Dan on Bike

My wife joined me for a short ride this morning. Although, it wasn’t that short for her, since it was her longest ride ever.

We took the Granville Bridge Route.

At one point she said that “this must be excruciatingly slow for you.” I replied that it was relaxing, but actually I had a hard time holding back. I let her set the pace for the entire trip, and I think our average speed was about 7 MPH.

Regardless, we had great weather, lovely scenery, and good conversations. I’d do it again in a minute.

Miles Ridden: 9.0
Total This Year: TBD + 154

The neighbor and I had a nice morning ride west on Division to the Ravines Golf Course.

Miles Ridden: 12.2
Total This Year: TBD + 145

I got a late start this morning, so I took a quick ride through campus, which turned out to be the South Work Route in reverse.

I used my blinky light to help drivers see me in the fog. At the stop sign where River Road meets US231, a truck driver sped up to pass me and swerved to the right to be in his lane at the stop. I yelled at him, and he did a good job of not turning his head.

Miles Ridden: 8.4
Total This Year: 133 + TBD

The neighbor and I repeated this route without the trip by the gourd house. Once again, the weather was perfect.

Miles Ridden: 20.5
Total This Year: 125 + TBD

The weather couldn’t have been better, and my mood was up before I started. This was going to be a great ride!

I started by driving the van up to my wife’s place of employment at Salisbury and Cumberland where she had just finished the night shift. After talking with her for a few minutes, I headed west on Cumberland to the Cattail Trail near Wal-Mart. I took the trail north and west to Morehouse Road next to the Wild Bird Shop. From there I headed north on Morehouse. I passed a lady picking raspberries on the side of the road and said hi. She said “What are you doing up here?” Turns out she was a co-worker. We chatted for a few minutes.

This house has been a fixer-upper at least since the 80s.
At 600N I turned east. This area is full of high-end subdivisions. Big houses on big lots – way out of my league. I passed Harrison High school and continued on to 75E. This was a nice quiet road with old farmhouses and a shady tree canopy. At 500N, I came upon a large mowed area with many tall trees – pretty regal looking.

I don’t know if this was a school, a grange, or something else.
75E hits Soldiers Home Road which I took south to the Indiana Veterans Home. I rode through the compound looking at the buildings. I had forgotten that the old Commandant’s Home had been turned into a Bed and Breakfast a few years ago. I didn’t see any guest cars there.

At the front of the site facing SR43 and the Wabash River, an access road snakes its way down the bluff. This driveway with two switchbacks is the closest thing Tippecanoe County has to an Alp. I coasted down and rode back up.

I returned to Soldiers Home Road and took to south to Cumberland Ave, and then went west to Salisbury (my starting point). From there, I sped down Salisbury to Lindberg Road, and west to Northwestern Ave. I enjoy sailing down the hill on Northwestern past the big houses and the go cart track. Usually, there is too much traffic, but not early on Sunday in a holiday weekend. I pedaled all the way to State Street, and turned west through campus. With a right on Newman Road, I was soon back to Division Road and home.

Miles Ridden: 22.0 (I circled once through the cul-de-sac until it flipped over)
Total This Year: 104 + TBD

This morning, the neighbor and I went out for a quick morning ride, and his 12 year old daughter joined us. She did a very good job of keeping up, and we didn’t have to slow down much until the last couple of miles.

We took the Granville Bridge Route with a couple of changes. Instead of crossing the bridge on 700W, we headed up to Martell Forest. On the way back, we took the Gourd House Jog.

What made this ride interesting was all of the dead animals on the roads. (Thankfully, there are no photos.) Right outside the neighborhood, there was a fresh skunk kill. We kept a wide berth in case it was not entirely dead. There were many raccoons, an opossum, and a squirrel. Somewhere on Division Road, we saw a disembodied raccoon head. Not sure if it was some sort of forest mob hit.

Miles Ridden: 11.5
Total This Year: 81 + TBD

Total for June: 194.2 Miles

I didn’t have much time this morning, but the neighbor and I were able to fit in a quick ride on the Granville Bridge Route this morning.

Miles Ridden: 9.0
Total This Year: 69 + TBD

I took a quick ride through West Lafayette this morning, but after yesterday’s marathon ride, my legs were pretty noodle like.

I started on Newman Road down to South River Road. I headed east to the beginning of the Wabash Heritage Trail and traveled the entire West Lafayette portion of the route.

At the north end of the trail, I headed up the hill on Robinson, then west across campus on Stadium. Finally, I took McCormick, SR 26, and Newman back home.

Miles Ridden: 10.5
Total This Year: 60 + TBD

I thought it would be neat to ride to Michigan City, so I left around 5:30 so that I could get back in time to visit a little more with family before everyone left at 10:00.

The route was easy – take US 12 all they way to Washington Park in Michigan City, ride through the park to get to the lighthouse, and ride back. On the way out, I passed the “Morse Code House” at US 12 and Mineral Springs Road. (If any of my readers know the code, I would love a translation.)

US 12 is an interesting route. It must have had much charm during the pre-Interstate Highway days, but now the area is being purchased for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore project. Many of the houses and businesses in the park area are either empty or just gone. I wonder if towns like Dune Acres will be there in 50 years. So, the scenery was pretty quiet for the first part of the ride. Even though I was heading east on a sunny day, I didn’t need my sunglasses for the first eight miles because the tree cover blocked the sun. I even scared a deer that was in the ditch next to the road (actually, the deer probably scared me more). Once I got past the Lakeshore area and into the towns of Beverly Shores and Pines, things began to look a little more interesting.

Pumps on 12 is an example of the charm of the area. There was even a luthier across the street.

The cooling tower at the power plant was my landmark for most of the trip east.

It didn’t take long to find Washington Park and ride out to the lighthouse. Here you can see my bike hanging out with the fisherman.

On the way back, I passed the Superior Court building (where my friend Steve works) and the Indiana State Prison. Then, I noticed how late I was, so I tried to speed back to the house. I kept up a 15 MPH pace for most of the trip with just one stop at a store for a fresh drink. It was around 8:00 when I passed the guard shack at the town entrance.

No one asked me how far I had gone.

Miles Ridden: 30.9
Total This Year: 50 + TBD