The midwest is FLAT

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Ok, i just got back from a road trip through Ohio, Indianapolis Indiana, to Springfield Illinois and back.

It is FLAAAAAAAT there.
No wonder everyone there can cycle average at 20-25mph !!
(I realize there are some areas of these states that have a few hills...just not where i was!)

Speaking as a beekeeper...Talk about gazillion miles and miles of only corn and soybeans, as far as the eye could see no matter where I went. No wonder bees have a hard time finding nutritious varied forage there to survive on, and beekeepers have to feed them tankertrucks full of corn syrup to keep them from starving. CORN CORN CORN CORN CORN CORN CORN....

[Pax]

Welcome to my little corner of heaven, you were about 90 miles from me when you were in Springfield. What speed we have on the flat roads gets hammered away by never ending wind... heaven.

[Tri Girl]

Agreed- it may be flat, but dadnabbit- the blasted wind that blows at 15-20 mph every single day (many days much stronger than that) more than makes up for the flatness.


When I ride someplace hilly and tree-lined I always think: is this better or not? I mean, with hills you always get a downhill break, with flats and wind- not so much.

[indysteel]

Agreed- it may be flat, but dadnabbit- the blasted wind that blows at 15-20 mph every single day (many days much stronger than that) more than makes up for the flatness.


When I ride someplace hilly and tree-lined I always think: is this better or not? I mean, with hills you always get a downhill break, with flats and wind- not so much.

I can either ride the flats just outside my door and be blasted by wind or go southwest about 20-30 miles to some horrible 15-22% plus gradient hills. Ugh. We can't win in Indiana. That said, I'd much rather ride hills than deal with the wind. If you train, you can master the hills. The wind, however, plays minds games with you no matter how used to it you are.

[OakLeaf]

You forgot the ragweed! Corn, soybeans and ragweed!

(happy to live in the OTHER part of Ohio )

[Kathi]

Yes, Glaciers have made those areas very flat. There is nothing flat about Southwestern Ohio around Cincinnati, except the Little Miami Bike Trail. Southeastern Ohio has the Appalachian Mt's. Do TRIRI (The Ride in Rural Indiana) especially, the southwestern part, or the Hilly Hundred and you will find plenty of good steep hills. Joe, the organizer of these rides, is out to prove Indiana is "not" flat.

I don't know a lot about Illinois but can tell you that around Galena it is not flat. I did a bicycle tour in that area last summer and was quite surprised how hilly it was.

I will agree I think the the hills around Cincinnati are small compared to the Rockies but there are many and I miss riding the rolling terrain in the river valleys of Ohio, Indiana and Ky.

And how can I forget? The humidity and air pollution in the Greater Cincinnati Area!

[Owlie]

There's something about being run over by a mile-high sheet of ice that tends to flatten places. (Of course, then it dumped some of it here...) And even the bike trail's not totally flat! It hurts more going north than south! (Though it's pretty close to flat...) The connecting trail in Lebanon has some hills. I haven't checked it out yet. On my to-do list.

Kathi, that humidity and air pollution was certainly in evidence today! At least, the humidity was. I went on a ride this morning and if I stopped for too long, my glasses fogged up!

[Pax]

Agreed- it may be flat, but dadnabbit- the blasted wind that blows at 15-20 mph every single day (many days much stronger than that) more than makes up for the flatness.


When I ride someplace hilly and tree-lined I always think: is this better or not? I mean, with hills you always get a downhill break, with flats and wind- not so much.

I have a friend here who goes out to CO and does Ride the Rockies and some other ride where they ride up to Ouray, she says riding against wind non-stop makes hill a breeze for her.

[Owlie]

Ok, i just got back from a road trip through Ohio, Indianapolis Indiana, to Springfield Illinois and back.

It is FLAAAAAAAT there.
No wonder everyone there can cycle average at 20-25mph !!
(I realize there are some areas of these states that have a few hills...just not where i was!)

Speaking as a beekeeper...Talk about gazillion miles and miles of only corn and soybeans, as far as the eye could see no matter where I went. No wonder bees have a hard time finding nutritious varied forage there to survive on, and beekeepers have to feed them tankertrucks full of corn syrup to keep them from starving. CORN CORN CORN CORN CORN CORN CORN....

We have hills down here. Granted, they're not what you're used to, but still, they leave me in a little pile at the top. But I hear you on the corn. And soy beans. Driving up I-71...corn...more corn...cows!...corn...soybeans...corn...corn...

[emily_in_nc]

Ok, i just got back from a road trip through Ohio, Indianapolis Indiana, to Springfield Illinois and back.

It is FLAAAAAAAT there.
No wonder everyone there can cycle average at 20-25mph !!
(I realize there are some areas of these states that have a few hills...just not where i was!)

Yes...they do. We rode some of the toughest, hilliest rural roads of our lives just north of Dover, Ohio last week visiting my DH's parents. I was in my 19" granny gear and could barely keep the front wheel on the pavement. Going about 3.5 mph in places up hill. Downhill, if we'd felt comfortable with the roads (turns, gravel, and the like), we could have hit 40mph, but we had to do some braking since we were not used to the roads, and there was some loose gravel here and there.

I've ridden in Vermont, upstate NY, and other places where we were actually in the mountains, and these rural Ohio hills were tougher!

[Miranda]

Funny The Wizard Of Oz was mentioned... that is my favorite movie of all times! And oh my, Toto... we have wind indeed lol.

I hate the freakin wind with a passion. When I started riding I quickly developed the habit of selecting "wind speed by hour" as my default choice on weather dot com.

I do love riding rolling hills. We have some of those crossing the line going N into MI from IN. But, I must say I do love riding and/or driving in the country with desolation with nothing but farm fields. Just miles and miles of wide open crops.

One of my routes I must take a pic of sometime and post it. Provided the home owner's don't shoot me as a stalker lol. It's the picture perfect view of the midwest. After miles of nothing but wide farm fields, there is one lone white farm house. Some silos. And a flag pole in the front yard with the American flag always out. When the color changes and it's harvest time... omg, it's SO beautiful.

It's ok... you can call me "corn-y"... ha ha ha... gues I'm a midwest girl always at heart.

EDIT ADD: forgot to add my hatred of humidity! just kills me and bad for the asthma. another reason I love Fall... humidity goes away... Midwest Fall colors = beatutiful.

[Pax]

Tractors, meh. ATVs. Nothing like coming around a turn on the side of your tire and having an ATV fly out onto the road from deep woods. I'm glad someone was paying attention, because it sure wasn't her.

What these "woods" you speak of??

[Miranda]

What these "woods" you speak of??

Ha ha... can not answer directly since it's not my quote... BUT... first thing that came to mind was a tree patch that you see in farm fields... sorta like an oasis in the dessert. For whatever reason the farmer doesn't use the piece of the land... and if it's near the road... could fly outta there lol. Just an image in my mind.

[Bethany1]

LOL. Haven't been attacked by a ATV yet, but I'll make sure to look out for them. I had two cars go by today on each side and ate quite a bit of dust. All we have out here are loose gravel roads and dirt is just part of the delicacy of riding.