My journey into Indiana mountain biking

[gregkl]

I'm not too keen on the bike part, but I could meet you for breakfast. From the looks of that picture, you're already a Grand Master at ordering breakfast!

(Nice Trip report.)

If you ride, those are "free" calories we used to say. I'd eat it even if I didn't ride though. I had a similar meal at IHOP after a few friends of mine spent some time shooting handguns.

Breaking bread to me is an integral part of being part of a community. I think there is a very old book that speaks to the breaking of bread....and the significance and value....

 

[esrice]

From the looks of that picture, you're already a Grand Master at ordering breakfast!

Ya, More on the breakfast!

Breakfast was held at Bob Evans at I65 and Southport Road. It was about 11am and the place was rockin' and rollin' with senior citizens. I ordered a Sunshine Skillet (background), which is basically an open-faced omelette loaded with red potatoes, crumbled sausage, cheese, and gravy. It came with two warm biscuits that were heavy and moist. All of the food was incredibly fresh and I ate every bit of it. Drink was a regular Coke.

My wife started with the Farmers Breakfast (foreground)-- two eggs, three sausage links, and red potatoes. It came with two slices of French toast, to which she added blueberry topping and whip cream. She also ordered some sourdough toast to eat with her eggs. As is typical she ordered coffee with lots of creamer. Later she got a water to help cool her down.

Paul was our server. He was efficient, but not very friendly. He was good about refills on our drinks. His tip was 20%.

We were able to use a buy-one-get-one coupon which made my entree free, a value of $8.50. Overall I would recommend this Bob Evans, particularly if you're craving breakfast during non-breakfast hours.

 

[gregkl]

Breakfast was held at Bob Evans at I65 and Southport Road. It was about 11am and the place was rockin' and rollin' with senior citizens. I ordered a Sunshine Skillet (background), which is basically an open-faced omelette loaded with red potatoes, crumbled sausage, cheese, and gravy. It came with two warm biscuits that were heavy and moist. All of the food was incredibly fresh and I ate every bit of it. Drink was a regular Coke.

My wife started with the Farmers Breakfast (foreground)-- two eggs, three sausage links, and red potatoes. It came with two slices of French toast, to which she added blueberry topping and whip cream. She also ordered some sourdough toast to eat with her eggs. As is typical she ordered coffee with lots of creamer. Later she got a water to help cool her down.

Paul was our server. He was efficient, but not very friendly. He was good about refills on our drinks. His tip was 20%.

We were able to use a buy-one-get-one coupon which made my entree free, a value of $8.50. Overall I would recommend this Bob Evans, particularly if you're craving breakfast during non-breakfast hours.

It may be blasphemous on a gun forum, but I really like their crepes. I order a couple of those with my eggs, hash browns, bacon and coffee. They go really well with a hot cup of black coffee!

 

[HICKMAN]

Added a 3in Stem and a little more padded aftermarket seat to mine today. Got a nice 8 mile spin in after work, did a 14 mile ride on Sunday.

I'm slowing getting there, been nice to get back into riding again.

Still thinking about adding a mtn bike for some trail riding to mix it up.

 

[esrice]

Still thinking about adding a mtn bike for some trail riding to mix it up.

It's so much fun! Wish you still lived closer-- I'd take you over to SWW.

I'm going with a group of families from church this Sunday to Ft. Benjamin Harrison to ride the trail system there. These will be the first trails I've ridden outside of SWW. I'm looking forward to comparing them. Although the terrain might vary, both systems are maintained by the Hoosier Mountain Bike Association, so they should be nicely built. I'll be sure to update this thread on Monday.

 

[esrice]

UPDATE

Yesterday my family joined 3 other families at Fort Harrison State Park in Lawrence for a picnic and mountain bike ride. This was my first time visiting this park.

The park is small for a State Park, but big when compared to city parks. While there were other people using the park, it wasn't crowded and we had an entire shelter house to ourselves.

The guys started out by doing a 4-mile section of trail. I was really surprised at how wet the trail was. It hadn't rained since the day before, so it appears this system has a tough time shedding water. This made for not only a muddy ride, but I also had to pay more attention to spots that had become quite slick.

