Indiana Motorcycle Destinations -- Clifty Falls State Park

Trip To Madison, IN
My wife and I took a motorcycle trip to Madison, IN in early June. This blog post is part of a series which presents each step of our journey. If you missed the beginning, the story starts here.

We reached our destination by about 4 pm. We followed signs for Clifty Falls (Indiana) State Park, and entered by the north entrance.

The park is beautiful - one of Indiana's best.

We enjoy hiking this park's many rugged trails.

We stashed our belongings at the Clifty Inn 

I failed to take good photos of the Inn, but snagged a few from the TripAdvisor website, which also gives a good review of the Inn.

This photo of Clifty Inn is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This photo of Clifty Inn is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I took a nap when we arrived at the hotel!

Brownstown to Madison

Trip To Madison, IN
My wife and I took a motorcycle trip to Madison, IN in early June. This blog post is part of a series which presents each step of our journey. If you missed the beginning, the story starts here.

We left Story and rode on toward Brownstown.

IN-135 is a fine road, popular with the motorcyclists, which leads all the way to the south end of the state. We took IN-135 as far as Brownstown, IN.


View Larger Map

IN-135 featured sweepers and turns, and passed through small Indiana towns like Freetown. It emerged onto US-50, where we turned East and headed toward Brownstown. US-50 is more of a major highway -- and by that I mean boring. We stopped briefly to consult a map before continuing on.

Choosing a motorcycle road from a map is a bit of an art. Most of us motorcyclists don't like straight, boring, highways. We enjoy back roads, a little bit of scenery, and some twisting roads so that we can "get our lean on".

In choosing a route from Indianapolis to Madison, I knew the quickest way was also the most boring. A straight shot down I-65, then a short jaunt on US-31 south, followed by a long and straight shot down IN-7. Now IN-7 is a boring field-crosser for much of the way, but the last 30 miles into Madison it turns into sweepers and beautiful countryside, as the farm land gives way to rolling southern Indiana hills.

But I didn't want to be content to cross an hour of farmland; instead I plotted a course which I felt would maximize the backroad aspect of our trip. For this reason, we took IN-135 to Brownstown, and from there, travelled briefly on IN-39, followed by IN-256, east into Madison. I used google maps "terrain" view to try and separate the farmlands from the woodlands, and chose the more wooded route.


View Larger Map

I knew there was no way I could really go wrong coming into Madison. Get close enough to this river town and the roads would be picturesque and twisty.

However, I was a little disappointed in IN-256. It was a little too straight, and a bit of a mere field-crosser from Austin, IN until the Madison city limits.

All in all it was a good trip. We happily stretched what would have been boring, see-none-of-the-countryside interstate-bound two hour trip into something that took us about 6 hours - including stops. That's what I call a good ride.

Story Inn

Trip To Madison, IN
My wife and I took a motorcycle trip to Madison, IN in early June. This blog post is part of a series which presents each step of our journey. If you missed the beginning, the story starts here.

We left Gatesville and travelled south until we picked up IN-46.  We jogged east on IN-46 to IN-135, which we took south to Story, IN and the fabled Story Inn. 

Story Inn in Story, IN is a charming anachronistic place in the middle of nowhere. It wouldn't be in business were it not for the day trippers making a trek through and around Brown County State Park. The fact that it's situated on IN-135, one of the area's best motorcycle roads, doesn't hurt.

We stopped for lunch.


View Larger Map

We snapped a few photos of the Inn, including an antique gasoline pump on the front porch.

Here's a shot of the front of the Inn.

We've eaten there before and not been disappointed, but this time around we felt a little underwhelmed. Story Inn seemed long on image, and short on substance.

I ordered the BBQ pulled pork, and Mrs.Rat ordered the artichoke burger. Both of us got fries and a soda with our entree.

The BBQ pork was gristly and greasy ... Something I didn't even know was possible for pulled pork.

The artichoke burger was a fried patty made of artichoke dip. "Barely edible" was how Mrs. Rat described it.

The fries certainly looked great. Hand cut, with real bits of potato peel stuck on either end of the thick cut fry. The way they're supposed to look. However, they were slimy and cool on our plates.

After this meal, we considered taking Story Inn off our list of favorite eateries in Indiana.

We grabbed another photo of the front of the Inn, this time with our bikes in view.

We saddled up and rode south from Story on IN-135.

Waylaid In Gatesville

Trip To Madison, IN
My wife and I took a motorcycle trip to Madison, IN in early June. This blog post is part of a series which presents each step of our journey. If you missed the beginning, the story starts here.

From Apple Works we continued south along Sweetwater Trace and through the tiny town of Gatesville. By this time I had noticed something was going wrong for Mrs Rat. She was hanging back in the corners and not catching up in the straightaways.




