Spring/Summer TE camping/biking at Brown County State Park?

[Catrin]

I think it would be wonderful if we could put together a spring or summer meeting for TE members in Ohio/KY/Ill/Michigan/Wisconsin/etc. Perhaps a perhaps a weekend or long weekend camping trip to Brown County State Park and area with bikes (great road and mountain biking). Of course it wouldn't be limited to members from surrounding states

Is there interest in something like this? The main reason I am thinking about Brown County State Park is that there is something there for everyone - great mountain biking, nice camp sites, and beautiful scenic roads on which to ride. There are existing maps for routes between Brown and Bartholomew Counties that pretty much cover scenic and rolling hills to scenic and very challenging hills. The Park itself has some of the best single-track around and they are working to develop more.

I forgot to mention that one can also hike the mountain bike trails, and there are a good number of regular hiking trails. I only hike the mountain bike trails but there are options.

[indysteel]

My interest will depend in large part on the date, as we have a fair amount going on already this spring and early summer.

DH and I cohosted something similar last April for Roadbikereview's forum. My best advice is to tie into an existing organized group road ride, e.g., the Horsey Hundred or the Hilly. It's a lot harder than you might think to coordinate a group ride for people who are unfamiliar with the area and who will likley have varying abilities. This is especially true in Southern Indiana where the terrain can be pretty challenging and the roads in questionable shape.

The logistics were overwhelming enough that we declined an invitation to host a Midwest RBR ride again for 2011. It was just a lot of work. In my opinion, it's far better to let somebody else worry about routes and SAG support.

[Owlie]

That'd be awesome, but it does depend on the date and where I end up moving for grad school. I can't really do it if I'm in Tucson, now can I?

[Catrin]

That'd be awesome, but it does depend on the date and where I end up moving for grad school. I can't really do it if I'm in Tucson, now can I?

Problem is solved if you come to Indianapolis for graduate school

[OakLeaf]

Like everyone else, depends on the date, but I'm interested.

[surgtech1956]

We love to camp. Where is Brown County State Park, what dates are you thinking. Looking forward to more details. Thanks

[Catrin]

Good points, I was basically thinking it out while I typed. It makes sense to tie it into some existing ride - perhaps some weekend where there is both a road and mountain biking event in the area? There are several such times, or a weekend where there is a road biking event and if some want to go off on the single track while others hit the road event then they have that option.

The first step is to establish if there is interest - then we can focus on events and see which event dates would fit everyone's schedule the best. So far we do have several interested, dates depending, so that seems a good start.

Please post here if you are interested in participating in a TE member gathering that would be linked to an existing organized group ride in Southern Indiana, possibly camping at Brown County State Park (just an initial idea).