Thursday – 21 miles
I have been looking for time to write this entry for a couple of days. I took advantage of a trip right before lunch time to our sister plant to extend my mileage a bit. Once again I pieced together a few pieces of the route I plotted to get to Rich-O’s on Grant Line Road to get to a spot I previously had difficulty reaching. Back in the Summer I had climbed Moser Knob Road and found a beautiful stretch of road behind the Knobs. The problem with the route is that you have to go out Green Valley Road through a nasty stretch of over-trafficked road that I do not care for.
Looking at the map I saw I could head out Klerner Lane, cross Grant Line Road at IUS, and then bypass the bad traffic on Green Valley. That part worked well but now I was left with the real challenge – Moser Knob Road – 9.2% Grade – Duc notes “Consistently Steep”. When I rode it in the summer I stopped and got off the bike three times. On Thursday I was able to get all the way up with no stops. It felt great. When I set I did not have a true plan in mind just a general direction I wanted to travel and a few ideas/options about how to do it. After the hill conquest I set onto Campion Road which I was so impressed with the time before. Here is a photo before I set out:
I told many people after the first ride how stunning Campion Road was and how pleased I was to have ended up upon it. A creek runs along the reasonably deserted, curving, and just beautiful stretch.
I was to soon be disappointed…the wind was so oppressive as I traveled across the road that I could barely keep the bike at 12 mph. While this ride was not about speed per se I had an idea that I might run long so I didn’t want to dawdle. The wind was to be a persistent guest in my run across these knobs.
Time was slipping away from me as I approached St. Mary’s road and couldn’t honestly recall where I was exactly. I knew I was still pursuing the proper direction but I thought I should have come upon Spickert Knob Road by now. I followed instinct and was rewarded in a few more minutes when I came out where expected. I crossed Paoli Pike onto Old Hill Road and met another big hill that I neglected to think of when mentally planning. The hill is chased with two rolling miles of up and down that left me tired but happy.
I turned back toward N’Albany on Old Vincennes Road and was met with a blast of wind that nearly stopped me in my tracks but even worse made feel wobbly and as if I was about to be blown over. I switched back under I-265 and then it was a downhill assault into town. I choose the most direct route I could think of as I was now reaching the tolerable time limits of lunch time randoneuring.
What a great day on the bike! It was my greatest lunch time ride of all. Chock full of the best stuff – big climbs, screaming descents, cold but nice weather, sunshine, and a little bit of being lost in the country. Hard to replicate, hard to repeat – all very much worth it