View Larger Map

I stopped in the gravel parking lot of the township fire department . . . The only public building in the tiny town . . . And dismounted. Mrs. Rat pulled up and stopped, 'My bike won't downshift.'

I 've never worked on a Harley before, but started an inspection of clutch function and shift function. I couldn't spy the problem.






We started calculating alternate routes, with dismay. Instead of twisty roads en route to Madison, we'd have to back track via major roads to Edinburgh, IN, home of the nearest Harley dealer. Our well-laid plans were vanishing like smoke. After I paid a Harley dealer to fix her bike, assuming they could fix it in a timely manner, would I have enough funds to continue our trip, or would we have to cut it short?

One last time I inspected the shifting mechanism on her bike. Suddenly I saw it. A piece of gravel, nestled in the groove atop the transfer case. Wedged tightly,it prevented the shifting mechanism from travelling the full way down.



I snapped this photo, which is hopelessly blurry, but which shows the rock wedged in its place.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Though I hadn't removed the obstacle yet, I had solved the mystery. I knew I'd be able to repair the bike myself, with no cash outlayed. I imagined how ashamed I'd have been if we'd nursed the bike all the way to Edinburgh, only to have the dealer discover such an easy fix. Would they have charged me anyway?

I tried a stick, which was a fruitless effort. The stone was wedged tightly ... my wife had tried more than once to mash down the shift lever in order to downshift. Each such attempt only wedged the gravel tighter.

I thought of walking to the Gatesville General Store, the only other non-residential building in town, and borrowing or buying a pair of pliers. Then I thought to check my own ST1300's tool kit. Though it had no pliers, it had a regular screwdriver. Stout enough, and yet small enough to fit in the slot.  I was easily able to pry the rock from its sticking place.

Woo hoo! Our trip was back on track! We geared up and got ready to head to Story, IN.

Before we left I snapped a photo of the famous Gatesville sign. The town is so small, the "Welcome to Gatesville" sign and the "Now Leaving Gatesville" sign are combined into a single sign.

Trip to Apple Works

Trip To Madison, IN
My wife and I took a motorcycle trip to Madison, IN in early June. This blog post is part of a series which presents each step of our journey. The story starts here.

We slabbed it from home to Franklin, IN, so for all practical purposes our trip began there.

I've spent enough time riding the roads south of Indianapolis that I knew my way. We gassed up in Franklin, and set out for Apple Works in Trafalgar.


View Larger Map

 IN-44 is a good road for riding. Though it runs through farm fields rather than along the banks of rivers, it has its share of sweepers. For a field crosser, it's not a bad road.

South on IN-135 to Trafalgar is more of a traditional field crosser. From Trafalgar south to Apple Works is a wandering county road with uneven pavement, no lines, and lined with trees. It's a beautiful and technically challenging route of about four miles.

Apple Works itself is an orchard and store featuring locally grown produce. There's plenty of parking . . . But the parking lot isn't flat nor paved, and presents some technical challenges of its own. It's good practice for Mrs. Rat, who hasn't ridden on much gravel in her career.

The Back Road to Pendleton

Sure, we could take the interstate to get from Indianapolis to Pendleton, but where's the fun in that?


View Larger Map

This route is much better:

Take Olio Road to 104th street.  Turn east on 104th Street.

104th street becomes Connecticut Avenue.

Take Connecticut Avenue east, across, SR 238, where it becomes Lick Creek Road.

Lick Creek Road follows the river, and is one of my favorite stretches of country road.

Lick Creek emerges at SR 13 as County Road 1030 S.  Turn left (North) on SR 13 for about 100 ft.  Turn right on County Road 1000S.

Follow 1000S east to County Road 750W. Jog left on CR 750W, and immediately turn right again on Reformatory Road.

Follow Reformatory Road east to County Road 650W.

Turn left on 650W; continue North to Fall Creek Drive.  Take Fall Creek Drive all the way to SR 38 in Pendleton.  Turn right on SR 38, into downtown Pendleton.  Follow signs for Falls Park.

I've done Three Sisters on a motorcycle

I took the day off work, and rode with my wife to have lunch at the Three Sisters Cafe in Broad Ripple. It's is a great place to eat. Everything on the menu is fresh and home-made. The sauces are delicious. It started as a vegetarian restaurant, but they quickly added fish and poultry items to the menu. I recommend the fish tacos.



If you're passing through Indianapolis, take a detour to Broad Ripple to visit the Three Sisters. Here's the route my wife and I took. It's not the most direct route, but it's an enjoyable, winding road which follows Fall Creek from where I-465 crosses the creek on the city's east side.

