TRIRI anyone?

[lauraelmore1033]

Dh and I are prepairing to return to Indiana and ride in the TRIRI September Escapade. Anyone done this ride before? Anyone with insights into what the terrain and weather will be like? Tour starts near Indy and goes down to Brown County State park, then to McCormick's creek and Turkey Run before returning to Indy. I grew up in Crawfordsville, and have vague recollections of blazing hot summers and endless miles of very flat corn fields (so much flatness that the hilly terrain here in the pacific nw made me feel downright claustrophobic). The tour has been described as "rolling to hilly with some challenging climbs". Now, that is how I would describe the terrain around here; we live at 500 ft and are only 5 miles away from sea level, so most rides around here offer variations on the same 300-500 foot climb.
How does this compare to Southern Indiana? I've noticed that tour and organized ride promoters tend to underplay the ruggedness of the terrain. Is this just a rare case of truth in reporting? How bad is it really?

[makbike]

I can't be of much help on this one other then to say Southern Indiana has some wicked knobs! Have fun and enjoy the scenic beauty of the area. I hope it cools down some before your ride (it is hot and humid at the moment).

[lauraelmore1033]

Well Marcie, if YOU think there are wicked knobs, it must be pretty durn bad! I hope it cools down too. We've been having cool weather here, so I'm quite whimpified where the weather is concerned.

[wolfak]

So, I'm a grad student at Purdue about an hour from the north side of Indy. It's flat up here, but there are nice rolling hills and the one time I went through Turkey Run I was amazed at how beautiful and hilly it was. All the outdoor clubs up here love to go there for mild rock climbing. I think you will find it to be a bit challenging.

[indysteel]

Indy is indeed (mostly) flat, but the area in and around Brown County State Park has some challenging hills of the short and steep variety. I'm always glad to have my triple there. It will still be pretty warm here but not unbearable by any means. Mornings might be a little cool. Bring arm warmers. Have a great time.

[Kathi]

I'm originally from Cincinnati and have done 4 summer TriRi's and 1 fall TriRi, Sept 04. Food is served in the lodges and is good and plentiful. The accomodations in the lodges are also pretty nice.

The weather for the fall TriRi was hot, humid and windy. We didn't have rain but got the humidity and wind from whatever hurricane that was hitting Florida in Sept of 04. However, it was rainy and cool the year before.

The area around Brown Cty is very hilly with some good steep clilmbs. In Brown Cty SP they will shuttle you to the lodge because the road is so windy and narrow it's not to safe to ride. Once you get out of the Brown Cty area the terrain flattens with longer not so steep climbs. Near Indy its pretty flat.

Joe and his wife have been doing TriRi for years and do a very good job. The roads, except near towns, are very low traffic roads.

Keep in mind that Joe goes out of his way to prove that Indiana is not flat. So he will route you on the hilliest route you can find.

We had thought about going back this year to do it but lost the desire to make the long drive back.

Enjoy

[lauraelmore1033]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm getting so excited about this tour! Hubby assures me we will be fine on the hills. Turkey Run and McCormick's creek were always special places to me as a teenager, and it will be interesting to see if they differ much from my memories of them.