Brown County Breakdown

What an awesome event the Brown County Breakdown was! I can't say enough about how well organized, marked, and run this event is...it will definitely be on my calendar for next year! Brad and I got everything packed up and into the truck on Saturday night since we were going to have to get up early on Sunday monring to make the 30 minute drive.

We arrived at the park before sunrise, and were greeted with temps in the 30's. Frost on the grass, and starting a long ride just after sunrise makes for a great day. After much deliberation, we chose to hit the trail with the second wave of riders. With all the rain on Thursday and Friday, we knew that some of the trails were going to be sloppy. The first trail, Pine Loop, was a little wet...but as a testament to HMBA's prowess there weren't any big mud holes.

Great Fall Color


We made our way through the Brown County State Park mtb trails, and up towards Hesitation Point. Along the way, music could be heard through the forest. There were a fiddler and a banjo player staked out at different spots...cool! At Hesitation Point we were met with a great little sag...great view, dulcimer and homemade baked goods.


Descending off of Hesitation Point was a fun time, first Walnut then Limekiln. Holy crap, I felt like I was going mach 5 on Limekiln! Somewhere along the way, Brad told me to go ahead and ride my own pace to get in the 60 miler. He had a couple wrecks early on and had ridden a good portion of the Schooner (the new expert trail) the day before.




The next section I knew was going to be a slog. Horse trails, after rain...nuf said. 6 or so miles of slow going. Arrived at the cabin in the hollow...great sag! Cool bluegrass/folksy band playing on the front porch.



I picked up some of my stuff, left enough for the return, and left for Nebo Ridge. This was my first experience with this trail...it reminded me of Turkey Pen in Pisgah, just tamed down (both elevation variation and steepness, but the same feel). Onto the next sag, Maumee. Can't find my bag here, crap! I was able to nab some cookies and a couple gels from the crew at the stop, bonus.

I rode out with a few guys from the area, good to meet you Greg and friends! Up Combs Road (demoralizing hike a bike for me by this point). A little more Nebo Ridge, and then back to the cabin sag. I took my time the second time around, mostly dreading the return trip on the horse trails which I knew was going to take me up from about 550' to about 1050'. Finally, I left the sag and was feeling very low on the horse trails. To my suprise though, at about mile 48 or so, I got a second (or eighth) wind, and felt good. (this second wind was probably due to having someone to suffer with, Thanks John from Bloomington). I was excited to get back onto the mountain bike trails.

I was feeling really good now, back on the fun fast flowy trails! I caught up with Mike from Cincy and we rode together for the last few miles. I think the idea of getting something to eat was incentive enough to push the pace by this point. Jug's Catering (BBQ, fried chicken, beans, yummmmmmmm!) is awesome!

Overall, I felt pretty good, wished I had done the 75 miler, but still happy with 60. I took about 8 hours to do the ride. I think with ideal conditions, not taking a whole lotta time at the sags and pushing a quicker pace, I could do this same ride in 6 hours...maybe slightly less. 58 miles, 6k feet of climbing...yes, Indiana has hills!