fence-not-fence

North of N.W. we put together a patchwork of roads to arrive at our first gravel, but before anything dirt, we first found the strange sight of  what looked to be an unused railroad right-of-way on both sides, to the west it was marked “no trespassing”.  A little research yielded the possibility of being an unused RR from the defunct Marble Hill Nuclear Plant, closed in ‘84 before opening. This screams for further exploration in the future. While not on the original cue sheet, a goal and attitude is/was to take the unchartered turn to see if it yields good results, which Little Egypt Rd. brought us. did

unused track off CR 900s, mostly likely leftover from the Marble Hill fracas

Little Egypt entrance

Mysterious rider in Little Egypt

We searched and found our way back on route and, after passing, Paynesville, we took a right onto S. Taylor after a brief stop at the mouth of the road. I enjoyed the surface of this road and the farm sights on either side. Towards the end it even provided a shaded portion just before we turned left to return to Paynesville for a re-watering.

Abandon church @ S. Taylor Rd.

S. Taylor Rd.

Strange sighting at S. Taylor Rd

After S. Taylor we headed east to find a short portion of a road labelled 475, 750, 500 and with a sign as 550. What a mess! The only thing of note, aside having to turn around b/c we missed the turn due to the signs, was the at the top of the “horseshoe” it had a nice, fund little down-n-up hill, quite different from the table top flat roads previous.  We then turned south to find the southern terminus of S 450 W, which I hypothesized after seeing its nothern point on googlemaps. I enjoyed S 450 W very much due to its tidy yards, sunflowers and winding nature.

C.R. S 450 W

center strip on 475W

Our next appointment (Hinault talk) came after Reed orchard at the top of Saluda Hill. This was spectacular near 1-mile gravel descent through the shaded canopy. Both of us commented about hand tiredness after white-knuckling the brakes. Saluda Hill emptied in Lee Bottom, with its river flatness and field airstrip. The climb out on Prospect road was an interesting, albeit difficult, climb for its changing grades. The road had recently been repaved and probably rebuilt, but unlike many other local steady climbs, this one vacillates between very steep and not so much. Other than a dog chase at the top it was “fun”.

Saluda Hill descent. Amazing, really.

S Riverbottom Rd along Ohio across from Trimble Co.

We linked up with more farm roads at the top before hitting Reardon Rd., before which I saw a Dan Henry turning south. Too bad that club ride didn’t go straight onto the rough stuff. Reardon was dead straight; I powered ahead and let Dave catch up in the shade. Again, he ate. Again, I didn’t eat much. Errr.. Reardon cuts ride through the middle- as we found- of Chelsea Flatwoods Nature Preserve. This portion of gravel, as you can see, was nicely shaded and a good change of pace from the constant fields of soybeans.

Chelsea Flatwood N.P./Reardon Rd.

Chelsea Flatwoods N.P.

A turn northward took us back into the wind and to our most northern point, at the entrance to a road listed as S.Hutch Rd., S. Hutchinson Rd. and C.R. 900W. I initially included the road only to have Dave inform me that, as best as he could tell on streetview, it didn’t really seem to be a road. I became very enthusiastic! The early surfaces of S.Hutch were softer, boggier, than anything we had ridden. I was afraid I had a tire or brake prob, but no, the surfaces were deteriorating. How little did we know? At some point we left the gravel behind and found what I call double-track, and Dave two-track. It was basically a grassy path through the woods.

the entrance to S. Hutch Ln. Into the darkness

More into the darkness...and slop

not-road

C.R. 900 W

We found a muddy crossing, which I daintily passed by on the left amidst the weeds. Dave, more manly than I, stated that he thought otherwise. This is why he ended up with muddy feet and I didn’t. Just past the pit we found a mown bypass. I assume that a couple times a year a farmer or road worker mows this. It wasn’t that overgrown given its location and towards the end there was evidence of cinders in the double-track before emptying out at a farmer’s barn. It was my first real road-not-road and it makes me want to find more.

"I don't like the easy way"

C.R. 900 W by-pass

C.R. 900 W towards end

As we headed south it became apparent that the food Dave had eaten was sustaining him for a strong 2nd half, while I was quickly running out of gas. I struggled between miles 50 and 60, although Arbuckle Rd./700S was as nice a gravel patch as we would find, following creek along tobacco fields and more shade.

Arbuckle opening

Arbuckle Rd.

In honor of the wife, an Arbuckle Rd. Polar Pop

C.R. 700 S

Turning south from 700S put us back on known roads, and from there we headed straight to New Washington, with Dave pulling ahead of me on 62. In N.W. I had a Coke, a food bar of some sort and a substantial amount of water from a cold gallon at the corner store. Our final leg took us along the the bumpy New Market-N.W. corridor, where I began to feel a little better. We finished our meal off at Charlestown Pizza, although I was too tired for beer. For shame! This area begs for more exploration and more miles, as you couldn’t find much emptier miles in the Louisville metro area. And it’s closer that H.N.F. Great Stuff! We’re sad you missed it.

(My wife doesn’t drink PolarPops. She had never heard of one until a month ago.)

