Getting Back Out There
Saturday, May 23, 2015
When you are trying to immerse yourself back into something, you always want to start out doing it right. I feel like my hiatus from motorcycling actually lasted two years. I rode right up until we left for Costa Rica, and I have a few thousand miles since we have come back, but in the grand scheme of things, that is just a run for breakfast. So 2015 will be when I am really getting back into things.
This nice day ride starts off a familiar spot, the gas station. We are in Danville, Indiana, where US 36 meets SR 39. From there, we would head south out of town, jogging over to Cartersburg Road. Smooth, curvy pavement greets us, and since I have been on stretch a number of times, it is a good warm up. After short stint on US 40, The National Road, we head south on Miles Drive, which bends to the east. At a traffic circle, we head south into Mooresville, eventually joining up with SR 267 which we follow through town to SR 144.
A lot of this route is familiar, since I take it quite a bit, in both directions, going to and from Columbus. Usually, I ride through Bargersville to get to US 31, but today, we are taking 135 South in Trafalger, Indiana. Right away on 135 we see others on two wheels. It is a pretty famous route for motorcycles from the south side of Indianapolis all the way down to near the Ohio River. We veered tot he right in town, and off of 135. Just passed the school, we headed south on County Road 300 West.
After a jog, the road changes names to CR 250. It meets up with one of my favorite roads in the area Beech Tree Road. It has been several years since a tornado came through this area and removed many of the trees for which the road is named. In spots, you can still see where it hasn't completely recovered. First impressions are the lasting ones, and I can remember the first time I road along this road, and how the tree line looked.
We turned south, despite my desire to run Beech Tree again, and we were on Ninevah Road. I usually come from the north, and turn to go west on Beech Tree, but I was looking for a different adventure this time around. We ended up on Sweetwater Trail, cruising through the area of Princess Lakes. Not sure why I had never came down this way in all the trips I had made in the area. The road was curvy, both horizontal and vertical. Larges dips in the road took you down to the waters edge, while climbs led you to cabins and homes with lots of glass to enjoy the views.
The lakes are not large, and neither is the area, so in time we were away from the water, and continuing our way south. It is hard to say that we were at Gatesville, since the town's sign proudly proclaims, "Entering, Leaving", but we were there when we made a turn to the south on Salt Creek Road. Along this stretch we passed some others on two wheels, the kind with pedals in between the wheels, not an engine. A lot of this road is closed in on one side by woods, and open to farm fields on the other. Despite what it sounds, it is quite a contrast.
We arrived at SR 46, and then made our way toward Nashville, pulling into Brown County State Park before we made the edge of town. We though we might go ahead and get our pass for the year, but traffic at the gate was heavy. It was Memorial Weekend, so Veterans get in free. We cruised around the park, trying to get deeper in to find a scenic spot for our picnic. The park was quite busy, being the holiday weekend, and one with good weather. We were able to find a spot to eat, and it featured a pretty darn good view.
In addition to being a fantastic riding partner, Kasey is quite the maker of a picnic spread. So we were well sated, and it was time to make our way out of the park, and ride the best part of SR 135. I think we saw just about every inch of the park you can see from pavement by the time we made our way out. We turned right at the exit, away from Nashville, on SR 46. At the edge of a Golf Course is the turn south on 135. The road borders the state park, and in a fun, curvy fashion. It has to be a great route when you have towns along it like Story, Freetown and Norman. Okay, so Norman doesn't sound so fantastic.
In Freetown, we veered off, westward bound on SR 58. Norman is along here. Used to be a restaurant here in town, and when Bloomington hosted the Gathering for Cruiser Club, USA, this is where we had lunch. We cruised by, as there were some people outside, but it didn't look like it was open.
Near Heltonville, we started back north on SR 446. The GPS suggested a slight detour, which I was hesitant to take, and should have heeded that feeling. The detour didn't offer much in terms of scenery, more the challenge of stretch of gravel road, several of them, divided by pavement. Who does this? Oh yeah, Indiana.
We returned to 446, and continued north, eventually crossing Lake Monroe. The road dipped down like a Princess Lakes, but there is a lot more water to cross here. We knew the water had to be cold, but still lots of boats dotted the liquid surface. Even some skiers and tubers bobbing in the water.
446 leads right into Bloomington, and to SR 46. This is another fine ribbon of asphalt over the Hoosier Landscape, and takes us into Nashville, Indiana. It was time for another stop, this time to fuel The Black Pearl. We were looking something sweet, but knew parking would be a nightmare in the town, so we cruised through and headed for an alternative idea in Morgantown. After a little search, we found Kathy's Cafe, who had a fine assortment of pies to choose. We found parking right up front, too.
We hopped back on 252, and made our way north and west to Martinsville. It's an easy town to cruise through, so we went through downtown to get to SR 39. This would join up with SR 67 outside of town. I could have stayed with SR 39 were it peels back off of 67, but I enjoy taken Robb Hill Road as a connector a bit better. I like Robb Hill in either direction, but I do prefer going west to east, than I do this way east to the west.
The finishing leg of our trip would be north on SR 39 and eventually arrive back in Danville. The miles are bringing my confidence, and my passion for riding. Even thought I would be ready to hit the road tomorrow, obligations and the weather would stand in the way.
