My journey into Indiana mountain biking

[shinkle]

glad to hear more people are getting out to the trails. I have rode numerous bikes in my lifetime. I rode many miles on the street when I was younger. then after I met my wife we started mountain biking. most fun we ever had. we rode at fort ben. before it was a park. then came kids. my oldest is 25 and my youngest is 14. well Jacob (my youngest) wanted to give it a try. he didn't have a good bike for the trails and he really liked my specialized rock hopper. it almost fits him so I thought I would let him try it. he loves it. he started bugging me almost everyday to buy a bike and take him to trail riding.

that brings me to gray goat bike store. we have spent time there before and really liked the customer service. the workers all ride and always offer their personal experiences to better help the customers. well after a few trips for shopping and some sticker stock my son and I decided on my new mountain bike.

my new bike is a specialized fatbike. I love this bike. and we to have been hitting the trails at the southwest way park. after doing some research after so many years Indiana has definitely become a mountain biking state.

my son and I try to hit the trails as much as possible and look forward to it every weekend. just wish it would quick raining and I could keep up with my son.

 

[Fenway]

I remember that bike. cool

Nice! I had a Giant Trance.

 

[eldirector]

I wish I could get back to cycling..... I practically lived on a bike from Jr. high, through, college, and for several years after. Rode about 20 miles a day for several years. That was a decade ago! Now, the bikes have been hanging in the garage until just this spring. My little girl started riding her little bike (with training wheels). We finally retired my wife's old and busted Nishiki mountain bike, and got her a really nice Trek hybrid. I'll probably get rid of my old Gary Fisher this summer, and find a hybrid as well.

Yeah, I know, this is a MB thread! I wish I could tear up the trails like I used to. My wife and I biked the Canal Path out of Broadripple, and then down around what is now part of the Art Museum's lake. Took them down to Brown County almost every weekend. I commuted from Broad Ripple to downtown (via the canal) every day for a few years.

 

[emmo]

Esrice, good luck with your new hobby. I had pretty much your same thoughts a few years back. I bought a bike in Aug of2011 and after nearly 50 years off a bicycle, I found that getting back on wasn’t as easy as I had planned. Things got better after a few weeks. I’m coming up on my 3 year anniversary and should hit about 7,800 total miles for the three years. It’s been the only form of exercising I have ever stayed with. I ride all road miles on the back roads of Floyd and Harrison counties. Good luck on the trails maybe I'll try that next. If I keep adding on new hobbies, I'll have to retire! Emmo

 

[lovemachine]

Well crap.

I went to BGI with my brother yesterday. He's into mountain biking, and wanting to move up to a better bike.

After looking at them, and talking to one of the employees, I am wanting to buy a mountain bike even more now.
I sold my RRA AR15 in order to get my TREK road bike. I'm now starting to wonder if I should sell my BCM/Spikes AR to buy a mountain bike.

Crap.

 

[lovemachine]

Giant Talon 29er 1 - Bicycle Garage Indy - Indianapolis and Greenwood, IN


Hmm.....

 

[iChokePeople]

I attended a meeting about the Griffin Bike Park coming to the Terre Haute area, and it sounds sweet. If it goes as planned, it will be a very nice place to ride. A "destination park".

 

[Black Cloud]

I ride a custom built VooDoo bike out of California. Bought it after getting married in 2000, but I'm now due for an upgrade. A few years back, I went to a mtn bike park near IU in Bloomington. Not sure if it's still there, but it was a great place to ride. My fav place to ride in Indiana is Nebo Ridge Trail near Story, IN. I believe Greg Garrison lives near there. It's a beautiful area, filled with bikers, and the climb to the top is only bested by the fast ride down.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5287871.pdf

 

[Bluestarbass]

I ride a custom built VooDoo bike out of California. Bought it after getting married in 2000, but I'm now due for an upgrade. A few years back, I went to a mtn bike park near IU in Bloomington. Not sure if it's still there, but it was a great place to ride. My fav place to ride in Indiana is Nebo Ridge Trail near Story, IN. I believe Greg Garrison lives near there. It's a beautiful area, filled with bikers, and the climb to the top is only bested by the fast ride down.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5287871.pdf

Pretty much all of brown county is amazing. Nebo Ridge is a neat trail. I'm not sure if I know which bike park you are talking about.

 

[iChokePeople]

Slow pitch: Any of you riding fatties?

 

[esrice]

UPDATE

Took the bike back in to Gray Goat Sports today. I'm doing a quick trail ride tomorrow morning and I wanted to get some things adjusted since I just put my first 15 miles on the bike. One of the techs was able to make some simple adjustments, then he scheduled a time for me to bring the bike back next week so he could really go over it.

While I was there I picked up some tire levers and a spare inner tube, just in case. I also upgraded to a nicer helmet that fits much better than the one I originally picked out. Bonus points because the model is the "Tactic II".