The woods at Ft. Ben were also quite a bit more dense than at SWW. This seemed to allow less cooling airflow, and gave the impression of riding through a narrow tunnel at times. I liked that it was different. The trail we were on had some moderate obstacles that were nice, but I wish it was more flowing at times. I look forward to going back and trying the rest of the trails-- preferably when they're dry.

After we stuffed ourselves with brats, Asian coleslaw, Mexican bean dip, and S'mores cupcakes, the younger kids wanted to try out a trail. So we saddled up again and took them on a 1-mile stretch of easy, but muddy, trail. They did GREAT! My two boys had never been trail riding before, so I wasn't sure how they'd like it. They were able to keep pace and finish the entire mile. I think they liked getting muddy the best.

We left the park as the sun was setting. We all had that 'tired, but relaxed' feeling. The kids ended up falling asleep on the way home. I continue to enjoy the exercise, socialization, and fun that mountain biking has given me. And I look forward to trying out Ft. Ben again in the future.

Now I'm off to learn the best way to clean a muddy bike.

 

[gregkl]

UPDATE

Yesterday my family joined 3 other families at Fort Harrison State Park in Lawrence for a picnic and mountain bike ride. This was my first time visiting this park.



The park is small for a State Park, but big when compared to city parks. While there were other people using the park, it wasn't crowded and we had an entire shelter house to ourselves.

The guys started out by doing a 4-mile section of trail. I was really surprised at how wet the trail was. It hadn't rained since the day before, so it appears this system has a tough time shedding water. This made for not only a muddy ride, but I also had to pay more attention to spots that had become quite slick.



The woods at Ft. Ben were also quite a bit more dense than at SWW. This seemed to allow less cooling airflow, and gave the impression of riding through a narrow tunnel at times. I liked that it was different. The trail we were on had some moderate obstacles that were nice, but I wish it was more flowing at times. I look forward to going back and trying the rest of the trails-- preferably when they're dry.

After we stuffed ourselves with brats, Asian coleslaw, Mexican bean dip, and S'mores cupcakes, the younger kids wanted to try out a trail. So we saddled up again and took them on a 1-mile stretch of easy, but muddy, trail. They did GREAT! My two boys had never been trail riding before, so I wasn't sure how they'd like it. They were able to keep pace and finish the entire mile. I think they liked getting muddy the best.





We left the park as the sun was setting. We all had that 'tired, but relaxed' feeling. The kids ended up falling asleep on the way home. I continue to enjoy the exercise, socialization, and fun that mountain biking has given me. And I look forward to trying out Ft. Ben again in the future.

Now I'm off to learn the best way to clean a muddy bike.

Oh boy, I got a major lecture from a couple of dudes once for riding on muddy trails and my bike was not even close to being as muddy as yours!

 

[esrice]

One more thing....

In the past when I've done firearms build threads I've included the associated costs. I find it can be helpful to the reader who might be considering something similar, but is unsure of what the involved costs are. So here is what I've invested so far into mountain biking.

$669 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc MTB
$68 Specialized Tactic II helmet
$50 Endura Xtract cycling shorts
$5 Tire Levers
$8 Spare innertube
$60 Board shorts from TJ Maxx (3 pair)
$16 Small generic hydration backpack
$30 Yakima hitch rack (Craigslist)
_______________

$906 total

 

[esrice]

Oh boy, I got a major lecture from a couple of dudes once for riding on muddy trails and my bike was not even close to being as muddy as yours!

Oh yeah, I'm aware of the arguments for and against riding in various conditions. We talked to some other bikers that had just come off and they said it was "yellow", but borderline "red". There were no majorly sloppy parts, but the entire trail was wet, which constantly kicked up mud on the bikes. After the first loop we decided not to ride it again (until the kids wanted to take the easy loop).

 

[gregkl]

One more thing....

In the past when I've done firearms build threads I've included the associated costs. I find it can be helpful to the reader who might be considering something similar, but is unsure of what the involved costs are. So here is what I've invested so far into mountain biking.

