Hail M & M !

From Tammy Berger


Mike F. wanted to catch a "longish" ride on Sunday morning, so five of us (Mike F, Bob D, Paul T, Stan E, Tammy B) headed out on a reverse Martinsville & Mahalasville route.  Paul wanted to add some miles and some climbs, so we started the day by going out Kerr Creek, Birdie Galyan, and Brummets Creek.

We reached the top of Brummets Creek only to find Mike had broken a spoke.  After a few minutes of deliberation Mike decided to head back to town to get the bike fixed and the rest of us headed out.  We had smooth sailing until Lick Creek when the rain first started dripping on us.  It stayed light and even stopped for a while and we had hopes to make it to Martinsville without significant rain, alas that was not to happen.  When we reached the wide open flat of Mahalasville Rd the storm broke over us.  The wind was so strong that the HAIL that was pelting us was actually horizontal!  The wind finally won out and literally blew us off the road.  We took shelter in the ditch for about 10 minutes as the storm blew over us, then rode the last 3 miles into Martinsville in the pouring rain.

We stopped at Starbucks to get something to warm us up just as the rain cleared.  After warming up for a little while, comparing welts from the hail, and slightly drying out we headed out for the return to town.  Paul just had to have one more good climb and took us all home by way of Hacker Creek.  I for one was just happy to make it to the top today!  Shortly after the climb to Hindustan we met Mike again with fixed spoke and Mike and Paul chose to return to Martinsville to complete a "longish" ride for Mike.  Stan, Bob, and I chose to return to Bloomington and I am happy to say we had an uneventful end to our 70 mile HAIL M&M ride!

95 Epic Miles and 9600 Feet of Climbing

Jim Schroeder reports on his informal group's assault on Mount Mitchell in North Carolina last weekend:

This was our second annual trip to the Asheville, North Carolina area.  A few newbies joined the crowd and we ended up with 8 people with 7 riders for this ride.  We started arriving Friday afternoon at the KOA a few miles east of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and 4 of us rode 33 miles on the parkway to limber up those dormant legs form the trip.  The predominant talk among us was not if it was going to rain, but when was it going to rain.  Friday's ride was surgically planned between the forecasted rain cells on the radar.  After riding a couple  more exploratory miles Dave (Tanner) and I got slightly drenched in the last 1/2 mile, while Paul (Mowery) and Nancy (Lichtensteiger) arrived a bit earlier and dry!

Saturday was no better.  But, when would the rain hit?  Our first stop was early at Black Mountain where Klaus' friends own a very hospitable bed and breakfast.  Due to a scenic route diversion or in other words, Jim ( Schroeder) got four of the party lost and missed out on the city plantation showing.  The two groups converged at the end of Old Highway 70, but quite recently the abandoned 70 has become a serene and scenic bike path through a very thick new grown forest.  Dave was enthralled at this new find.

The path turned back into Old 70 all the way to Old Fort amidst a few historic markers, train trestles, and old train stations.  The South seems to take pride of their history a bit more than the Midwest; and it's not just Civil War!  This town was rather quaint but had quite a lot of factories.  We later found out it was the home of Ethan Allen Furniture, quite a Carolinian industry.

Well, it had to happen and the liquid stuff started dripping off and on.  The route turned gravel, a Jimmy standard, so we backtracked back to the busy US-70.  This first chapter was mostly rolling where all of us got used to each one's riding style and speed.

The second chapter was our approach to the Blue Ridge Parkway on SR-80.  The rain had stopped as Dave and Jim stopped and gazed at a foot and a half turtle hitchin' on the side of the road.  This new-felt mugginess reminded me of southern Indiana in the summer as we passed a rather large lake complete with dam and waterfall from the spring rains.  We all stopped at a camp store for a snack before the switchbacked climbs up.  The first section of those was just a prelude and got us complacent with our abilities.  Alas, the last four miles were steep and the switchbacks kept on piling on us.  There were markings on the road every half mile as this was the route of The Assault on Mt Mitchell that starts in Spartanburg, SC.  In fact the race this year was the following Monday.  There was also a photographer taking pictures and had a website peddling his Pix.  Klaus' are much better!

