I had a good talk with my favorite fitter and one of his wrenches this morning about all of this. There are certainly gravel and paved road options in different part of the states, some of which has dirt roads involved. My bike will need some fit-related modifications to enable this different riding style but it will be far less expensive than buying a new bike - and that full suspension will come in handy! So I've got fall/early winter to take care of this and to start scouting my riding options and to give my neck a chance to further heal. There really aren't any options in state parks, but there are in the Hoosier National Forest, and there are some counties that have a combination of gravel/dirt/asphalt routes that will take me into some pretty scenic areas. I will need to find a riding partner for some of these areas as they are quite remote - but this gives me less technical off-road riding opportunities.

This really does feel like the best approach, and I am excited about it. Sad to be leaving single-track, and it may not be permanent, but it feels like the right choice. There ARE several gravel race/events in southern Indiana that I've been wanting to participate in. My fitter told me that out west you can take fire-roads pretty much wherever you want to go, though that isn't the case in Indiana.