Is there any road in the southern half of the state that isn't under construction or limiting traffic? Gee whiz, driving to Paoli should never be this hard... or French Lick for that matter... of course, safety bugs that can't come within 10 mph of speed limit exacerbate the problem...
Allen, Scott and I drove down to French Lick to do the Allen "Dream Ride". Well, maybe not dream ride, but it's one he's talked about for a long time. Today, we ticked that off the bucket list. It was a good ride - for most of it, anyway.
Highway 145 is a super 2, so there were was plenty of shoulder to ride. The down side was it was pretty trashed, at least in the early phase. Shredded tires, glass, you name it, the shoulder was covered. I figured it was only a matter of time until one of us flatted. We actually got a lot farther along than I expected before it happened.
The wind was shifting, not too strong, but favored us mostly on the way out. Allen took charge right away and was pulling us along over 20 mph. When I noticed this I figured a few things:
Allen, Scott and I drove down to French Lick to do the Allen "Dream Ride". Well, maybe not dream ride, but it's one he's talked about for a long time. Today, we ticked that off the bucket list. It was a good ride - for most of it, anyway.
Highway 145 is a super 2, so there were was plenty of shoulder to ride. The down side was it was pretty trashed, at least in the early phase. Shredded tires, glass, you name it, the shoulder was covered. I figured it was only a matter of time until one of us flatted. We actually got a lot farther along than I expected before it happened.
The wind was shifting, not too strong, but favored us mostly on the way out. Allen took charge right away and was pulling us along over 20 mph. When I noticed this I figured a few things:
- We had a tailwind;
- We were going downhill, and;
- It was going to be a tough go getting home.
The downhill question was raised a few times throughout the ride. Allen's argument was Patoka Lake would be at Ohio River level. Mine was it couldn't be, else the water wouldn't flow there. He would not be moved, at least early on. Events later would prove me right.
The terrain is beautiful. The ride cleaves Hoosier National Forest vertically, and a nice view of Patoka Lake can be had. Beyond that was view after wonderful view of the area's natural beauty. Truly, one couldn't ask for a much prettier ride. There were hills, though nothing really steep. They were long though, and this began to wear on Allen as the day went on.
As for Scott and myself, we were the Q Men. Scott had his Rotor Q Ring installed yesterday, and he noticed right away how the legs didn't develop lactic acid on climbs. It's just easier. Bad news for Allen, as he was forced to rely on talent alone to get him to the tops.
We meandered around Tell City looking for a place to eat. Allen wanted Subway, so after a while we finally found it. This added a bit to the ride, nothing significant - unless you were really getting tired by the end. We probably took half an hour to get our food and eat it, then it was time to return.
This is the part where elevation came back. It seemed all we did was stair-step back to French Lick. One hill after another, after another, after another... Allen held together pretty well until around mile 70, then the wheels came off for a while. I had been on the front since we left town, and we'd made decent time. I was trying to be a wind break, though I possibly did more harm than good. For my part the wind didn't bother me at all and I was cruising. It was out there, for sure, it just didn't bother me. I'd say the same for Scott.
We had planned to stop at a gas station around 30 miles from the end, but Allen wanted to keep going. We all had enough fluids and supplies, so we kept at it. Other than the bad section of shoulder going into (and out of) Tell City, this was the hardest part of the ride. Not because of terrain, or temperature (that was perfect!), rather trying to find a speed to keep everyone together. Allen had bonked a bit, stopped talking, so it was hard to figure out how to help. He eventually came out of it after a bit, and we picked it up for a while.
Right at the end the bad was coming again, but at the very least the terrain had flattened for good, so it wasn't hard to keep going at a moderately decent pace. I was getting hot spots on the balls of my feet and tender areas I won't mention. Scott looked unfazed.
After finishing, we went to the burger place Allen wanted to visit and had supper. It was a decent meal, on par with Buffalo Wings & Rings. I'd probably eat there again if ever I visit French Lick.
It was a good day all around. It had challenges, but it also had a lot of reward. I don't know if I'll do that particular course again any time soon - an hour travel just to get started is a downer - however there were parts that were simply gorgeous.
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