We're finally on the Parkway and all seven of us are strung all over western Carolina.  A few stopped to reconsider while Paul got mixed up and went north on the Parkway for a few extra miles.  Jim didn't stop and kept plugging away on the worst chapter (3) of the ride: up to the 5 mile long entrance to Mt Mitchell.  We always forget about this long agonizing stretch before it really gets agonizing!  Sylvia came upon us one by one as she was driving the Subaru to be our "crew gal" supplying us with needed amounts of encouragement.  Meanwhile, Jim was shocked as "wrong way" Paul blew by me as if I was standing still!

The winds they started a-blowin' as we're climbing up to 5500 ft.  Jim had to stop at the entrance and compose himself searching for some gumption to get up to the highest point east of the Mississippi.  The first two miles were known to be the toughest and that they were.  But, the the winds picked up, then a little of hail and rain to make it memorable.  Dave was up there already taking in the museum and all.  As Jim was traversing down, Glenn  and Tammy Berger were teaming it up to the top.

Jim dried himself out at the restaurant restroom and was greeted by some long awaited sunshine.  Klaus and he headed back down to the entrance for the last climb to Craggy Gardens as the sun was tossed aside by this rain cloud that we actually were riding through.  The rain and cloud was so thick nothing was seen by us while we were hoping the cars would still see us!  This was one time it was better to be climbing as our work kept us warm.

As soon as we reached Craggy we knew the ride was in the bag as it was 18 miles down to Asheville.  However, the rain was still pounding on us while we were chattering through tunnels and waves of water on the roads.  The rain started to dissipate as our altitude fell, as we even saw from above sections of sun baking up the distant hills.

We all completed this heart wrenching ride of 95 miles with 9600 feet of climbing putting this one into the "epic file" of our bicycle memories.

Up the Dam Hill Ride

Seven slightly crazy riders showed up for this evening's OWLS ride. Tom R had planned for us to go down Old 37 (almost) to Harrodsburg, then up the big hill toward the Monroe Dam and back toward town on Strain Ridge. But where was Tom? Worried about a little light rain and cool temperatures, we guess. It would have been okay weather for March, but this is the middle of May.

We were left to our own devices and just followed Tom's route. It wasn't until the way back that we started to feel just a little chilly.

Despite being a small group we welcomed a new rider to the group, Rachel, as well as her friend Cameron who has ridden with the Bryan Park training group a couple of times.  They're both strong riders and, together with Jen, got a little ahead of the rest of us. We came along a slightly different way in Smithville and didn't seem them, so, as it turned out, we accidentally went home two different ways.

Mary Loeb

By Allan Edmonds and Keith Vogelsang


We learned today that Andy Loeb's wife Mary died May 12th of cancer. Andy rode with us today to Gosport.

Here's an obituary about Mary from a newspaper in Florida, where they lived before coming to Indiana.

Andy and Mary joined the club last year when they moved to Bloomington for her to undergo cancer treatment. We don't think she ever rode, due to her illness--but Andy rides regularly on Saturdays and has ridden with the OWLS.

On behalf of all club members we offer our most sincere condolences to Andy.

Texas Ridge to Gosport

This was one of our leaderless rides.  Friends gathered at 10 am at Bryan Park and got caught up on the latest news and events. One father-son pair was spotted (Dave Elkins and son Addison). Touring Director Mike Finger got the group organized.

One trick was dealing with the Vernal Pike/Woodyard situation. The official route calls for turning onto Woodyard after crossing 37. But that's no longer an option. We did what has become standard and went as far as we could on Vernal and then switched over to Woodyard.

The next question was whether we could actually make the last 2-3 miles into Gosport before heading back. That area is often subject to flooding when the White River is high. But we had no problems.

From there we stayed on the standard route zigging and zagging south and westward, coming pretty close to McCormick's Creek State Park.

Eventually we were coming back toward town on Vernal Pike. The plan then was to take Old Vernal down to Loesch and go north on Loesch until we got to Woodyard. Then it was retracing our steps Woodyard to Vernal and across 37.

Our small group of 5 or so opted to use the B-Line trail instead of going through downtown. One takes the B-Line to First St. (using a side street for the last block). Then you take First all the way to Woodlawn. It was easy to do and relatively pleasant compared to fighting traffic through town. I recommend it.