When you are trying to immerse yourself back into something, you always want to start out doing it right. I feel like my hiatus from motorcycling actually lasted two years. I rode right up until we left for Costa Rica, and I have a few thousand miles since we have come back, but in the grand scheme of things, that is just a run for breakfast. So 2015 will be when I am really getting back into things.
This nice day ride starts off a familiar spot, the gas station. We are in Danville, Indiana, where US 36 meets SR 39. From there, we would head south out of town, jogging over to Cartersburg Road. Smooth, curvy pavement greets us, and since I have been on stretch a number of times, it is a good warm up. After short stint on US 40, The National Road, we head south on Miles Drive, which bends to the east. At a traffic circle, we head south into Mooresville, eventually joining up with SR 267 which we follow through town to SR 144.
A lot of this route is familiar, since I take it quite a bit, in both directions, going to and from Columbus. Usually, I ride through Bargersville to get to US 31, but today, we are taking 135 South in Trafalger, Indiana. Right away on 135 we see others on two wheels. It is a pretty famous route for motorcycles from the south side of Indianapolis all the way down to near the Ohio River. We veered tot he right in town, and off of 135. Just passed the school, we headed south on County Road 300 West.
After a jog, the road changes names to CR 250. It meets up with one of my favorite roads in the area Beech Tree Road. It has been several years since a tornado came through this area and removed many of the trees for which the road is named. In spots, you can still see where it hasn't completely recovered. First impressions are the lasting ones, and I can remember the first time I road along this road, and how the tree line looked.
We turned south, despite my desire to run Beech Tree again, and we were on Ninevah Road. I usually come from the north, and turn to go west on Beech Tree, but I was looking for a different adventure this time around. We ended up on Sweetwater Trail, cruising through the area of Princess Lakes. Not sure why I had never came down this way in all the trips I had made in the area. The road was curvy, both horizontal and vertical. Larges dips in the road took you down to the waters edge, while climbs led you to cabins and homes with lots of glass to enjoy the views.
The lakes are not large, and neither is the area, so in time we were away from the water, and continuing our way south. It is hard to say that we were at Gatesville, since the town's sign proudly proclaims, "Entering, Leaving", but we were there when we made a turn to the south on Salt Creek Road. Along this stretch we passed some others on two wheels, the kind with pedals in between the wheels, not an engine. A lot of this road is closed in on one side by woods, and open to farm fields on the other. Despite what it sounds, it is quite a contrast.
We arrived at SR 46, and then made our way toward Nashville, pulling into Brown County State Park before we made the edge of town. We though we might go ahead and get our pass for the year, but traffic at the gate was heavy. It was Memorial Weekend, so Veterans get in free. We cruised around the park, trying to get deeper in to find a scenic spot for our picnic. The park was quite busy, being the holiday weekend, and one with good weather. We were able to find a spot to eat, and it featured a pretty darn good view.
Here is our view while we ate.
In addition to being a fantastic riding partner, Kasey is quite the maker of a picnic spread. So we were well sated, and it was time to make our way out of the park, and ride the best part of SR 135. I think we saw just about every inch of the park you can see from pavement by the time we made our way out. We turned right at the exit, away from Nashville, on SR 46. At the edge of a Golf Course is the turn south on 135. The road borders the state park, and in a fun, curvy fashion. It has to be a great route when you have towns along it like Story, Freetown and Norman. Okay, so Norman doesn't sound so fantastic.
In Freetown, we veered off, westward bound on SR 58. Norman is along here. Used to be a restaurant here in town, and when Bloomington hosted the Gathering for Cruiser Club, USA, this is where we had lunch. We cruised by, as there were some people outside, but it didn't look like it was open.
Near Heltonville, we started back north on SR 446. The GPS suggested a slight detour, which I was hesitant to take, and should have heeded that feeling. The detour didn't offer much in terms of scenery, more the challenge of stretch of gravel road, several of them, divided by pavement. Who does this? Oh yeah, Indiana.
We returned to 446, and continued north, eventually crossing Lake Monroe. The road dipped down like a Princess Lakes, but there is a lot more water to cross here. We knew the water had to be cold, but still lots of boats dotted the liquid surface. Even some skiers and tubers bobbing in the water.
446 leads right into Bloomington, and to SR 46. This is another fine ribbon of asphalt over the Hoosier Landscape, and takes us into Nashville, Indiana. It was time for another stop, this time to fuel The Black Pearl. We were looking something sweet, but knew parking would be a nightmare in the town, so we cruised through and headed for an alternative idea in Morgantown. After a little search, we found Kathy's Cafe, who had a fine assortment of pies to choose. We found parking right up front, too.
We hopped back on 252, and made our way north and west to Martinsville. It's an easy town to cruise through, so we went through downtown to get to SR 39. This would join up with SR 67 outside of town. I could have stayed with SR 39 were it peels back off of 67, but I enjoy taken Robb Hill Road as a connector a bit better. I like Robb Hill in either direction, but I do prefer going west to east, than I do this way east to the west.
The finishing leg of our trip would be north on SR 39 and eventually arrive back in Danville. The miles are bringing my confidence, and my passion for riding. Even thought I would be ready to hit the road tomorrow, obligations and the weather would stand in the way.
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