Ferdinand State Forest }{ Southern

[Tim]

That was an awesome reply, thank you very much. I hope to visit when I'm up that way. ,
Not for certain Ill be able to make it but I would rather be safe than sorry, so to speak.

Thanks again!!

[Eric]

Tim, the trail intersection you asked about is the same place that most everyone starts.

As Josh said, ccw has some very difficult climbs, but I am sure that you will find cw to still fit that description. I still feel that this is the hardest trail in Indiana. I am more worn out after one lap then how I feel after 30+ miles at Brown County.

Yes, starting at Foxey is lower then the fire tower, but until I have a season pass, get there before 9 am or the gate attendant is no longer on duty, I tend to start near the tower. I can also add some more sections to the loop with out doing Southridge again.

Do not let all of the talk scare you away. I just want you to know what you are getting in to. There are some very fun sections that are not as hard as other sections. If we keep doing re-routes every year it will continue to get easier.

FYI, to toot my own horn, on Sunday I finally done what I have been trying for years. I did my normal lap on my SS with out walking anything. I then added a 5 mile loop going the other way and only walked 3 times. One of them when I broke my chain, one of them being the hill that Josh talked about and one being a crazy steep fire lane that we normally don't ride. Not race pace, but still made good time for the distance. I was very excited to say the least. I give all the credit to my new rigid carbon fork that was on there for it's first ride.

[Tim]

i'm fully aware of the difficulty. And trust me, i'm no where near the level that you guys may be at. I'm not even qualified at scales but I manage to go every so often.

I have only been doing this about a year or so. Prior to that I had not really ridden in 6-7 years. I busted my wrist pretty bad and it just hurt all the time for like 3-4 years. I can keep a pretty good pace now but i
don't do a lot of climbing. Moderate climbing is ok, steep climbing not ok. I don't let that stop me though, I'll tell ya straight....

If I gotta walk it up, I'll walk it up.

Thanks for the info, it was very helpful.
And I'm sure if someone else reads it, it will help them also.

[Eric]

I was informed my the riders from last night that they have started logging on some sections and parts of the trail are closed. There is also a fire lane section that has some big gravel put down too.

[Tim]

Ugh, have bad memories about logging here.
They did that at angel mounds in 2005.

What the tornado didn't destroy, the logging trucks did.
It took a few years but it's better now than it was prior.

Only bad thing was they turned the logging roads into trails
and that still hasn't worked itself out just yet in someplace.

I don't mind mud but the swamp muck out there turns into some kind of concrete on your bike.

[ricdix]

Aug 28, 2009 10:53:19 GMT -5 Eric said:

I was informed my the riders from last night that they have started logging on some sections and parts of the trail are closed. There is also a fire lane section that has some big gravel put down too.

Have you rode it or seen it with your oun eyes yet? If so, how bad is it?

[Eric]

I heard that the trail that was closed could be rode last weekend.

I am heading out there right now. I will update tonight or tomorrow.

[Eric]

Trail that was closed last week is open again. Now there was a different section that was closed. The section behind the ranger house that ends at the shelter house is closed. We by passed this by going to the camp ground and down to the lake.

There are some fire lanes that have new rock put down. Some sections are not too bad for being rock, but some are very soft and thick. This is a down fall of the logging. It can not sink in to the ground fast enough.

[Tim]

didn't quite make it to the forest. Made it to wendy's on 64, does that count?

wouldn't have mattered, it was a monsoon all weekend.
We had to visit a laundry mat because our clothes got so wet while camping we had to change constantly.

That was in dale, and wendy's was right up the road.

Maybe next time

[Tim]

Here's the gig, my daughter got a job at holiday world and I have to take her to some orientation. It's about a 4 hr training.

Thought I would try to kill time at ferdinand state forest.
Questions are:

Is there a gate fee ?
Am I required to have a permit ?

If i don't, will I be tackled and beat for permit violations ?

Just curious ;D

[alex]

From what I've read it looks like just a parking fee is charged. Seems only Federal properties down here require a permit along with parking.

[daniel240]

Last time I was there was for the DINO race a few years back and it was $5 at the gate just like Harmonie SP.

[Eric]

There is just a gate fee. If you have a pass for Harmony it will work here too.

If you really don't have the $5 for the gate, there are lots of places to park and ride that don't include entering the gate. I actually prefer parking at one of those spots just because I like the way the trail flows from there.

Tyler - I am sure that someone would be more then happy to show you around. There are a lot of people riding out there regularly now. The re-routes keep making the trail even more fun.

Here is a link to the two new re-route sections
www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57652&id=1482671872&l=4742811702

[Eric]

Tim - any way to clean up this thread or make it easier to go to the most current post? When I click on the link in the recent activity it always takes me to the very fist post of the topic.

Thanks

[Tim]

Eric,

I'll see what I can do in the code.

Otherwise, if you are wanting to go to the thread you are reading just scroll down towards the bottom of the msg and click (Link To Post)

That will take you to the end of the topic as opposed to the beginning.

Also, I'll delete some of the older posts, I didn't realize some were as deep as they were.