By the end the ride came to about 48 miles. The club map classifies the ride as "difficult". There was indeed a lot of climbing.

But one shouldn't forget the scenery. I think we can safely say that this was IRIS DAY. There were many iris beds and clumps in many different colors in full bloom. I find this interesting because 30 years ago I know that our irises were in full bloom at the end of May, not the middle!

A few of us were a little worried about the increasing likelihood of rain as the day wore on. But not to worry. We encountered no rain or threat of rain. And, indeed, as I write this Saturday evening, we still haven't seen any rain.

Betsy Sabga Remembered

It is with sadness that we report the death of club member and fellow cyclist Betsy Sabga this week, of an illness. 


Betsy was a local doctor with many outside interests. Besides medical volunteer work she sang in a chorus, played drums in a rock band (Don't Call Me Betty), and challenged herself with endurance sports including triathlons and more. Her obituary appeared today in the Bloomington Herald-Times and is also accessible at The Funeral Chapel.


Club members can relate to this photo of Betsy with a big smile on her face after finishing RAIN a few years back.

We offer our condolences and heartfelt sympathy to Betsy's husband and biking companion Dan Melamed.

OWLS Lawson Loop

Thursday night saw another typical OWLS group of about 20 riders do a helium balloon-on-a-string route, called the Lawson Loop, by leader Tom Reynolds.

Tom led the group north through the neighborhoods, through town, out through Cascades Park, and eventually to Bottom Road (yes, it is clear and dry).

We climbed Simpson Chapel up to our regrouping point at Lawson.

At that point our group was slightly fractured. One person had decided to head back to town. Another had a flat and had to catch up. When we headed back toward town a small group split off to come back via Old 37 instead of Bottom Road.

We did about 24 miles (depending on where one started and stopped) in about 2 hours, including regrouping stops. All together it was a beautiful evening for a ride.

Bloomington Bike Summit

by Keith Vogelsang

The city held its first ever Bike Summit on April 28th, hosted by city staff and held at the Bloomington and Monroe County Convention Center. The BBC was a proud sponsor of the event, along with help from Bikesmith’s , the Bicycle Garage, Bloomington Pedal Power, Bloomingfoods, Downtown Bloomington, Inc., City of Bloomington Commission on Sustainability, and BTOP.

Chad Roeder, owner of Bloomington Pedal Power

What is a Bike Summit? That’s the question the city’s Transportation Manager Scott Robinson raised in his opening remarks. Essentially, this was a very public opportunity for the city’s Platinum Task Force to begin rolling out some of their findings, and get feedback on what kinds of projects should receive priority. The city has set an ambitious goal of earning a Platinum-level award as a bicycle-friendly community by the year 2016. The League of American Bicyclists directs the program and evaluates applications. Implementing recommendations from the Platinum Task Force will be a crucial part of upgrading Bloomington from in current silver to gold or platinum. The final report of the task force is expected sometime this fall.

 Scott Robinson discussing bike survey results

Communities are scored along the five “E” rubric of Engineering, Evaluation & Planning, Education, Enforcement, and Encouragement. Summit participants were organized into focus groups around each of these five categories, and asked to develop their own list of projects. Then, each focus group displayed their priorities list, and the entire assembly then had an opportunity to vote on projects. Each participant received five red stickers to be allocated at will. Some of us put all five stickers on a single project, while others preferred to spread the votes around equally.

Voting on engineering prioritie

Vince Caristo, the city’s new Bicycle Coordinator originally proposed the idea of the summit to the task force. Vince then approached me for help in making it happen. The BBC was well represented at the summit, and it was gratifying to see how our partnership with other sponsors could bring together so many bicycle enthusiasts. There seemed to be enough energy (along with great food and drink) for the meeting to have continued beyond our scheduled three hour block of time. The city staff did a splendid job organizing and keeping the event moving along to get the most out of our limited time. The organizers even provided extra bike racks to accommodate the group. Even with the thunderstorms, the racks were at capacity.

Cathy Meyer chats with Raymond Hess

Mitch Rice from the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission

City councilman Chris Sturbaum

Platinum Task Force member Jim Rosenbarger

BBC Safety Director and Platinum Task Force member Chris Tietz discusses enforcement

Triple Creek, Alt.

