Friday, January 2, 2009

Possibilities

With some ingenuity and motivation, I think the possibilities for RCCS rides are infinite. In a way, some of the distance and destination rides the LBC puts on are similar in spirit to some that I have in mind myself, but ultimately it's attitude and spirit, not just the destination.

I mentally jotted these ideas a week ago, and since have added some.

In Kentucky:
  • Bernheim and Pine Creek Barrens Preserve
  • Louisville State Nature Preserves: Louisville Nature Center (Creason), Sally Brown NP (not much info online)
  • Vernon-Douglas SNP (south of E'town)
  • Otter Creek (?)
  • "Emerald Necklace" type Louisville ride linking the Olmstead parks
  • Full Louisville Loop (with stop at Mike Linnings)
  • LithoDale suggested a Coffee/Cappuccino Hop b/c the 'Ville has so many good coffee shops. Of course, you could add the brew hop onto that, with tastings from the local micro-breweries. Just a taste, though.
  • KYPhilosopher has already offered to host a ride down Berea way.
  • A Lexington/Bluegrass ramble would be awfully fun
  • A redeux of the 'ville Paris-Roubaix cobblestone alley ride would be fun. I don't know if the LBC still puts that on, but I did it one year and had lots of fun.
  • Certainly a S24O or just a plain ol' bike camping trip. The best local spot I found via research was in Camp Horine/Jefferson Memorial Forest. It's pretty pricey, though ($20 or so. I just researched and it's $15. Not great. Not bad) for primitive camping. Clark State Forest in IN is much cheaper, albeit farther away.
In Indiana:
This is just listing and thinking outloud. I don't think a RCCS ride has to be epic nor far-reaching. I would think, though, that the purpose is not just to go for a quickie road ride like I do in the park. It's a novel, una novedad, kind of experience. Pondero (whose entries are fabulous, BTW) sent me a link to a similar kind of concept sprouted in Wilmington, DE by the owners of the Longleaf bike shop. Theirs has more of a focus on short and medium touring as opposed to day trips. I don't know if their plan really ever got off the ground; maybe the RCCS won't either, but we're going to try.

All I know is the idea for the first ride. We'll see what happens from there. More info to come soon.

3 comments:

  1. I would be happy to help with a Bluegrass ride as well.

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  2. sounds great - i'd love to attend as well as help spread the word

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  3. Way to go, Tex! I glad to hear that you've got this rolling. Thanks for the plug for my blog.

    Not that it matters much, but to be precise, Longleaf Bicycles is in Wilmington, North Carolina. Anthony is a great guy and has a fairly large out-of-town customer base. I knew him way back when he was still in Texas.

    Best wishes to all you River City Cycling Society members.

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