Hidden Gems of Southern Indiana - Not Just Corn and Soybeans!

[Helmetdance]

After working 26 days straight, I was experiencing major motorcycle withdrawal pains and my head was overdue for some serious stress relief. I thought it might be fun to re-visit some of the backcountry roads in southern Indiana’s Morgan, Monroe, and Brown counties, which I used to bicycle and drive in my student days at Indiana University in Bloomington. Getting off the plane Friday night, I got a good night’s sleep and departed early Saturday for a 3-day ride, after hastily packing the bike.

The weather was great for riding - lucky for me as in my haste I forgot to pack the rain gear! I was about to rediscover those scenic Indiana backroads, and this would be the first time ever I would ride them by motorcycle. As I absorbed the beauty of these peaceful byways, I started to feel the error of my ways for not having done a better job of representing my native state to the rest of the readers here. I’m looking forward to hearing what you think, but I feel I am on solid ground to presume that this was a ride even a Californian would delight in.

Saturday:

I make the 2 ½ hour ride to my brother’s house in Noblesville, Indiana. He’s agreed to let me use his cabin near Brown County State Park in Yellowwood State Forest for the weekend, so I stop by to pick up the keys. A quick cup of coffee and I head around the east side of Indianapolis on I-465, finally picking up I-65 south. I leave the interstate at Franklin to begin the first leg of my journey on Indiana Highway 44.



I stopped for a burger at this place, stumbling onto some great food in one of many local historical storefronts in town:





Heading out of Franklin, I start making way west towards Martinsville on Hwy 44:









At Martinsville, I make my way onto Old Hwy 37, which winds its way through Morgan Monroe State Forest:











A slight increase in the zoom angle and a couple steps back accentuates the dip in the road, but the fence in front of the barn is hidden:









A slight difference in zoom angle makes things look a lot different:








Every state seems to have its own unique flavor when it comes to naming places, but this is one flavor I don’t suppose I’ll be sampling any time soon:





Making my way around the north side of Lake Lemon, I arrive in the huge metropolis of Bean Blossom:



From Bean Blossom to Nashville (Indiana), the ride down Hwy 135 is a twisty blast:



If you’ve never been to Nashville, Indiana, it’s worth the trip. It’s packed full of artists selling their wares, street musicians, restaurants, and you guessed it, tons of motorcycles:










Just down the road a piece from Nashville, is the wide spot in the road named Gnaw Bone:




Talk about unique names, there is a much heated debate that has gone on for years, as to whether or not the Red Bud Inn is really named after a tree:



It’s getting late in the afternoon but there are still a couple hours of riding time left, so I make my way south out of Nashville through the town of Stone Head (seriously!) and into Story. Highway 135 is one awesome motorcycle road. If you’re ever in Indiana, don’t miss this one:









So often as I stopped to take pictures people would stop to ask if I was broke down. This gentleman is braking because he thinks I'm broken down despite the camera, I had to wave at him to signal all was well:

















The Story Inn is a rustic looking place where, at first glance, you would not expect to find a gourmet restaurant. People come from a long ways off just to eat here, the food is incredible. There isn’t much else in Story besides the Story Inn.



Here’s the last shot of day, the late afternoon sun lighting up a huge field of canola:

[Azaziel]

some very nice shots. I myself was riding not too long ago down in Southern Indiana. I had plans of making it into Hoosier National Forest, but was caught in the bad weather and never made it that far north. So i had to head back and make a quick dash back to Louisville. Still got soaked

[Helmetdance]

Sunday:

I awake to another gorgeous day and decide to venture further south on Hwy 135 to Hwy 58. Eventually heading back north through Hoosier National Forest on Hwy 446, across Lake Monroe and into my college stomping grounds of Bloomington:







Wait a minute, what did that sign say? I couldn’t find the sign for the town of Stone Head, apparently the college kids from Bloomington keep stealing them, so they stopped replacing them, but here’s a local street named after the town. Didn’t see a single person around this morning, maybe they all stayed up at the Red Bud Inn last night!?















It took a lot of coaxing to get these two horses to trust me. What’s the matter fella? Haven’t you ever seen a helmet before?