We had a nice group of about 20 out for the Tuesday OWLS ride. Tom R went over the planned Triple Creek route.

We had hoped that the flooding along Brummett's Creek Road would not extend as far north as the intersection with Fleener. But one person had heard that the intersection was indeed flooded. So on the fly Tom worked out an alternative route. We started as planned down Kerr Creek, a wonderful, long, shady downhill and through the valley. At Getty's Creek Road we planned to turn north instead of south. When joined Mount Gilead and headed north to Highway 45. We then jogged over to Robinson Road via Tunnel. We took Robinson to Old 37, up Firehouse Hill, and back into town via Cascades. We took a short rest stop at the Fire House, where fresh water is available.

Altogether it worked out to about a 28 mile ride for those who made the full loop back to the church parking lot. A great job of re-routing!

Breaking Away Ride, Year Three

By Dan Hickey

“Why is it that a team from the BBC could never win the Little 500?”

  

This was the riddle that Jim Schroeder used to kick off the Breaking Away tour, a gentle 30-mile excursion that visits many of the scenes from the movie that made Dennis Quaid a star and helped get a generation of kids on bikes with its 1979 release.  It was a perfect Spring day, one day after the 60^thannual Little 500 bike race that was featured in the movie.  Jim pointed that this was the first time ever that the ride did not have to be postponed because of rain.

From our gathering place in Bryan Park, we first headed up Lincoln Street, and  just up the way was the Free Methodist Church shown in the very first part of the movie.  

Onward north to the corner of Lincoln and Dodd, Davey’s house, with its distinct slate roof, was instantly recognizable. From there it was a few miles west  to the intersection of Highways 446 and 46, the starting line for Cinzano 100. In case you have forgotten (because of course you have seen the movie), Davey crashed out when one of the smarmy Italian riders jammed a bike pump in the young upstart’s spokes.

We headed down 446 and stairstepped SSW across five miles of familiar roads to the Empire Mill and Quarry.  About half of us cleated our way down the gravel road to the quarry.  It was the first time I had seen actual quarry and it was awesome!  

It looked just as inviting as it did in the movie, and if it had been warmer I might have gone for dip.  From there we headed up the Clear Creek trail (which was definitely not there in 1979) to Woolery Mill on Tapp Road.  This was a working mill when the interior scenes were shot.  Now apparently in a state of suspended-renovation, the mill itself is still wide open and you can ride right through it.  Curiously, an old bus now rests in the cavernous mill pit.  

From the mill we headed up Countryside Lane and Rockport Road back into town on South Walnut.  We first came to 1010 S Walnut.  This was the site of the used car lot where Davey tried to get his dad to buy back the boy’s crapped-out Corvette (“refund?  Refund!!!).  Next was downtown to the square.  We first passed Opie Taylor’s, which was Pagalia’s pizzeria in the movie.  Jim pointed out that William’s Jewelry is the only business currently on the square that was there when they were filming.  

Then around the square for a full view of the Monroe County Courthouse where Moocher and Nancy got married, after combining their spare change for the wedding license.  

We got sight of Bike Smith’s, bike shop whose owner Jean Smith built the custom road bikes for the Italian team.  Several years ago on a ride, Jean had told me the story of how the producers had given him carte blanche to build the bikes, and how great it was that they then just gave them back to him after filming.  We didn’t stop in but apparently there is some good memorabilia from the film in the shop.  Then past Indiana Theatre and Nick’s English Hut, both which were prominent featured.

After a short hop to the IU campus, we got to take some laps around the track at Bill Armstrong  stadium, the current location of the race.  The race banners were still in place, and the cinders were well-packed from a rainy race.  

We rode past the Wells Library to Arboretum, the site of the original track where the race formally took place.  At the stone structure that was formerly a ticket booth, we checked out the brass plaques honoring previous winners.  Jim pointed out the plaque honoring Dave Blase.  Blase was the legendary 1962 Phi Kappa Psi champion who provided team mate and IU grad Steve Tesich the inspiration for the screenplay.  Blase ended up with a role in the movie as the race announcer.  Jim explained that because they filmed the race scenes in the summer, they had trouble finding enough students to fill the stadium.

