The midwest is FLAT

[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.

[beccaB]

A century in the Midland, Michigan area advertises that it is the flattest century ever. kinda boring, I did it once.

[FlyingScot]

The combination of hills and a headwind is what burned me in the Pelotonia last year. There were a few times I actually was being blown backward while riding uphill. It slowed me to 8mph even on the flat sections when I normally ride 14-16. Completely demoralizing. I was drafting off total strangers at one point. Fortunately they didn't seem to know what I was doing or didn't care. I think they just thought I was being nosy and wanted to hear their conversation. It totally sucked!

[Catrin]

I wimp out in the cold, and tend to push the heat a bit too much. I do, however, change where I ride in the heat. If temps =>90F then I will only go on routes where there are substantial shaded portions. Locally that means Eagle Creek Park - certainly not out in my totally unshaded corn fields I find my body seems to perform far better in the heat than the cold, I just have to monitor myself and make certain my body has what it needs.

This preference for hot riding has been a surprise to me as I've never considered myself a heat lover, but on the bike it is different!

[Jo-n-NY]

Last year we did an organized ride in the Hudson Valley and I have to say that after 40 miles those hills were the worst I have done. We ended up with 75 in 90 degree temps. It was a tough ride.

Emily your post was interesting as I thought Ohio was very flat from what I hear. It just goes to show that you never know what different areas are like until you experience them.

~ JoAnn

[emily_in_nc]

Emily your post was interesting as I thought Ohio was very flat from what I hear. It just goes to show that you never know what different areas are like until you experience them.
~ JoAnn

Some parts of it are dead flat (like around Cleveland), but where we were riding was unreal hilly. Mind you, these were very much back roads, not highways, not county roads, just cut-throughs, some of which weren't even paved until recently, and most had some fresh tar and light gravel on them, so they weren't paved up to county standards. The roads had names like "blahblah Hill", so I wasn't imaginining it, and there was just one after another of them. I definitely think that ride helped me on our weekend rides back home here in NC, though. The hills around here pale in comparison. Wish I had an elevation profile of our Ohio ride!

[Owlie]

Some parts of it are dead flat (like around Cleveland), but where we were riding was unreal hilly. Mind you, these were very much back roads, not highways, not county roads, just cut-throughs, some of which weren't even paved until recently, and most had some fresh tar and light gravel on them, so they weren't paved up to county standards. The roads had names like "blahblah Hill", so I wasn't imaginining it, and there was just one after another of them. I definitely think that ride helped me on our weekend rides back home here in NC, though. The hills around here pale in comparison. Wish I had an elevation profile of our Ohio ride!

Cleveland itself (and much of the rest of the area immediately surrounding the lake) is pretty flat. Go a little bit south of Cleveland and you hit hills again, big ones in some places. (I'm thinking of Chardon and Chagrin Falls in particular. Some of them were terrifying.)

[OakLeaf]

Wish I had an elevation profile of our Ohio ride!

The worst thing about doing CFC two years ago was that the rain blanked out the barometric altimeter on my computer. So I have no elevation profile even from a ride I actually did.