When I got into these areas with intermittent spots of shadow and sun, I tried to remember one of the Pashnit rules, i.e. shoot from dark to light. These shots turned out far better than the shots where I shot from light to dark. Thanks Tim!

















Lake Monroe:






In Bloomington I asked two passers-by to take my picture at Indiana University's landmark Showalter Fountain, the centerpiece of the Fine Arts Plaza and adornment to the entrance of the IU Auditorium. The fountain features a large sculpture illustrating "The Birth of Venus."



Here’s the two passers by. I walked away from this one feeling a tad bit older than before:











A little experimentation with zoom angle and position to create a much different feel to the photograph:




Columbus Indiana is known for some unique architecture and engineering landmarks. Here is the I-65 bridge over Hwy 46:



Another aesthetically striking bridge in Columbus:

[Backmarker]

Wow! What a wonderful ride. All I remember of my brief time in IN was the minus 20 with the minus 40 windchill factor almost all winter. Then again, I was only there from Nov to April... I didn't get to see ANYTHING as beautiful as that. Would make it worth a trip back there! Simply amazing...

[Helmetdance]

Monday:

Another beautiful day. Since Sunday morning’s ride down 135 was overcast, I decide to ride it again to see how different it would look in the morning sunlight:







Look real close at the center of the foreground in this shot:



Let’s zoom in a little:







Old shed? Talk about camo!!










A morning shot of the Story Inn:















And last but not least, some flowers for Tim!!

[mnnden]

Mark, Really Great pictures, I always knew Indiana to be a great State, but I must admit, Some of the photos surprised me, Just beautiful, I am going to go back and take another look, I'm sure it will be put on our list of places to visit. Thanks for a nice ride. Den

[ClearwaterBMW]

Mark,

what a fantastic story and tour of indiana. you really made me feel like i was there.... great pictures and a wonderfully woven story... i truly appreciate you taking the time to input all of this for us

terrific


greg

[Orson]

I admit, I'm guilty of characterizing the midwest as featureless flatlands.

It's good to have threads like this one to dispell these myths

[motowriter]

Originally Posted by Orson

I admit, I'm guilty of characterizing the midwest as featureless flatlands.

It's good to have threads like this one to dispell these myths

Hmmm, I'm still not buying it. I grew up south of Chicago. I had to ride my bicycle 4 miles to get to the one small hill in town, across Ridge Road and down an incline of maybe 20 feet... a soft incline at that. Chicago also has only a couple of gentle slopes. One at Clark street on the north side... and I can't remember where the other one might be. That's how memorable the grid of streets in Chicagoland is.

I love the pix... so many great shots. But I suspect those twisties lasted a few hundred yards each, at most. Not to take away from Mark's post... it's awesome. Great to see twisties no matter where they're found. And I don't mean to brag about the Cali roads... no need to point out the obvious. But I'll never live in the midwest again... ever, tyvm.

So, Mark... excellent post. Those are terrific photos. Fabulous compostion and coloring. Those barn photos in the other thread were also excellent. Thanks a bunch for sharing your journey!

G

[Helmetdance]

Gary,

Sounds like you must have lived in my neighborhood as I can walk to Ridge Road from my house, its only 3 blocks south of my house in Munster and is the main east-west street through Munster. So I can certainly understand your perception, it is indeed quite common out here and I too have used the flatlands of Indiana for many a joke. But after this past weekend, I have developed a heathy respect for the beauty Indiana has to offer within a few hours of my house, and I've vowed to lose the sour grapes attitude and make the best of it until I can move out west. There are some great rides nearby for those weekends that I can't make it to California.

The area of Indiana I was in is great bike country. I live here in Indiana and even I was totally blown away by it. Those counties are tucked so out of the way, that nobody has a reason to go there unless they live there, or know about the roads and purposely go there to ride them - and many do. Admittedly, California it is not, but it sure has it's share of twisties and hills. In that limited area of the state, the twists and turns by far outnumber the straights. If you're ever back in town, let me know and I'll be happy to take you there - it will surprise you!

Thanks for the kind words.

Mark