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Why I ride...

I grew up with a passion for the woods. Being a city kid, they were a magical escape. Many years later, I've rediscovered the passion, but with a twist: wheels!

First, let me state unequivocally: I hate exercise. Second: I have a low tolerance for boredom. Third: I really miss my sportbike!

Zooming through the woods is a great moment of zen. It demands total concentration, but when you're "in the groove," it's as if you're on autopilot.

Don't get the wrong impression: This isn't a Mountain Dew commercial we're talking about here. Personally I prefer to keep my tires safely in touch with terra firma. The trails in Indiana (Town Run, Westwood, Brown County) are "singletrack," and the riding is "cross-country."

The folks I've met through mountain bike riding have become my closest friends. This is a solo sport, but is also very social. We depend on each other for a "safety net" in case there's a technical problem deep in the woods, and we heap on admiration and good-natured ribbing over a refreshing apres-ride IPA.

If you're interested in riding, or if you're interested in learning, or if you're interested in helping expand the opportunities to ride in our area... Join us!

Tags: Bicycle, Cross Country, HMBA, Trails, bike, mountain bike, mountain biking, ride, single track, singletrack

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chris Baggott on February 26, 2008 at 10:01am

How old are you kids? My son has been riding Brown County State Park for about two seasons and he's 13. Happy to get together some weekend and show you around there. it's awesome.

Permalink Reply by Mark Finney on February 26, 2008 at 12:54pm

John-

Glad to hear you're going to get your kids on the trail. The HMBA is planning a skills seminar for kids sometime this spring.

'Til then I suggest you pick up the book "Mountain Bike!" by Wm Nealy. It's hand-lettered, and full of funny drawings, so it's "accessible" for kids, but it also has a ton of good info re: riding and safety skills, and is very useful to us grown-ups, too. The library has a couple of copies, and it's cheap on Amazon.

During the winter we do a weekly urban ride, starting from Binkley's in Broad Ripple at 6pm on Thursdays: a couple hours of Towpath/downtown fartin' around, then sandwiches and malted beverages. When the weather's iffy, we ride at the indoor BMX track in the old RCA plant at Michigan & Sherman. Check out the Find A Ride thread in the HMBA forum for updates. http://www.hmba.org

--Mark

Permalink Reply by Mark Finney on February 26, 2008 at 2:17pm

And please spread the word!

The HMBA is working diligently with DNR (and IndyParks, and...) to get access to more land (there are discussions re: Ft Ben underway!), and we need to swell our ranks to: a) have more sway, and b) have more folks available to build & maintain trails once we get the green light.

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