My journey into Indiana mountain biking

[dprimm]

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.

Trail status comes from users getting an update in. Then this weather and pop-ups makes getting time on dirt a challenge. I am getting very hungry for trail time.

Good for you on the ride. My road ride last night went straight into the wind for an hour .... THen fhome. Yesterday was perfect (windwise) for dirt.

 

[RustyHornet]

Wow I missed this thread.. Growing up I was into old schwinn cruisers and stingrays, because my dad was restoring them at the time so I never had a mountain bike like all the other cool kids growing up in the 90's-00's. Two years ago I decided I wanted to try it so I set the budget and started researching.

I knew I wanted something simple, I can work on the bikes, but I hate working with gears. I knew it was going to be a single speed and I'm not a huge fan of suspension. After research I found many people were impressed by a copy bike sold by Nashbar, against my better judgement I ordered online and had it shipped to the house, turned out to be the perfect size and I was really impressed with the quality.



After stumbling upon this thread I realized I haven't hit the trails all year yet! So with all the inspiration here I went for a ride this morning at Franke Park, nice trails and pretty well maintained. One of these days I need to take a trip to Brown County.

Thanks, Jon

 

[esrice]

So with all the inspiration here I went for a ride this morning at Franke Park, nice trails and pretty well maintained. One of these days I need to take a trip to Brown County.

Nice bike Jon! I do find the simplicity of a rigid SS kind of enticing.

Does Ft. Wayne have many mtb trails?

 

[RustyHornet]

Just Franke Park. It's pretty hilly, of course they have easy, intermediate and expert trails. It's all single track, total of 10.4 miles. If anybody has any recommendations of trails near the Fort that would be appreciated.

Jon

 

[esrice]

UPDATE

Thanks to theweakerbrother I've discovered the Greenway Trail in Franklin. It's a ~5mi all-paved trail system that starts near I65 and cuts through town and across US31. Along the way are several parks, basketball/tennis courts, and even some restaurants. The Franklin Parks Department has impressed me, as they maintain the system and surrounding areas very well.

I've ridden it twice so far, once with each of my boys. It would make an excellent trail for families with younger kids, or for anyone looking to add some variety to where they ride.

One of the smaller parks on the trail.

I've also downloaded the Mountain Bike version of the Runtastic app on my phone. It tracks my rides via GPS and helps me get a snapshot of how I'm progressing. It was free and is fairly simple to operate.

So far I've been able to track 22 trail miles and 43.8 road miles!

 

[gregkl]

I've been in Bloomington now for 3 weeks. At lunch some guys from work ride about 13 miles on the B-line. It's a Rails to Trails some paved, some hard pack. Currently riding my road bike which is not so good for that type of riding.

I am starting to re-think my wanting a mountain bike. I really need to ask myself how often I will load up and head somewhere to ride off-road. If most of my riding ends up lunches on the B-line with an occasional off-road ride on smooth trail, I may be better off with a dual sport bike like the Trek DS, Specialized Crosstrail or Giant Roam. What do you riders think?

 

[esrice]

I am starting to re-think my wanting a mountain bike. I really need to ask myself how often I will load up and head somewhere to ride off-road. If most of my riding ends up lunches on the B-line with an occasional off-road ride on smooth trail, I may be better off with a dual sport bike like the Trek DS, Specialized Crosstrail or Giant Roam. What do you riders think?

I think this question is essential for every rider to honestly ask themselves.

I'm currently on the other end of the spectrum. As much as I love loading up and heading out into the woods, there are also times I'd really like to get out on the bike and just ride for miles. I considered trying to set up the MTB to do both, but I don't think it's ideal. I'm beginning to think that such adventures would require two very different bikes. Unfortunately funding another bicycle at this time would require me to sell some gun gear that I'd rather hold onto. Perhaps I'll just save my nickels and dimes and add a road bike next Spring.

For your needs gregkl it sounds like the bikes you mentioned would fit the bill.

 

[dnurk]

Hey Greg. I'm in the same boat. I had two bikes...a high end Specialized road bike and a Jamis 29er MTB but I found myself not really doing the type of riding any more that warranted either one. Sold them both and bought this...

