Indiana Mountain Biking.....Fast and Fun

The verdict is in....They know how to make mountain bike trails in Indiana!  If you live anywhere near Indiana, you need to try these trails out.  As Ohio residents, we don't get a lot of "flowy" trails.  We have some technical trails, and some hilly trails, but nothing like we experienced this weekend!

Our ride started out with  Versailles State Park, which was one of the best tracks I have ever ridden.  This trail provided 15+ miles of fast and "flowy" trails as well.  The only challenge with this trail system, was that it was extremely dry and dusty.  The corners were extremely loose due to the dryness; however it didn't slow us down too much!  We rode this trail in close to 100 degrees temperature and the humidity was nasty!  With that being said, this place was awesome and 15 miles didn't seem to bother us to bad, although we did push one rider to his limits.

From there we drove another hour west to our next stop and campsite!  Not knowing what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised to see we were sleeping here..Pizza, poker, and beer and oh, 6 hours of pounding rain took us through the night!

Believe it or not, there are actually some decent hills in Indiana; it is not as flat as I had previously thought.  We found this out on Saturday with our next ride at Brown State Park..  These trails are set up so well and flows so fast, that you never really feel like you are climbing.  At Brown County State Park you can easily ride 20 miles with very little pain of climbing, but lots of sweet jumps and fast flowy single track!  However, beware of "Schooner Trail" or Death Valley as I call it.  This bad boy is 4.5 miles of hell!  A double black diamond trail that includes boulders, off camber ridge riding with 50+ foot drops, ridiculous log crossings, boulders,  bridges, briars, sick climbs, sharp switchbacks, more boulders, eroding trails, and oh yeah, even more boulders!  I couldn't even get pictures of this trail because I was to busy cursing, sweating, walking, carrying my bike on back, dodging rocks, watching out for rattle snakes, cursing, and praying that someone would put me out of my misery!


 As tough as Schooner Trail was though, the rest of the the trail was the best I have ever ridden.  The rain Friday night made the trail tacky but still fast and we were able to fly.  We did however, take our fair share of breaks, it was 90+ degrees outside and humid as I have ever felt. 

 
 Even after the climbs, he was still smiling!

Another one with a smile after a climb!

Not sure about this guy.  No smile, just all business!

A tree falls down in the woods, what do they do with it..they just made a bridge out of it! 

 This was an awesome two day ride.  Although every single one of us is in some major pain (cramping, chaffing, bruises, scrapes, and slight dehydration, we all would do it again in a heartbeat.  (except for death valley).  I cannot overstate how sweet these trails are to ride.  If you get the chance,take it, you will not regret it!

God Bless My Smokin' Hot wife...Boogety Boogety Boogety

Broken Giant Update

Not much to report today other than the fact both Roll and Giant still do not have any answers for me on an eta for the fix on the Yukon.   Most likely, it will be a couple more weeks at the earliest before anything is fixed.  Since I have a potential weekend ride plan next weekend in Indiana, I thought it would be a good idea to shake things up a bit and see what I could get for a demo. 

Initially, I believe I was either given bad information from the shop, or they gave me the right info, and just didn't understand my circumstances.  Either way, I was told I could get a demo for a day and would have to return right away.  Not very  convenient for an out of town ride.  So I checked with Trek and they are willing to hook me up with a Trek Fuel EX9.  On top of that, they will let me have it for the weekend.  Not a bad deal, since it is a freaking sweet bike!

After talking to Trek, I went back to Roll to get my Candy pedals for the Trek, and Roll offered me a deal on a Niner for as long as I needed it at no cost.  However, it is a hard tail, so I need to think that one through a bit.  It would be nice to be able to keep up with the guys, even though I would be cheating with the 29er!

Hitting Brown and Versailles in Indiana.  These two tracks are fast!   Cant wait!

Update 1:  Giant will be fixed by Friday; not in time for weekend ride

Update 2:  Going to take the Fuel ex9 for the weekend!  Will be a sweet ride!

Oh Snap! Giant down!

It was bound to happen.  Sooner or later, something had to give.  210 pounds of Endo, or the frame on the Giant.  Today, it was the Giant and it snapped in a big way!



I started out my ride today from my garage and hit the roads a little bit to get to Alum beach!  From there, I rode the top of the dam, over to the beginner course at Alum Creek.  I did a half lap there, and jumped onto Phase 1.  I was feeling good, and riding fat and intent on turning a good time on my scheduled 17 mile ride.  About 5 miles into Phase 1, I passed a few slower riders and was really moving.  I crossed a small bridge and jammed up a quick hill and then SNAP.  Something went seriously wrong.  I dismounted, and tried to figure it out, but I just couldn't figure it out.  The derailleur was still  working and for the life of me, not a clue.  I flipped the bike over and then I saw it!  The break was pretty clear and I realized I was pretty screwed.  About 6 miles away from the house, 90 degrees and the water in my Camelback
was running low!  Even though I had the cell phone, I couldn't get a hold of Jen so I started hoofing it.  I made it out of the woods and onto the rode where a fellow mountain biker picked my up and took me closer to my house.  I still had about a mile and half walk from where he dropped me off, but it did help! 

Still not sure what and why it happened, but it was an experience.  Looks like I will be making a trip to Roll tomorrow for a warranty check up!