Tomorrow's weather should be perfect and I'm looking forward to getting some (minor) time out in the woods.

 

[Sylvain]

Safety.First.

 

[lovemachine]

Did you get a pump and some CO2 cartridges?

I always carry those, 2 tubes, and my tire tools.

 

[magic man]

C'mon Evan, first you get the same bike as me, and then the same helmet. This is getting a little weird.

 

[esrice]

Finally got the new tires muddy!

Went with some friends to Southwestway Park this morning for an 8am ride. We all have families so this time worked best, but I'm not typically a fan of being up at 7am when I'm not working. But I'll admit that being up in the earlier hours is kinda nice and gives me a certain kind of energy.

The new 4Runner is great for bike hauling duty. I think I'm going to buy one of those fork mounts and mount it to a flat board to keep the bike upright. Then from there I might get a hitch mounted multi-bike rack for those times when I'm hauling more than one.

We spent just over an hour on several trails and went 4.39 miles. This was my second trail ride, and my first on the new bike. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! The new Hardrock with its 29" wheels and smooth trigger shifters kept me from fighting the bike like I did the first time. Now when I suck I know its all me. The better fitting frame gave me more confidence and I was able to ride more comfortably in more control. The downhill sections were great and I worked on loosening up my body and not being so stiff and rigid. I also worked on preemptive gear selection and feel like I'm slowly getting better.

There is one particularly long climb that killed my legs last time. I could only make it up the very first part and had to walk the rest of the way up. This time I was encouraged when I made it a third of the way up. Maybe next time I'll make it half way up.

(Noob)Pro tip: Bring a riding buddy that is also an IFD fireman. It's a lifesaver.

The goals for my next trail ride include better climbing, increased speed and less braking on flow sections, and better control over more technical sections.

Did you get a pump and some CO2 cartridges?

I've been keeping a small electric pump in the truck when I ride the trails. I was thinking about getting a better manual floor pump with a built in pressure gauge. It would still be portable enough to bring with me and keep in the truck.

Or should I be considering the smaller hand pumps with the CO2?

C'mon Evan, first you get the same bike as me, and then the same helmet. This is getting a little weird.

Haven't we also done this with knives, sunglasses, and SBRs? lol

 

[lovemachine]

Smaller pump that works with CO2 would be best. A floor pump is important to have, you want to make sure your tires are inflated properly before any ride. But a pump in the trunk is useless if you have a flat in the middle of nowhere.

A nice small pump that works with CO2 isn't that expensive, $30-$45 maybe? And it will all fit into any bag that mounts under your seat.

I also keep 2 tubes, tire tools and keys in my little bag. Also, I have another bag that mounts on the crotch bar, it's insulated so I always keep a few energy bars and my cell phone in there, along with $20 cash and ID.

 

[HICKMAN]

Saw Evan posting on Facebook and he got me fired up again. Did an 8 mile spin on my Giant Escape after work today.

Bedford is much hillier than where I lived in Southport and they are converting some old railroad tracks into a hiking/riding trail.

I road about 6 miles on it tonight but realize it's not really for road bikes but was still enjoyable.

So.... who want's to motivate Evan to do a Hilly Hundred?

 

[jath08]

I used to love trail riding back when I was in college (many moons ago). Used to have a really nice lime green Trek Y-22 full suspension that unfortunately was stolen when I was attending Purdue. I used to always carry it up the three flights of stairs to my dorm room but was lazy one night and just locked it up on the bike rack after I got back from classes. I took the front tire off and the seat but I guess that didn't matter as whoever they were took the whole rack with five other bikes plus mine locked to it!
Reading this thread really makes me want to get back into it, especially now since two months ago I had a total right hip replacement. No joking at all, its been around 9 years since I was physically able to ride a bike. I finally got up the nerve to try and ride my sons mt. bike a couple days ago and what an enjoyment that was to be able to do it again pain free except for the huffing and puffing from being out of shape!!!!

Great right up and great inspiration to get back out on the trails! Can't wait to go shopping for a new one!

 

[gregkl]

Saw Evan posting on Facebook and he got me fired up again. Did an 8 mile spin on my Giant Escape after work today.

Bedford is much hillier than where I lived in Southport and they are converting some old railroad tracks into a hiking/riding trail.

I road about 6 miles on it tonight but realize it's not really for road bikes but was still enjoyable.

So.... who want's to motivate Evan to do a Hilly Hundred?

If you are going to do the Hilly Hundred(and you should at least once) on a mountain bike, swap out the tires for some smooth treads that you can inflate pretty hard to reduce rolling resistance. And if you can, lock out your shock/fork.

 

[lovemachine]

I'm training for the hilly hundred right now. For my 2nd ride of this season, I rode 25.1 miles on Sunday after church. I thought it was pretty good. Average speed was 20mph.