Gravel roads east of Madison, Indiana

[ghostdncr]

Three of us met up at the WalMart in Madison, Indiana this morning for a day of gravel riding east of town. Noah was on his XR650L, Dave brought his DL650, and I rode the Katoom.



This guy buzzed by as I was waiting for Dave and Noah. He didn't seem the least bit interested in 'venture riding.




We had great weather!





Noah arrives and reports that he's been in phone contact with Dave. Just a few more minutes...



Dave arrives shortly thereafter and is ready to roll.



We hit the road and head toward historic downtown Madison.



The annual Madison Regatta is next weekend. Noah said the town's population will swell from around a thousand to over twenty thousand for the event. They had this parked on the side of the road near the river's edge.



These would be water crossings if the creek wasn't dried up.





This creek wasn't dried up and provided great practice for us!









This is Noah making it look easy:

[AviatorTroy]

Cool! I've been to the hydro regatta many times, but never figures that area as having much gravel riding. Got a map of your ride handy, I'd love to check it out.

[mbabc]

Great pics John. Looked like a great day...rain Sunday.

[ghostdncr]

Originally Posted by AviatorTroy

Cool! I've been to the hydro regatta many times, but never figures that area as having much gravel riding. Got a map of your ride handy, I'd love to check it out.

No luck getting the map embedded this morning, but I think this is the route we took:
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Ma...via=1,2,3&z=11

[ghostdncr]

Noah and Dave taking a break at one of the day's many water crossings. This one was fairly uneventful, but Dave scared a fish into jumping completely out of the water about three feet from his bike as he rode by. Wish I'd caught that on video!



We suffered through harsh scenes like this all fricken day:






















Dave spinning a yarn:



Noah sitting in the middle of the road somewhat later in the rest stop. If you guessed there wasn't a lot of traffic, you'd be correct. Did I mention Dave is a great story teller?



We've made it to Friendship, Indiana. For those of you who are into muzzleloading firearms and historical reenactments concerning the period, Friendship is probably the cultural center of the universe and home to the NMLRA (National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association). The spring shoot ended last weekend, so the place had mostly fallen back into a low hum of normalcy.







Minor Strom damage:



Just outside Madison, we stopped at this huge undercut in the rock beside the road. I can't remember which road it's on or the name of it, but Noah took up the story telling duties at this stop. Told of his dad passing it in the early 80's to see a group of bikers showering buck naked in the waterfall...



























I was getting worn out and seem to have forgotten about taking pics at the BBQ joint near the end of the day. Dehydration and buffeting were taking their toll, I guess. No pics of our food, waitress, fellow diners, just these two:







After saying our goodbyes to Noah and proclaiming him a tier 1 adventure guide, Dave and I opened the bikes up and headed back toward home. These pics were taken along Indiana 256 on the way to I-65:











After losing Dave, I swung by the airport to get a few pics of this piece of hardware (F-86 Sabre, I think):







Happiness is a near-bald Scorpion:



No pics, but at one point we passed through an Amish settlement. I didn't expect them to run out toward the road waving excitedly as we passed! I guess certain technologies are a bit harder to shun than others.

[woodly1069]

Looks like you guys had a good time! Sorry I missed it but I was as happy as a clam flogging the 950 through some FANTASTIC twisties all over southern KY! Next time maybe!

[MeanStreaker]

Some of those roads and crossings look like a lot of fun that aren't too far from me.

Thanks for the pics.

[ghostdncr]

Originally Posted by MeanStreaker

Some of those roads and crossings look like a lot of fun that aren't too far from me.

Thanks for the pics.

I'll try to give a lot more advance notice for the next Madison run as it takes shape, as this was fairly short notice. Talk about a great area to practice your riding skills! If we could find some woods action in the area it would be nearly perfect for developing one's fundamentals, at least in this part of the country. The campground in Friendship might be a great place to set up an overnight event and turn the ride into a weekend affair. Maybe I'll investigate that...

[Kevinj110]

I think I am gonna follow your tracks tomorrow and see what me and the KLR can get into. I love Madison and used to just drive the ol 4runner everywhere down there. Thanks for posting looks like it was an awesome time.

[trkcpa]

Hey, Ghost. Is that a nail in the KTM tire? tom

[ghostdncr]

Originally Posted by trkcpa

Hey, Ghost. Is that a nail in the KTM tire? tom

Just a piece of gravel perfectly sized to wedge in the tread, I think. It's not in there today.

[CRP6001]

The overhanging rock waterfall is refered to by locals as "Hanging Rock".
This section of IN.S.R. 7 is refered to as "Hanging Rock Hill". The concrete
faux stone wall was decorated by inmates from the Women's Correctional
Unit at the former Madison State Hospital. The river road from Hanover
traveling west toward the abandoned Marble Hill nuclear site is nice.
Designated as travel at own risk. CR

[ghostdncr]

Originally Posted by CRP6001

The river road from Hanover
traveling west toward the abandoned Marble Hill nuclear site is nice.
Designated as travel at own risk. CR

That looks cool on Google Maps! Can you access it from either end?

[CRP6001]

Yes, there is access from both sides. Wenesday I drove from Marble Hill
to Hanover, west to east, to confirm that the road is open. The "Travel
at own Risk" sign has been replaced with one that reads "Road Closed",
but the road was not blocked, and I was able to make it through in my
2WD truck. Travel from Charleston to Bethelhem along the river, then
up hill to Marble Hill. Take Marble Hill Road to Saluda-Paynesville road to
Reed's Road to River Bottom Road. Reed's Road is the first gravel you will
encounter, but the roads before this are narrow, twisting, and lots of fun.
I frequently ride my 1978 KZ1000A from Hanover to Charleston on the back roads, but I avoid the gravel. The river bottom has a checkered
history of wrecks, found dead bodies, and at least one execution style
slaying. In 1977, at the site of the road closed sign, I became airborn in
my 1965 Chevelle and crashed. The road is challenging, and generally safe
to travel, but out of towners would be well advised not to pass through
at night(see execution style slaying above).
The story about the naked bikers showering at Hanging Rock is totally
plausible. I've seen similar scenes there myself. CR

[Kevinj110]

I went down there Tuesday and rode something close to your guys route. I had a great time and that first road off the highway coming east out of Madison by the water was awesome wish there was a bit more water. Then I got into the gravel by the water and corn fields and the KLrRdecided to take a nap in the middle of one of the super slick under water concrete bridges. Was a nice sool off and made for an interesting rest of the day. Other than that I had a great time and wish I had more time to explore down there seems like alot to get into.