Looks like the “3rd Saturday – No Big Deal Ride” got off to a good start yesterday.  Weather was perfect for riding and a big crowd at Shapiro’s for breakfast, afterwards folks started chatting about ride ideas.  At least three groups organized and set out.  I led a group on a backroads tour of Brown County and another group headed south with yet another heading southwest to the Tulip Trestle in Greene County.

I had the pleasure of riding with four of our newer members, I had ridden once last fall with Dan Mihuti, and Barry Oyler has been a regular at breakfast the past few months, but Richard Peterson from Centerville, and Tom Koken from Noblesville are virtually babies in terms of their club membership.

Barry left breakfast early to go home and pick up his daughter for the ride, so the rest of us dawdled at Shapiro’s awhile before setting out for a quick run down I-65 to Franklin where we would re-unite with Barry, it gave us a good chance to get acquainted and check out each others machine of choice.

Our route was SR 44 through Franklin and west to SR 135 then south to Trafalgar.  At Trafalgar less than a tenth of a mile east on SR 252 we turned south on CR 300 W, which eventually becomes Sweetwater Trail at Peoga, and ending at Gatesville where a short jog right leads to Salt Creek Road which goes through to SR 46 ending at the Shell Station where we stopped for a short break.  From here just west a short distance SR 135 heads south to Story, but a new bridge is under construction on 135 just south of 46, so we continued east past Gnaw Bone where Valley Branch Road is being used by the locals as a detour.  Coming back to 135, we went south past Story to Freetown, picking up SR 58 to head northeast and back to I-65 for everyone to head home.

Traffic was light for a Saturday afternoon, of course we stayed away from Nashville, the only place I thought traffic was heavier than usual was on normally lightly traveled 58 which is currently the official detour for 135.  On a side note, when we passed through Gatesville it seemed like most of the emergency vehicles of Brown County were on-site plus a TV News truck.  This morning I learned we came through as they were finishing the cleanup of an ammonia spill that caused nearby residents to be evacuated.