Fuji Bikes | LIFESTYLE | PAVEMENT - ALL-TERRAIN | TRAVERSE 1.1

the 700x38cc tires do great on hard pack, crushed pathways, etc and it is extremely comfortable for family riding on rail trails with my son. I also bought an extra set of wheels and run Gatorskin 700x25 tires when I want to do a bit more speed on long country road rides.

Most manufacturers have similar hybrids that have really good components and disc brakes. Two sets of tires makes a huge difference.

 

[gregkl]

Hey Greg. I'm in the same boat. I had two bikes...a high end Specialized road bike and a Jamis 29er MTB but I found myself not really doing the type of riding any more that warranted either one. Sold them both and bought this...

Fuji Bikes | LIFESTYLE | PAVEMENT - ALL-TERRAIN | TRAVERSE 1.1

the 700x38cc tires do great on hard pack, crushed pathways, etc and it is extremely comfortable for family riding on rail trails with my son. I also bought an extra set of wheels and run Gatorskin 700x25 tires when I want to do a bit more speed on long country road rides.

Most manufacturers have similar hybrids that have really good components and disc brakes. Two sets of tires makes a huge difference.

Looks like a nice bike! I think that is what I will get or something in another brand depending on bike shop/deal. I have a really nice road bike but it doesn't inspire much confidence riding the B-Line. I won't ride tomorrow since we got so much rain and sections will be wet. If I had a dual sport however...

I was thinking I would pick up a set of larger off-road type tires if I decide to do some trail riding. The mountain bikers may not think it's such a good idea, but the way I will be riding, it will be fine.

I just put a bunch of pneumatic tools on Craigslist. If I sell all of them for what I am asking, I will have enough to buy the bike!

 

[iChokePeople]

.

 

[lovemachine]

So there is a VERY good chance that I will be borrowing my brothers mountain bike this weekend, and riding at Brown County. Weather permitting.

If I like it enough, I may just buy my own mountain bike instead of the Aimpoint that I have been saving for.

 

[yeti rider]

I just saw this thread. I live up in lafayette and enjoy cycling as well. I ride road bikes to keep in shape for mountain biking. There are a few trails around lafayette to ride, but for fun stuff, we go to brown county state park, french lick, kickapoo in danville,il., and many other places. I grew up doing freestyle/street riding and got in to mountain bikes around 1990. It's been a fun activity ever since!

 

[KittySlayer]

Your mountain bike is a whole lot cleaner than my road bike.

I just saw this thread. I live up in lafayette and enjoy cycling as well. I ride road bikes to keep in shape for mountain biking. There are a few trails around lafayette to ride, but for fun stuff, we go to brown county state park, french lick, kickapoo in danville,il., and many other places. I grew up doing freestyle/street riding and got in to mountain bikes around 1990. It's been a fun activity ever since!

 

[yeti rider]

Your mountain bike is a whole lot cleaner than my road bike.

That was it's first photo shoot. Freshly built. It looks a little more respectable now.

 

[esrice]

Where's the Yeti?

 

[esrice]

UPDATE

Went to Southeastway Park last night and let the wife and kids play while I did a few hot laps on their paved trail loop. Daylight was running out but I managed to get in 4 miles in 20 minutes.

That brings up the tally to 22 trail miles and 47.8 road miles.

 

[Fordtough25]

Well thanks to this ad the wife and I bought bikes last night, and rode them. Lol. Kids have been on us most of the year, they ride theirs daily around the house. Didn't realize how much I missed riding them, it's been a decade or so!

 

[Fordtough25]

Rode yesterday morning and evening for about 20 minutes each time, couple of hills mixed in on our county road. We could feel the burn pretty well, our 19 month old rides in a seat on my bike so I got some extra boost. Ha

 

[esrice]

Well thanks to this ad the wife and I bought bikes last night, and rode them.

Awesome! What did you guys get?

Even short trips with the kids beats sitting at home watching TV. Not to mention its great family time.

 

[Fordtough25]

Awesome! What did you guys get?

Even short trips with the kids beats sitting at home watching TV. Not to mention its great family time.

schwinns! We really enjoy them and can feel the benefits already. Plus quality family time.