For the second year in a row, my friend Brad and I took off from Indy with no plan other than to ride. We decided where we were riding first when we left the driveway. After that, we didn't decide where we were going next until we were done riding the trail each day. The idea was to look for new places to ride and maybe ride some familiar trails if we were in the area. No hotel reservations either, we were winging it for the most part.
Day one- French Lick
After a couple false starts, we were finally on our way to our first stop in French Lick. We had ridden there last year and really enjoyed it so it made sense to include it on this year's trip. The trail is a great mix of technical rocks and roots without it being over-rough. Beautiful rock walls, a water fall, and fun trails. 2 laps on the trails then on to the hotel for the first night.
Day two- O'Bannon State Park
Breakfast at the hotel then on the road to O'Bannon state forest for the second ride of trip. This was a very technical, very rocky trail that was a nice change from what we're used to in Indy. The new flow trail about 5 or 6 miles from the start was a treat and will be lots of fun when it's all done. Big berms and floating jumps - Sweet! The rest of the trail was about 75% rocks and roots that rattled us the entire way. It wore us out after 12 miles, we were beat when we got back to the parking lot . No second lap today!
Short drive to Corydon to find the next hotel, dinner, and a little side trip downtown Corydon, which happens to be the first state capital of Indiana.
Day three- Otter Creek, KY and Nolan Lake State Park, KY
We started the day heading to Otter Creek Park in KY. It's just across the state line from Corydon. Since this is run by the KY Fish and Wildlife service, the trail isn't kept up by the same organization that takes care of the other KY trails. We could tell. Although the trail wasn't bad, the spider webs across the trail were terrible. We had to stop every 1/4 to 1/2 mile to wipe off thick, sticky spider webs and rid ourselves and our bikes of a half dozen spiders each time. We rode a 4 mile trail section but after starting into the next trail section we gave up and went back to the car. We left after only an hour of riding.
After leaving Otter Creek, we headed for Nolan Lake State Park, about an hour and a half or so away. This trail was great! One of the most beautiful trails along the lake that was technical enough to keep us interested yet easy enough not to beat us up. They've built a flow trail section in that was fun - a bit of a climb to get to the top and a fun ride down. Nothing huge here, some small jumps and berms that flowed well. We rode it a couple times, then rode back up and took the long way down to the parking lot on another great trail. We finished it off at the beach in the warm water of the lake. We'll definitely go back!
We finally got moving after soaking our feet in the water for a while. We decided to stay at the lodge at
Mammoth Cave National park since it was only about 20 minutes away. A very nice drive there to find very small, outdated, $105/night hotel rooms that had no hot water (boiler was broken down, so they gave us 50% off). Brick interior walls made it a unique place and absolutely no noise from outside the room, but the carpet and decor was so old that, along with the other issues, we wouldn't have stayed if it weren't for the discount.
By the way- if you're in this area, make sureto stop at the Blue Holler Cafe for a bite to eat. It's cheap and the food is great!
Day 3 - Big Hollow Trail, Mammoth Cave KY
We rode this trail last year 2 weeks after they opened it and really enjoyed it even though it had the new-trail roughness to it. This year it was even better. A year of being ridden by local riders smoothed out the roughness quite a lot. The trail is not super challenging but a lot of fun. There are sections that are fast and flowing and a couple rocky sections that were pretty challenging and a log ride that was fun. There are two loops here. We enjoyed the south loop so much, we rode it four times while we only rode the other loop twice. We rode 25 miles here total, the longest ride we did..
We left Mammoth going to Owensboro, about 2 hours away. Very pretty drive through this area. We arrived in Owensboro to find that most hotels were booked solid, including the one we reserved on Priceline.com. A half hour wasted getting a refund from Priceline. We ended up at the same Super 8 we stayed at last year. The bonus was a completely remodeled room that was very pleasant. Dinner at Texas Road House since they sponsor a local cycling team. And who doesn't love steak after a ride?
Day 4 - Rudy Mines Trail, Ben Hawes City Park, Owensboro, KY
One of our favorite trails here! The rule here is that you ride one direction Mon-Wed-Fri-Sun, and the other direction Tues-Thurs-Sat.and for good reason. This trail has a super nice flow to it but has some blind corners that could cause crashes if it wasn't directional.
