Day2: Mitchell to Bloomington IN

Sunday June 9, 2019

I had another hilly day in southern Indiana. It started with some very nice riding on the old IN 37 road which has become the Dixie Highway. I could have ridden the new IN 37 most of the way to Bloomington, but construction and high traffic levels made that much less desirable.

I started by riding back east a little way on IN 60 and then riding north through Mitchell. In a few miles, I reached Woodville Rd which I rode north west to cross the new highway and reach the old highway. From there to near Bedford, riding was was quite nice. Smooth pavement and gentle hills through pretty residential areas with very light traffic was marred by having to get across the new highway and even ride on the closed lanes to get to the next section of he old road. After that I got on the new highway just after the construction section ended. I rode it for a couple of miles to the northernmost Bedford exit. That riding was noisy and hilly but almost always had a good shoulder. I'd ridden the section many years ago, coming south on IN 37 to get to, and ride US 50 going west.

I took the last exit into Bedford to get some food and wifi at McDs. That was challenging but eventually I got what I needed. I decided to go with the route Gmaps suggested for getting to Bloominton since I really didn't want to ride on IN 37 and I had plenty of time.

There were two disadvantages to using the Gmaps route. The first was that I was on what felt like a dozen different roads just getting out of Bedford and the second one was that, once out of Bedford, I was on Peerless Rd Which climbed over several big ridges at grades so steep that I had to use my lowest granny gear. I'd fly, at 35 to 40 mph, down the often bumpy road to the bottom of a valley - several times with a bridge over the same creek at the bottom - and climb, at 3 to 4 mph, up the other side. I had to do that three or four times before I got past those ridges. I reached the Judah-Logan road - also very hilly, but good riding - and rode it until I got on Old State Highway 37 at Judah.

That highway was much easier riding, although it still crossed many creek valleys on its way to Bloomington. In Bloomington, I headed north on Rodgers St, which connects to Bloomington's rail trails. I was about a mile from the southern end of those trails when Rodgers was closed and I was detoured east to old 37 for a much hillier ride into the city. when the detour took me back west, it passed the southern end of the Bee-Line trail and I was, finally, able to enjoy the ride north to near my destination.

I stopped at Blooming Foods, which is just off the Bee-Line trail, for lunch and texted my Friend Michael. Then I went to his house, relaxed and cleaned up. After Michael came home from work, we picked up Sam, Michael's father, and had a nice evening together.

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