotiated involve bank balances, shared equipment, equipment storage, shared publicity, and probably other issues.

In view of the board decision the official petition was withdrawn. Thus the meeting was largely informational. However there was still an extended discussion. In particular Joe Anderson had an opportunity to express his concerns and to educate the club on some of the larger contributions TRIRI has made to furthering the BBC goals of promoting bicycling in Indiana.

As members may have understood from voluminous email exchanges in the last few weeks, the fundamental issue has been the tax exempt status of our organization and whether TRIRI and its associated rides are or can be compatible with increased IRS standards for tax exempt organizations.

Once the board became aware of the potential for being found in violation it became imperative to take some action.

Most club members have also realized that this has been an issue fraught with possibilities for misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and mistrust. Indeed it was seemingly necessary to have a couple of lawyers involved to bring the process to a reasonable conclusion.

The BBC board of directors and Joe and Barbara Anderson as directors of TRIRI still have much work to do to effect the agreed upon separation of these entities but now all parties seem to be on the same page and working toward the same goals.

In the meantime TRIRI and RAIN will continue. And we all can do what we joined the club to do: Ride our bicycles!

The Introduction of a Legendary Ride

From  Joe Anderson

This is how the original "Mystery Ride" was introduced to the Bloomington Bicycle Club in December of 1995. (Note:  The original "Mystery" route has been altered slightly.)

Reprinted from the December 1995 BBC Newsletter with slight modifications.

The first BBC member to call Joe Anderson at 332-6028 with the correct name of this "Mystery ride," based upon the following clues, will receive a prize.

The Mystery Ride

South on an ancient road:
1.  (Name that road)

Right at a burg named after a biblical king:
2.  (Name that burg)

 Cross into a county named after a famous bird:
3.  (Name that bird)

Cross the abandoned narrow gauge B&O railroad:
4.  (Name that railroad)

West on State Road (Al Abbott's age):
5.  (Name that State Road)

Northeast along "Mystery" Creek:
6.  (Name that Creek)

SAG and Refreshment stop at "Mystery" church:
7.  (Name that church)

Continue north on "Mystery" road:
8.  (Name that road)

North to Alaska on a cold weather road:
9.  (Name that road)

East on a rocky road at a stop sign:
10.  (Name that road)

North to your home port on another rocky road:
11.  (That that road)

Pass through a village named after the Star Trek Captain:
12.  (Name that village)

Back to Bloomington on a pike named after the Michigan Fight Song:
13.  (Name that tune)

Turn right at a T-Intersection at the top of a hill:
14.  (Name that road)

Using these thirteen clues:
15.  (Name that "Mystery Ride")

16.  (Name that prize)

A Family Affair

By Jodi Pope-Pfingston


It has been lots of fun meeting and riding with new and returning riders on the Slowspokes rides. Ten to fifteen riders embark each Saturday at 1:30 pm to ride 15-20 miles around Monroe County, many for the first time in their lives. I knew it would be a great venue for attracting and keeping new riders, and it has been exactly that. What I didn't expect is that it would be a source of inspiration that would get my own family out cycling together every Saturday. But, indeed it has.

Two of my older brothers, a nephew, and my sister-in-law have all joined my husband and I on the last three Saturday rides. In fact, they have all caught the bug so thoroughly that they now indulge my riding whims on multiple nights of the week and bug me to show them new routes.

Last Saturday, along with a few other friends, we all ventured out for a ride to the Waterworks. This was a special event for me and my two brothers because we grew up in a house near the Waterworks. On the ride out we laughed about how many times we had ridden the route from home to Buddy Bills as children on our bicycles tricked out with banana seats and spokes full of playing cards, all for the promise of soft drinks and candy. The banana seats and playing cards are gone, and we have added helmets, but we still love riding bicycles together. Although it will take some time before they share my taste in hills. :)

The Slowspokes group gathering at Bryan Park.

My big brothers: "You mean we came down that huge hill just so we could ride back *up* the hill?!"