The trail climbs 100' per mile, but it's hard to tell. The trail dips and rises enough that you can't tell that you're climbing that much. It's technical enough to keep you on your toes, there are a few small jumps, singletrack, fast 'downhill' sections and not too rocky or rooty. A great trail I'd definitely recommend!
We did one lap and were really too tired to safely ride another lap so we packed up for the 3 hour drive home. End of the trip for this year and already looking forward to next year!
Day one- French Lick
After a couple false starts, we were finally on our way to our first stop in French Lick. We had ridden there last year and really enjoyed it so it made sense to include it on this year's trip. The trail is a great mix of technical rocks and roots without it being over-rough. Beautiful rock walls, a water fall, and fun trails. 2 laps on the trails then on to the hotel for the first night.
Breakfast at the hotel then on the road to O'Bannon state forest for the second ride of trip. This was a very technical, very rocky trail that was a nice change from what we're used to in Indy. The new flow trail about 5 or 6 miles from the start was a treat and will be lots of fun when it's all done. Big berms and floating jumps - Sweet! The rest of the trail was about 75% rocks and roots that rattled us the entire way. It wore us out after 12 miles, we were beat when we got back to the parking lot . No second lap today!
Short drive to Corydon to find the next hotel, dinner, and a little side trip downtown Corydon, which happens to be the first state capital of Indiana.
Day three- Otter Creek, KY and Nolan Lake State Park, KY
We started the day heading to Otter Creek Park in KY. It's just across the state line from Corydon. Since this is run by the KY Fish and Wildlife service, the trail isn't kept up by the same organization that takes care of the other KY trails. We could tell. Although the trail wasn't bad, the spider webs across the trail were terrible. We had to stop every 1/4 to 1/2 mile to wipe off thick, sticky spider webs and rid ourselves and our bikes of a half dozen spiders each time. We rode a 4 mile trail section but after starting into the next trail section we gave up and went back to the car. We left after only an hour of riding.
We finally got moving after soaking our feet in the water for a while. We decided to stay at the lodge at
Mammoth Cave National park since it was only about 20 minutes away. A very nice drive there to find very small, outdated, $105/night hotel rooms that had no hot water (boiler was broken down, so they gave us 50% off). Brick interior walls made it a unique place and absolutely no noise from outside the room, but the carpet and decor was so old that, along with the other issues, we wouldn't have stayed if it weren't for the discount.
By the way- if you're in this area, make sureto stop at the Blue Holler Cafe for a bite to eat. It's cheap and the food is great!
Day 3 - Big Hollow Trail, Mammoth Cave KY
We rode this trail last year 2 weeks after they opened it and really enjoyed it even though it had the new-trail roughness to it. This year it was even better. A year of being ridden by local riders smoothed out the roughness quite a lot. The trail is not super challenging but a lot of fun. There are sections that are fast and flowing and a couple rocky sections that were pretty challenging and a log ride that was fun. There are two loops here. We enjoyed the south loop so much, we rode it four times while we only rode the other loop twice. We rode 25 miles here total, the longest ride we did..
We left Mammoth going to Owensboro, about 2 hours away. Very pretty drive through this area. We arrived in Owensboro to find that most hotels were booked solid, including the one we reserved on Priceline.com. A half hour wasted getting a refund from Priceline. We ended up at the same Super 8 we stayed at last year. The bonus was a completely remodeled room that was very pleasant. Dinner at Texas Road House since they sponsor a local cycling team. And who doesn't love steak after a ride?
Day 4 - Rudy Mines Trail, Ben Hawes City Park, Owensboro, KY
One of our favorite trails here! The rule here is that you ride one direction Mon-Wed-Fri-Sun, and the other direction Tues-Thurs-Sat.and for good reason. This trail has a super nice flow to it but has some blind corners that could cause crashes if it wasn't directional.
The trail climbs 100' per mile, but it's hard to tell. The trail dips and rises enough that you can't tell that you're climbing that much. It's technical enough to keep you on your toes, there are a few small jumps, singletrack, fast 'downhill' sections and not too rocky or rooty. A great trail I'd definitely recommend!We did one lap and were really too tired to safely ride another lap so we packed up for the 3 hour drive home. End of the trip for this year and already looking forward to next year!
Comments
Post a Comment