Backroad Adventure Tracks

Your first checkpoint along the SIN BAT will be quite the interesting landmark! The route will take you into a cemetery, where you will see an 1800’s steam tractor perched upon the grave of George Schlachter. Legend has it, George and his mistress died of asphyxiation in the back seat of George’s car, in the county garage where george worked. His wife wasn’t happy to learn this, so parked his old steam tractor on top of his grave to keep him from ever rising up and seeing his mistress again. Get a photo of you or your bike with this fun checkpoint!

Hindostan Falls is a naturally occuring waterfall on the White River. The falls are named after the lost nearby town of Hindostan from the 1800’s. It was the largest town in the area at the time, but a devastating outbreak of an unknown disease killed the majority of the inhabitants. The remaining population fled, and the town was never reoccupied. If the water is down, you can ride out on the flat rock bed of the river. Get a photo from the rock bed, or anywhere in the area showing you made it to Hindostan, for this checkpoint.

Completed in April of 1957, Tunnelton’s Big Tunnel is a 1,731 foot long train tunnel, still active today. To get credit for this checkpoint, you’re going to have to cliimb the hill to the tunnel entrance and snap a photo!

Probably the most picturesque bridge on the route, Bridgeton Bridge is Checkpoint #5. After the original bridge collapsed while a wagon was crossing it, bids were taken in 1868 for the first covered bridge at Bridgeton. That bridge stood until 2005 when it was destroyed by arson. Local citizens and the state of Indiana rebuilt the bridge in 2006. Get a photo of the bridge, the Mill, or anywhere in Bridgeton to gain credit for this checkpoint.

The Tulip Trestle or Tulip Viaduct was an impressive engineering accomplishment in its time! Completed in 1906, it was the longest train trestle and 3rd longest bridge of it’s kind in the world at the time. 2,295 feet long and 157 feet tall, and you get to ride right under it on the route. Get a photo of your bike or yourself under the viaduct for this checkpoint!

There’s no history available for the well pump at Checkpont #7. We don’t even know what it’s pumping up from underground. But it’s a damn cool roadside attraction that you can get right close up to! Capture the pump in a photo for this checkpoint.

Started in 1897, the Cannonball Bridge wasn’t finished until 1924. Funding shortages and ownership changes along the way delayed the build, but the bridge finally opened, originally for railway traffic. In 1970, the bridge was decommisioned for railway use, and sold to a local farmer who converted it and opened it as a toll bridge for vehicular traffic. The 1,000 ft 1-lane bridge still stands and carries traffic today, but construction on a new bridge is beginning. Go ride this thing now, while you still have the chance! Get a photo with the bridge or the toll station, for this checkpoint.

Big Kate is the most accessible dragline on the SIN BAT Track. Stop and marvel at the size of this 10.4 Million pound digging machine! Get a pic with Big Kate if you can, or get a shot with your bike or yourself and some of the mining operation in the background, to prove you made it to this checkpoint.

Congratulations! You made it to the end of the SIN BAT Track! Hoffman Mill Bridge is a covered bridge that Abraham Lincoln himself used to cross, to deliver grain and goods to the Hoffman Mill. Grab a pic of your bike in front of the bridge, to cover this checkpoint and to finish your BAT Track Adventure! Thanks for riding with us!