This trip actually happened in October over 2 days. The route was a mix of singletrack, asphalt and fireroad combining Brown County State Park with two sections of the Hoosier National Forest; Nebo Ridge and Hickory Ridge.
Brown County State Park-North Tower Loop, Aynes Loop, Hesitation Point Connector, Walnut Trail and Limekiln Trail
http://www.getoutzine.com/files/Brown%20County%206.09.fromai.pdfHoosier National Forest-Nebo Ridge
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier/recreation/nebo.htm Hickory Ridge
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier/recreation/hickory_ridge.htm
The Setup:
Bike-2004 Cannondale F600, changed to 32x20 specifically for this trip
Rear rack-military surplus blankey, spare socks, and tights rolled up with a styrofoam pad
seat bag-hat, rain jacket, spare tubes
Camelbak MULE-Hennessy Hammock, maps, camera, emergency cash, cell phone, lighter, compass, knife, food
seat bag strapped to the stem-multi tool, chain links, pump, patch kit, 100 oz bladder
On bike-two water bottles with 5ft of duct tape wrapped around one
Food- flatbread rolls with pb and dried fruit, trail mix, fruit roll ups
I got my start at about 8:30 am with the plan to ride the Brown County trail system, ride about 8 miles of asphalt until I reached Nebo Ridge then after riding that trail connect to Hickory Ridge via another mile of asphalt. Once I reached Hickory Ridge I could decide the amount of riding I felt like doing then set up camp.
As soon as I started the ride it began raining. Within an hour it was a complete downpour and did not stop raining until 4pm. I felt great after making the initial climb up to Hesitation Point and the rain made for more of a cleansing feeling than real nuisance. Disclaimer: the trails in this area are very well-built and once they dry out in late Spring rain has little effect on the trail conditions.
However, after spending a few minutes in the gazebo at Hesitation Point I realized how cold and wet I was. My feet were entirely soaked and this along with the large number of (now slippery) rocks on the next part of the trail, lead to my decision to skip Walnut Trail and head strait over to Limekiln trail which would connect me with the hopefully open camp store. With luck the camp store was open and I purchased hand-warmers and asked for multiple plastic bags. I switched socks and with my duct tape and new bags, made my shoes waterproof. I was now ready to continue on.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=54466434&id=6852642#/photo.php?pid=54467127&id=6852642The road going was EXTREMELY slow due to the gearing and took much longer than I expected. Along the way I stopped at the Story Inn in Story, IN for a nice lunch and to warm up a bit. I definitely had a few stares and was asked by the hostess "you're out bicycling in this?". Once I reached Nebo Ridge the rain was starting to let up and stayed at a drizzle for the rest of the day. This is also where the rear rack started to become quite a hindrance. Now that I was riding technical downhills and not just climbing my clamp-on rack became loose about once a mile and will not be used again for this kind of trip.
Hickory Ridge riding was a mix of fire road and multi-use trails and much easier on the bike. I did not start the trip with a map of Hickory Ridge but knew that there were maps posted at every intersection and found my way to the Horsemen's camp to pick up a map. I must have looked rugged since while deciding where to camp I was approached and asked "Are you OK? Are you lost?" I reassured the woman I was just out on a bike ride and quite fine. After wandering around the trail system for another hour I pulled off the trail, set up camp and attempted sleep. While the military blanket should've been warm enough for the predicted temperatures the added cold from being damp made the night much colder than my comfort level and sleep was not easy to come by.
The next morning was much warmer and the sun was shining so I ate breakfast and got back on the trail. However, the fatigue from a day of riding in the rain (also my longest ride to date) and a poor night sleep made this a day of little trail riding. Once I got out of the Hickory Ridge system I decided to take gravel and fire roads to circumnavigate all but the last mile of Nebo Ridge and the inevitable rear rack problems. This resulted in multiple aggressive guard dog encounters some steep hills and a few unneeded climbs trying to find the connector back onto Nebo Ridge.
Once back in Brown County State Park, fatigue overtook common sense and I decided to take roads back to the parking lot instead of trails. The idea was that this would be quicker but I did not take into account that roads do not contain switchbacks and instead go straight up the hills. My second day ended about 2pm after a total of ~63 miles being about 39 the first day and 24 the second.
Lessons-
Stick to the trails
Rear racks are not very compatible with singletrack
Singlespeed is fun but may not be the best idea for long rides on a variety of terrain
I need to ride more
I will definitely be riding again and am looking at more National Forests within 10 hours drive to map new routes in.
