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Franklin County Vatican Ride
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Key Search Terms: Franklin County Indiana; Oldenburg Indiana; Franklin County Vatican Ride.
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Text: Rich Ries. Photos: Rich Ries. Event: Road rides. Location: Oldenburg, Brookville, Franklin County, in eastern Indiana. Time of Visit: Late May, 2009. Miles: 15.3 for the Family (west) loop and 43.9 for the Expert (east) loop for a total of 59.2 miles. Total Elevation Gain: 1,261 feet for the Family loop and 3,270 feet for the Expert loop for a total of 4,531 feet for both loops.
The Good: Scenic. Challenging. A church-to-church tour is a neat concept for a ride.
The Bad: Lots of poor pavement. Routing not always clear. Expert loop may be too challenging for some. Oh, and hold your nose.
The Summary: Bring a better map, a compass, and your sense of adventure.
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Percentage
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Total Miles
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Max
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Avg
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Family (West) Loop
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|||
Ascending
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18.0
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3.5
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3.5
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Descending
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17.9
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2.8
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3.5
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Expert (East) Loop
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|||
Ascending
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17.5
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3.8
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9.8
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Descending
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17.3
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2.3
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10.0
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As Julie and I were strolling the aisles of the 2009 Boat, Sport and Travel Show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds last winter, I spotted some brochures for the Franklin County Vatican Ride. I'm always looking for new rides near our home in Madison, so I grabbed a copy. Back home that night I read the brochure. It has information for two rides. Loop #1 is the Family ride of 17.2 miles. Loop #2 is the Expert ride of 44.0 miles. Common to both is that they bring riders past German Catholic churches in the area (nine churches in all), hence the “Vatican” name. The brochure gives a little background on how German settlers in the 1830s and 1840s brought their culture - including their religion - to the area.
There are other commonalities. For one, the pavement is typical of rural Indiana, with lots of broken asphalt, gravel, and chip seal. The Expert loop includes at least a mile on a gravel road. (More on that in a minute.) I rode everything on my standard 700 x 23 road tires with no problems, but touring tires (28 mm or wider) might be a better choice. For that matter a touring, hybrid, or mountain bike might be a better choice. You could complete both rides on a tandem or comfort bike, but expect to struggle on the climbs.
Also common to both rides is the stench of confined feeding operations (CFOs). These “factory farms” cram the maximum number of animals into the minimum amount of space and the resulting stink is almost overwhelming. Proponents say this is the smell of money. I say their money stinks. Anyway, be prepared to have your breath catch in your throat occasionally.
It is the final common feature that makes these rides worth doing: they are gorgeous. Yes, there are a few tedious flat miles between farm fields, but there are also plenty of miles of solitude and scenery. Well-maintained homes are nestled on large, landscaped lots. Hobby farms hark back to the day when all farms were run by families and 160 acres was enough land to support them. The ridge tops yield stunning overlooks and the valleys embrace you as you pass through. Flowing water is common. Sometimes you ride alongside it. Sometimes you ride a bridge over it. At least once you'll shed your shoes and walk through it. And then there are the churches, monuments to the immigrants' faith in both their ancient God and their new home.
The Family ride assumes your family consists of competent riders. It's only 17 miles long, but it's a tough 17 miles with significant climbing. Young riders might have trouble with the hills. I'd say the cutoff is age 10 to 12, depending on the rider's physical development.
The ride starts in the southwest corner of town on Hamburg Road, which you ride to get to Vote Street. This isn't clear on the map on the brochure and is one of many times on these rides you'll want to have better maps or mapping GPS available. I rode the route clockwise and there were sufficient dan henries to guide me but I did not see markings for riders doing the route the opposite direction.
The covered bridge on Bessler Road leading into Enochsburg is closed for repair. It is scheduled to reopen in the fall. I returned to Three Mile Road and took it up to the upper end of Enochsburg Road. It's a simple detour but it trims a couple of miles from the total loop and deprives you of the opportunity to see the churches at Enochsburg and Hamburg (although you can double back to pick up these two once you reach upper Enochsburg Road).