IN Gravel

We’re going out for an exploratory gravel/country ride tomorrow leaving from Charlestown at 9.00. Anybody interested (who actually reads this) can contact me at mysurly69 at yahoo dot com for a ride. I’ll be fetching coffee a bit after 8.00 and going from there. The route is flexible, but we may go anywhere between 50 and 80. Sound specific enough? Hopefully the gravel will be particularly groovie!!

(And, yes, I can spell “groovy”)

We have a 10ish route and a 16ish route, with a variety of possible stops according to everyone’s preferences. I know I’ll be carving off by 8.00, but the rest of the RCCS crew can go as long as you like.

Cheers!!

Should be a big one!

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/55742

On a further note, Michael noted that he’ll have his filter for water refill.  Why?  Because we’ll be so in the boonies that there’s no service.  What’s not to love about such an opportunity?  Leave a comment if you have any Qs.

Prepare for an all-day adventure, as we’ll leave when we can get some good coffee and head north for the hour+ drive. After such a ride, we’ll also grab some grub before returning to Louisville.

If you’re interested in a ride, leave a comment or contact me directly at mysurly69 at yahoo dot com. I don’t even have directions yet, and our host would like a general idea of numbers for parking and such. FWIW, I have room for 3 more bikes on my crappy bike rack and am happy to be bike taxi for the day.

I’ll update this post with a map and more info soon.  This ride will mostly (or entirely) be paved roads, but in rural areas of southern Indiana.  Please be prepared with pump, tubes, water, snacks.  I’ll try to work store stops in, but it’s best to be prepared.

There will be no cue sheet.  We’ll stay together as a group.  Having a time constraint would be a bad thing.

So, Sunday, March 28th @ 9:00 a.m.

Update:  Yes, the ride is still on.  We’ll ride in rain, wind, and minor thunderstorms.  If it gets ugly we might bail.

Dom's Windsor

Patrick's Bomba

Dave's LHT

Our path took us towards NM where we ran into the MadDog’s TT, with cyclists running into our paths along Pfrimmer’s Chapel Rd.  After a pit stop we headed west along some primo roads (and 1 wrong turn) such as Fogel, Shiloh and Pleasure Ridge.  I would suggest for everybody to check these out for low traffic and enough rollers to keep you honest. The intersection of Fogel and Shiloh gave us a recurring theme over the course of the day.  Lest I be mistaken, everyone had something goofy happen to his bike: Dave’s shimmy, Dom’s dropout, Patrick’s loose bar and my loose spoke.  None was detrimental, but it did make for some extra time on the road.

Pleasure Ridge Rd.

On the south end of the trip we ran along the big valley of Buck Creek Valley Rd. where we had a special friend run with us for over 2 miles.  Stupid dog!  While at the bridge the first of the LBC pack came by, and shortly thereafter the remaining peloton, 20 strong or so.  They had the good fortune of coming down Union Chapel from the east.  We made the poor decision of ascending said hill at a 14% clip instead of the more benign 6-8% (according to ridewithgps).

Buck Creek

dumb but very fit dog

As we made our southern end we took a turn on Goshen Rd, very flat and sort of open, but one of my favorites.  The eastern end provided nice vistas looking to the growing hills in the west, all over open farm country.  I’m going to make it a point to personally return in summer.

Perseverance Barrens Nature Preserve. Almost missed this one due to the cattle stampede on an adjacent farm. We'll blame Dom.

Andy's Coffee shop in New Middletown

We headed north towards a second stop in NW, this time for pie and salad (not together) before heading out on our finishing leg, which took us through Lanesville the subsequent many short climbs, especially a couple doozies after Lanesville.  We finished strong enough, and I for one am ready for another tour in that part of the word, some of the best cycling roads I’ve come across.  Might be a dandy area for a RCCS century down the road.

• We’ll head out at 9.00a.m. Louisville time. I don’t know if any crazy IN time is in play this time of year.
• See “messages” section for more info on catching a ride if you’re interested.  I might or might not have truck room.
• Our ride happens to correspond with the first Mad Dogs ride of the year, so we might cross paths with them around or south of New Middletown.
• RCCS don’t tend to do cue sheets.  As Dave so eloquently put, we group ride.  You’re welcome to download/copy the map posted in the previous post if you plan of heading out on your own.  We’ll follow that route behind you. And nobody gets dropped.
• We should have food options in New Middletown and Lanesville.  We pass NM twice.
• Please come prepared.  We like to be a self-sufficient lot, but Dave has a tool for every occasion. And it’s the first longer road outing of the year. Hopefully you’ve done a few miles during this cold spell.

View Edwardsville Park in a larger map

It’s time, time to ride the $@%@# bike. Time for real miles. Time to get put down the coffee and get on the open road. The RCCS will host our first “real” ride of ‘10, well, save the 40m epic FatGuy and I pulled off on New Year’s Day.

We’ll leave next Sunday, 3/7, from Edwardsville, IN just west of New Albany. It’s an easy trip off I-64 and if anybody needs a (truck) lift, I’m more than willing. As best as I can tell, we have store stops at 12m and 38m, but you never know. It’s best to come prepared. And prepared we’ll be for rural, country roads.

The RCCS strives to be an inclusive, informal bike group. All are welcome and no one will be left behind. Our rides are somewhat social, but the first ride of the year demands some leg stretching. I’ll be sweeping b/c I’m too slow to do anything otherwise. Feel free to leave any questions in the comment section.