$669 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc MTB
$68 Specialized Tactic II helmet
$50 Endura Xtract cycling shorts
$5 Tire Levers
$8 Spare innertube
$60 Board shorts from TJ Maxx (3 pair)
$16 Small generic hydration backpack
$30 Yakima hitch rack (Craigslist)
_______________

$906 total

You have done well on keeping your spend very reasonable.

 

[esrice]

You have done well on keeping your spend very reasonable.

I'm poor so I try to find that sweet spot where I get the most bang for my buck. I look for the higher end of middle quality. And that goes for everything, whether it be guns, bikes, cars, etc.

 

[esrice]

Bike washing day!

After Sunday's muddy ride I gave the bike it's first bath. I talked to the guys at Gray Goat Sports and they hooked me up with a chain scrubber, chain cleaner, chainring brush, and chain lube. I also picked up some replacement straps for my Yakima rack. They were kind enough to give me 15% (normally they give me 10%) because I bought a better kit than I had anticipated.

Using a tip I read about online, I mounted the bike on the truck rack to clean it. This gave me free access to the drivetrain. My boys also took the opportunity to wash their mud-caked bikes.

To update my grand total.

$669 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc MTB
$68 Specialized Tactic II helmet
$50 Endura Xtract cycling shorts
$5 Tire Levers
$8 Spare innertube
$60 Board shorts from TJ Maxx (3 pair)
$16 Small generic hydration backpack
$30 Yakima hitch rack (Craigslist)
$9 Replacement Yakima straps (x2)
$34 Drivetrain cleaning kit
$10 Chain lube
_______________

$959 total



Plan for tomorrow is a 6am ride at SWW with a few riding buddies. Can't wait to watch the sun come up over Mt. Suckmore!

 

[Sylvain]

Bike washing day!

I never wash my bike and it looks fine.

 

[esrice]

I never wash my bike and it looks fine.

Then you're doing it wrong.

 

[Sylvain]

Then you're doing it wrong.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Freeman UPDATE:

New Ergon 5 handlebars mounted on a new 3" lift steering wheel. New "power straps" on the pedals. Frame bag and water bottle cage. And new bell so I am state legal and new Lafayette bike plate so I am city legal.

What do you guys think?



Here's the back up bike. A 1995 Cannonball M400 in Mango.

 

[esrice]

What do you guys think?

Looks really comfy Kirk!

 

[dprimm]

you can always check the trail status on the HMBA forums. There are treads discussing trail status for each one in the respective sub-forum.

This weekend there are races at Muscatatuck State Park in North Vernon. Saturday is a short track and downhill (at least what there IS for downhilling in Indiana). Sunday is the regular cross-country race. Kids race on Sunday, I believe, is free.
[h=3][/h]

 

[esrice]

UPDATE

Got up at 5am to be at SWW at 6am to ride with 3 other guys from church. Unfortunately it ended up being a short trip and we only did about 2.5 miles.

I got home just after 7am, so I decided to ride some back roads around my area. Went 10.5 miles at an average speed of 9.8mph.

Of course I paused to snap a quick pic:

you can always check the trail status on the HMBA forums. There are treads discussing trail status for each one in the respective sub-forum.

I checked the HMBA site prior to the Ft Ben trip and it was marked yellow, with no recent chatter in the subforum. Probably should've been red. Though I've talked to a couple people now that say the trails at Ft Ben do not shed water quickly or well.

 

[gregkl]

UPDATE

Got up at 5am to be at SWW at 6am to ride with 3 other guys from church. Unfortunately it ended up being a short trip and we only did about 2.5 miles.

I got home just after 7am, so I decided to ride some back roads around my area. Went 10.5 miles at an average speed of 9.8mph.

Of course I paused to snap a quick pic:

I checked the HMBA site prior to the Ft Ben trip and it was marked yellow, with no recent chatter in the subforum. Probably should've been red. Though I've talked to a couple people now that say the trails at Ft Ben do not shed water quickly or well.

I just signed up with them. Hope to learn more about mountain biking in the Bloomington area.