My journey into Indiana mountain biking

[gregkl]

Well after riding at lunch with my coworkers on the B-line in Bloomington I have decided that I will buy a Giant Roam 1. It will perform just fine and after taking my wife with me to test ride some bikes, she test rode some and decided she wants one to! She's getting a Giant Rove. I will end up paying about the same for two bikes as I was initially planning on spending on one!

The surprise upside for me in all this is she actually wants to partake in a hobby/activity that I like doing!

Now the deal shopping begins...

 

[Fordtough25]

We looked at the giants. Nice bikes!

 

[lovemachine]

Brother and I went mountain biking at Fort Harrison yesterday, I was on a borrowed bike.

Holy crap!, it was a lot of fun. I had a blast.

We stopped at BGI afterwards. I'm going to be buying a mountain bike.

 

[lovemachine]

My wife said I could get a REAL nice one if I sold my AR.....yeah I dunno about that. Though it's been a year since I've shot it...

 

[hooky]

Brother and I went mountain biking at Fort Harrison yesterday, I was on a borrowed bike.

Holy crap!, it was a lot of fun. I had a blast.

We stopped at BGI afterwards. I'm going to be buying a mountain bike.

What trail did you ride and at what general time?

 

[lovemachine]

I dunno the name of the trails, but we rode the 2 main ones.

Saturday morning, from 10am to 1pm.

 

[hooky]

I hiked Lawrence Creek twice with my pack mid afternoon. Thought I may have met you head on a few times.

 

[lovemachine]

I hiked Lawrence Creek twice with my pack mid afternoon. Thought I may have met you head on a few times.

I was surprised by the number of hikers running that trail. I'd like to go back and do that as well.

 

[hooky]

When you do, travel the opposite direction of the bikes. Some, I would argue most, of the riders have no situational awareness and you'll end up with a tire up your hind end if you go in the same direction.

On a sidenote, 90% of the riders under the age of 30-35 will not even make eye contact with you, let alone say thanks, as you step off the trail to let them pass. Bikers are supposed to yield to the hikers, but that has never happened in my experience.

 

[lovemachine]

When you do, travel the opposite direction of the bikes. Some, I would argue most, of the riders have no situational awareness and you'll end up with a tire up your hind end if you go in the same direction.

On a sidenote, 90% of the riders under the age of 30-35 will not even make eye contact with you, let alone say thanks, as you step off the trail to let them pass. Bikers are supposed to yield to the hikers, but that has never happened in my experience.

Good to know.

I only saw one hiker, who was actually sprinting on the trails, going the opposite direction. The others were walking in the same direction as were we riding.

And I was shocked on how fast the other riders were riding. They were hauling butt, I assumed they were practicing for an upcoming race.

 

[hooky]

Near the end of my hike, I passed what I assumed was grandma, mom and granddaughter just getting started and going in the same direction as the bikes. The little girl was maybe 3 and I just cringed. I mentioned that they should probably go in the other direction and keep their eyes and ears open for the bikes. They looked at me like I had a third eye. Common sense isn't so common.

 

[shinkle]

I spent @3 hours today on my fatbike at southwestway. saw a few other bikes today and a couple dog walkers but my riding was mostly quiet. trails were pretty dry with an occasional wet pack. but my fatbike hardly even left a track. even down on the sand leading up to the levy - rolled right on through. riding up top on easy trail by golf course I rolled up to about 15 yards of a red fox sitting in the middle of the trail. not sure which of us was more spooked. but he reacted faster than me and took off. temperatures were down today and made for a great day of riding

 

[esrice]

UPDATE

So I went down to Brown County to help lovemywoods with a project on Monday, and decided to bring the bike along. He has a series of doubletrack 4-wheeler trails throughout his property, and I thought I would give them a try.

But anyone who's been on his property knows just how hilly it is. All the trails are either straight up or straight down, which means I was either flying down or climbing and dying. There was no in-between. This made for an exhausting ride. My typical 40-minute ride only got me 1.5 miles. Yikes. It made me wanna cut some dedicated biking trails that would zig-zag across some of the ravines.

Workout level - 10
Fun level - 2

And since this is INGO . . . . . is this a target stand, or a bike stand?

 

[esrice]

Well after riding at lunch with my coworkers on the B-line in Bloomington I have decided that I will buy a Giant Roam 1. It will perform just fine and after taking my wife with me to test ride some bikes, she test rode some and decided she wants one to! She's getting a Giant Rove. I will end up paying about the same for two bikes as I was initially planning on spending on one!

That's awesome! Bonus that you guys can spend the time together.

I'm going to be buying a mountain bike.

Since you already have a nice road bike I think this is great. It will be a nice change of pace.

I spent @3 hours today on my fatbike at southwestway.

How does riding a fatty compare to riding a traditional mtb?

 

[shinkle]

riding my fatbike is definitely a little different. it doesn't corner as well, but when those tires stick for traction on a berm - THEY STICK. often over rotation and over steering. but even when I roll off the trail I roll over most things. it is slower to accelerate and definitely slower under braking. tire air pressure is the secret. on the street I run 18-20 pounds (max for these tires). dry trails I found 11 or 12 pounds to ride well. soft ground 4-5# is all you need. this bike is a blast to ride. I usually pull over for most other bikes and let them ride through. I just look for things to run over. and most of all I love riding through the neighbor streets. when I roll up on evening walkers they jerk around quickly to see what is coming at them. all they hear are my tires roaring down the road at them. I just smile as I look back at them laughing out load.

 

[yeti rider]

Where's the Yeti?

Sold it. I usually get a new bike every year.

 

[yeti rider]

UPDATE

So I went down to Brown County to help lovemywoods with a project on Monday, and decided to bring the bike along. He has a series of doubletrack 4-wheeler trails throughout his property, and I thought I would give them a try.

But anyone who's been on his property knows just how hilly it is. All the trails are either straight up or straight down, which means I was either flying down or climbing and dying. There was no in-between. This made for an exhausting ride. My typical 40-minute ride only got me 1.5 miles. Yikes. It made me wanna cut some dedicated biking trails that would zig-zag across some of the ravines.

Workout level - 10
Fun level - 2

If you get time, you should try brown county state park. Lots of trails with everything from beginner to expert. It is arguably the best trail system in the state.

 

[lovemachine]

Well, if it all goes well today, I'll be buying my first mountain bike after work.

 

[gregkl]

Well, if it all goes well today, I'll be buying my first mountain bike after work.

So which one did you decide on?

 

[lovemachine]

Got my mountain bike tonight. Trek X-Caliber 8.

Got a pair of Clipless pedals for it. Planning on going to Brown County Sunday after church.

I am excited.