When we got to the Indiana Memorial Union, Jim finally clarified something that has confused me ever since I watched the movie.  I could never figure out the location of the drive-by scenes that led up to the big fight with Robin’s boyfriend in the IMU.  Jim explained that before the Sample Gates were built in 1987, the road went right through campus and right past the IMU.  Mystery solved.  

From the IMU we headed to Rose Well House outside of Maxwell Hall. The gazebo is where generations of IU coeds reportedly could clinch a future husband with a midnight kiss.  I am pretty sure this gazebo is where Davey confesses to Chi Delta Delta Robin that he is not really an Italian exchange student after all.  She slaps his townie face (hard!) and breaks his townie heart.  

We finished with the Tri Delta house where Davey had earlier serenaded Robin and her sorority sisters.

  We also learned that the Subway on 3^rd Street was the franchise where the biggest-loser-of-all Jared lost 240 pounds while living in the second floor apartment upstairs.  He was featured in article in the Indiana Daily Student which then got picked up nationally.  You know the rest of the story.

While I certainly did not get much of a workout, this was one of the most entertaining rides of my life.  After I got my car in Bryan Park, I drove back up to get a shot of Davey’s house.  The current owner was out front working on the garden.  I can’t recall his name but he was full of stories about the house and actually had overseas guest inside who had come to town just for Little Five.  He explained that he had been working in France in 2009 when Jim led the first Breaking Away ride.  A photo of the group in front of Davey’s house ended up in the Herald Times, and a friend mailed it to him.  It ended up being a rather complicated bit of hometown quaintness to explain to his French colleagues.  I propose that next year we ask him to let us stock his bar in exchange for letting us use his house for the pre-ride screening of the movie.

And yes of course, the riddle.  So why is that Bloomington Bicycle Club team could never win the Little 500 race?

“Because they would be slowing all the time to point and exclaim ‘gravel."

Sorry to make you slog through all of these details if you were only interested in the answer to the riddle.  If it made you laugh then it a sure sign that you have ridden with the BBC, and perhaps with Jim.  As some of the nicest cyclists you will ever meet, BBC members are compelled to warn everyone behind them of every pothole or spot of gravel as the ride past them. 

I took the pics with my phone, which seems to have lost some functionality halfway through the ride.  You can view the Breaking Away Trailer at YouTube.

Almost to Paragon

By Allan Edmonds

Saturday saw the club ride head north to Paragon, as we typically do once a year. It was a well-deserved day of nice sunny weather, if a little windy.

Leader Bob DeGroff got the large group of about 40 riders organized, and off we went.

It was an interesting group of all levels of experience. It was clear from the beginning that we would - and should - break up into several smaller groups, after regrouping a couple of times on the way out of town. Bob took the leader's role of watching out for the newer and/or slower riders seriously.

Bob assured us that he had checked that Bottom Road was unflooded and passable, although he couldn't vouch for the final 4 miles into Paragon.

A few people took the 29 mile shortest option, including Tammy and Glenn B. who were riding dual tandems with kids on the back. They've often been out with a tandem, but this was the first time they brought both kids and both tandems, and they thought it prudent not to push their luck too much.

I was in a small group that decided not to to the out-and-back portion to the stop in Paragon and do the 38 mile middle option.

We were taking a short break in the Morgan-Monroe Forest when some of the other riders caught up to us. It had turned out that the route into Paragon was flooded and they had given up trying to ride through the water. At that point some riders had opted for extra miles by going on to Martinsville and following our M and M route. Others met up with us and decided to go through the forest, DOWN Beanblossom Hill and back to Old 37 on Anderson Road, instead of staying on Old 37 the whole way back into town.

For those new to the club, who naturally wonder how fast club rides go, I note that my small group averaged around 13.5 mph, including time in town on both ends, and a little under 12 mph including stops. For most of the ride we were averaging somewhat over 14 mph. We were definitely among the slower riders.

P.S. I was a bit surprised to have gotten a bit of a sunburn on my arms. I guess it's time to start being more careful about sunscreen.

P.P.S. Note for next year's ride calendar: We've been flooded out several times on this ride. Maybe it needs to be a little later in the Spring!