View Larger Map

The route follows Fall Creek Road just a few hundred feet west of I-465 to Fall Creek Parkway. Left on Fall Creek Parkway to Kessler Boulevard. Right on Kessler Boulevard to Guildford avenue. Right on Guilford Avenue all the way to The Three Sisters Cafe. It's ten miles off the highway, but worth the detour.



Parking is free, but scarce.



View Larger Map

12 Covered Bridges By Motorcycle

Explore Parke County Indiana's covered bridges via motorcycle.

Inspired by my recent post, "Covered Bridges Of Fairfield County", and not to be outdone by a neighboring state's tourist attractions, the folks at www.rideindiana.info posted a route which hits 12 covered bridges from "The Covered Bridge Capital Of The World."

Check out their post, entitled 12 Covered Bridges In Parke County"... Indiana!



View Larger Map

Covered Bridges Of Fairfield County, Ohio

Fellow rider Shaun posted this map of Covered Bridges in Fairfield County, OH.

It wouldn't be too hard to stitch together a "great ride" which hit all of these points of interest.

It's not my typical "Great Motorcycle Roads" candidate, but it seems to me like a great scenic side-trip for the Columbus, OH area. I'll try to run this route the next time I'm in Columbus.


View Covered Bridges of Fairfield County, Ohio in a larger map

10 Best Roads To Ride

I don't usually talk about bicycling on this motorcycle blog, but we do have a few things in common with our human-powered-2-wheeled brethren: the love of a good road.

Check out this article at cycling tips blog and you'll see ... these are some great roads.

Unlike the bicyclists, we would enjoy these roads going up as much as coming down.

Great Motorcycle Roads -- in Florida?!?

A decent motorcycle road in Florida? It's the land of sunshine and oranges, but I don't typically think of Florida when I think of great motorcycle roads. But friend and fellow rider Ed managed to find one, and posted this trip report.

I set out for a place called Ravine Gardens State Park outside Palatka, FL. This allowed me to set a route through the Ocala National Forest via FL-19, which for Florida isn't a bad ride. It really didn't matter what route it was since the roads in Florida are substandard compared to what I am used to, but at least I *am* riding.

Along the way I passed a couple of rolling road blocks -- you know the "loud pipes save lives" crowd. There were two sets of them and both in groups of about 10 bikes per and all riding side by side.

Yeesh! I just don't get it. There *are* a -few- people I know that I will ride next to (even though it limits my escape options), but to ride IN a group *that* size AND side by side ... not my cuppa tea!

I managed to find the park without incident, but was a bit disappointed due to the expectation of the park's name I thought it would be more garden-like. I hiked a couple of the trails, but never found any "garden" areas. Although I didn't find the garden, I did find the spring that cut the ravine that gave the park its name.

Ed took some great photos of the Ravine Gardens State Park in Florida.

Other recommended roads ...

• A1A is a good road too because of the scenery.
• US 17 is one of those quiet roads that only has a few small towns on it, so there is very little traffic and even less law enforcement

About The Author
Ed's a fellow Honda V4 owner, but lately has been seen riding his 600cc Suzuki Bandit, or even his dad's Harley Davidson. This is his first contribution to The ATGATT Rat.

Revisiting the V-Rod Muscle

About The Author
Bob contributed a report after his brief, 5-mile test drive of the 2009 Harley Davidson V-Rod Muscle. The bottom line was ... not worth the hefty price tag. But while on vacation in Vermont, he had a chance to put the bike through its paces on some fantastic roads. You'll see by the following trip report -- he changed his tune....

Yesterday I took one hell of a Harley test drive. I called the Harley shop over in Barre, VT to inquire about renting a VRod muscle for a few days. They didn't have any on the rental program, but would be glad to let me take one out for a few hours for free.



Beauty. So I drove 44 miles down to the shop and picked up a brand new, shiny V-Rod Muscle. I rode it up I-89 to the Stowe exit - highway 100. I took highway 100 up past the Ben & Jerry's factory and some other landmarks to Stowe, VT. From Stowe I rode up 108 through "Smuggler's Notch", stopping along the way to take some pictures. 108 is a curvy, hilly piece of road; a royal pain in the ass in a minivan, but amazing on the V-Rod.

Over the notch and around 50 miles later, I showed the bike to my wife and her parents. Initially the plan was for me to take her for a quick, scenic spin through the notch, drop her off, and head back to the dealership. Well, my wife loved the bike and ended up riding all the way back to Barre with me. This is the longest trip we've ever taken together and it was a blast!

All in all I rode the bike around 100 miles on some of the most scenic roads you can imagine.

I am a certified V-Rod Muscle fan and a Harley convert. I plan to buy one within the next 5 years. I may even sell the Magnaceptor.