There's also a bridge out on Rail Fence Road. This one won't be back in service until next year. JoAnn Prickel, Franklin County Tourism Director and my contact for this review, said there's a small side bridge riders can use, although it's rough. I didn't get that far. As I approached the construction site a Caterpillar crawler excavator that filled the entire width of Rail Fence Road was backing toward me. I could envision the EMTs plucking my remains from between the grousers like a dentist cleaning a patient's teeth. Not appealing. I returned to Hamburg Road and took it to Stockpile Road and then onto Forest Road which got me back on the route just outside of Oldenburg.
The Expert ride was well marked only within Oldenburg. After that my navigation involved lots of guesswork. It turns out that I'm pretty good at guessing, because my GPS map matches the map in the brochure. I also spent a half hour in the IGA in Brookville as the employees formed a consensus that none knew where River Road was nor how to get there. They ventured a guess, which was confirmed by a rural mail carrier I met in the parking lot. (Cross the highway from the IGA onto Blue Creek Road which leads to Highland Center Road which leads to River Road.) Once again I was glad I came prepared with better maps than what the brochure offered.
The Expert ride deserves its rating. There are some tough climbs, including an ascent that averages 15 percent for nearly two miles. There's also a mile or two of gravel on Pine Road. The gravel section is nearly flat, the gravel was packed firm, and I rode the entire section. I did not, however, ride the crossing at Pipe Creek. Two reasons. First, I was wearing my new D2 shoes and I didn't want to get them soaked. Two, like most creeks in southern Indiana, Pipe Creek is hypoxic from unregulated septic tanks and agricultural runoff. Algae blooms make the creek beds too slick to ride, especially beds like this one where the crossing is over native slab rock. (Crossings in Jefferson County, where we do most of our H.I.C.K.™ Rides, are usually made of concrete and the rougher texture provides better traction.) Even walking across in my bare feet provided several tense moments as I slipped and slid along. There is no truly suitable alternate route, so be prepared to wade. And skip this ride after a heavy rain or during snow melt when high water would prevent passage.
What is there for a non-riding significant other to do while you ride? There are a few shops in Oldenburg and a few shops in Batesville, but the best bet is to send your NRSO to Metamora, a 20-minute drive. Make arrangements for reconnecting before your NRSO departs, however. You'll have cell coverage throughout the ride but coverage is nonexistent in Metamora.
And what is there for the two of you to do after riding and shopping? Oldenburg has several pubs/eateries. Julie and I are teetotaling pescatarians, so the availability of meat and alcohol has no value to us. The Sherman House in Batesville doesn't offer much beyond that, nor do the quaint streetside vendors in Metamora. But if your diet is less restrictive than ours, you'll have lots of choices.
So are the Vatican rides worth doing? That depends on your nature. If you're a pavement prissy you'll hate the road conditions. If you're offended by rural aromas you'll want to hold your breath at times. If you suffer on climbs you'll wish you'd brought a SAG wagon. But if you're a competent rider looking for a scenic, low-traffic route, and if you're adventurous enough to enjoy the challenge, you'll have a ball. I did, and I'll go back for more.
Photos
Stately German Catholic churches such as St. Mary's (above) and St. Cecilia's (below) form the theme for these rides.
Good news about the dan henries: they're big and bright. Bad news: they need lots more of them. Some intersections had no markings, especially on the Expert loop. And even when there were markings at the intersection, there were none in advance and none after to confirm. Fortunately the routes are fairly easy to follow if you have a better map and are willing to ask residents for help.
This covered bridge is being rebuilt, necessitating a detour until this fall.
It'll be a while before this bridge needs rebuilding.
Perched on top of the rise is a modest home. Check out the dock and slide.
Here's the gravel part of Pine Road. Not too daunting, although it would be a different story if the gravel were deep and loose instead of shallow and packed.
The crossing at Pipe Creek is slick and tricky when the water is shallow, so "high" here can mean anything above your ankles. If the water's too high and you can't cross, you'll have to turn around and figure out an alternate way to get back to Oldenburg. (Note the No Outlet sign preventing you from continuing on straight.)
The algae, uneven rock, and flowing water make wading a better choice than riding when crossing Pipe Creek.
The crossing is maybe 50 feet wide.
The map and elevation profile for the Family (west) loop. The mile-long flat spot in the profile is where my GPS was turned off as I scouted a detour for the second missing bridge. It also correlates with that odd, as-the-crow-flies line in the upper right corner of the map.
The map and elevation profile for the Expert (east) loop. The climb that begins at mile 24 is every bit as steep as it appears.
