Inclines, Hills and shifting

[indysteel]

I only just made my first trip to Brown/Batholomew Counties on Saturday with the CIBA ride. There are CIBA group rides that head south (next one is July 31) that you might want to check out - I am looking forward to this ride

I am told the hills in Bartholomew County are better for training than Brown County - but I am a pretty new cyclist. I bet that the Bloomington Bicycle Club has maps on their site - I just haven't had a chance to check.

Catrin, just a head's up that the route on July 31st isn't hilly. It's more scenic than anything, with just a small hill or two.

To answer Cait's question, check out CIBA's weekend ride calendar. Almost any ride that starts in, or travels to, southern Johnson County, Bartholomew, Morgan or Brown County will have hills. A few upcoming rides that comes to mind are the Mann Road Meander, the Bear, and Max's Mystique Menagerie. Earlier in the year, look for JAWS, Crankin' around Cordy, and the Wall.

The Bloomington Bicycle Club offers rides almost every weekend. Most, if not all, are hilly. Bloomington Parks Deparment is also offering a ride called the Brown County Hills Challenge the first weekend in October.

From my own experience, Brown County's hills are the toughest. Some are downright cruel. Do not be surprised if you have to walk some of them; they have grades in excess of 15%. Bartholomew County's hills are slightly kinder and gentler, but there are exceptions to that. I've climbed a few nasty ones there as well. There are a few hills in Indianapolis, mostly on the northwest side, in and near Eagle Creek Park. CIBA rides that start off of Lafayette Road (usually from the Fishback Academy) typically travel over some of them. There are a few hills near Fort Ben, too.

Remember that what goes up, has to come down. You will have some fast and steep descents with speeds that, if left unchecked, can exceed 40 mph.

You might find some routes on mapmyride.com. Just type in Martinsville, Columbus, Bloomington and the like and see what comes up. Check this out, too: http://www.rsdesign.info/gt_maps.html

The Dogwood and Summertime Hill rides are very nice (and hilly).