Wednesday, July 23, 2014

July 23, 2014


Brown County day 2. 
It's thundering this am so the thought is to get on the trails before the rain hits, which the forecast says is at 10am. Awesome temperatures and no Mosquitos!  Is this normal for Brown County Indiana in mid July?

You know how when you are a pet owner and they tell you that you have to limit the amount of food that you put in your pet's dish because it will just keep eating and eating anything until they are fat and die?Well, that's what biking with us was like today. 
So today's ride started much like yesterday's.  Everything seemed downhill. We even turned around and went back on Walnut trail and it still seemed like it was downhill. Our major dilemma today was indecision.  When we exited at Hoosiers nest we had to make a decision. Do we keep riding or head back to camp?  We headed to Hesitation Point and wanted to ride Aynes Loop, one of the few trails we hadn't ridden. Remember, the bowl is still full.  Indecision had led to backtracking some and so the intermediate and advanced trails seemed more uphill. Or was it just because it was day 2 and we already had over 10 miles logged this morning?  The rock gardens, roots and log overs today were an added challenge. Doable perhaps,but not all today. 
Digger fell (hence the name). This time the 29 inch wheel didn't roll over everything. No blood. 
Map my ride said our route was over 18 miles, but we took some park blacktop due to the rain so I don't think it's accurate, probably closer to 15 miles. Riding done, time for lunch, pool and Big Woods Brewery in Nashville!

At 7 pm, as we lay nearly motionless in our tent, we make a promise to each other that just because there are more trails on the map, it doesn't mean that they have to be ridden in one go!

July 22, 2014

Day 1 of the New England mountain bike adventure. Can two amateurs mtb some of the best trails the northeast has to offer for 13 of 18 days?

Only time will tell. Day one finds us 6.5 hours east of home in Brown County Indiana at Brown County State Park. The weather is 88 and sticky. We arrive at the campsite at 5 pm and of course have to hit the trails. There is a chance of rain tomorrow so supper can wait. 

We started at the North Gatehouse. Everyone was exiting as we were entering. The green beginner trails seemed like a good way to stretch our road weary legs. We road about 10 miles in an hour and a half. Talk about fun!  How do they make the trails so it feels like any way you ride it is mostly downhill?  Can't wait for riding tomorrow!