Shawnee National Forest-- possible Bike Club

goodonya

goodonya

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It is 65 degrees there right now heading for higher temps through the week. Anyway the new Bike Club I am joking about does not have to be a joke. See the ad on this page for a Lodge for 40K:

Shawnee National Forest - Southern Illinois

The more I pull up about the area the more I like it for its possibilities. I have no financial motive in this at all. I have my hands full up here in Alaska already. I cannot help but think about how I could be jogging down a long trail there on New Years Day and probably not see hardly anyone and not be cold.
280,000 acres is a lot of nice days in the woods. Beautiful stunning countryside there. Cheap cost of living. There is more info on the Lodge which is really an old church building 5,000 sq. ft. in the Southern Illinois craigslist. Just pull up real estate and put in Shawnee in the search box and 30k and 50k in the price boxes.
 
goodonya said:
It is 65 degrees there right now heading for higher temps through the week. Anyway the new Bike Club I am joking about does not have to be a joke. See the ad on this page for a Lodge for 40K:

Shawnee National Forest - Southern Illinois

The more I pull up about the area the more I like it for its possibilities. I have no financial motive in this at all. I have my hands full up here in Alaska already. I cannot help but think about how I could be jogging down a long trail there on New Years Day and probably not see hardly anyone and not be cold.
280,000 acres is a lot of nice days in the woods. Beautiful stunning countryside there. Cheap cost of living.
Click to expand...

Well, if it ever becomes a reality, let me know. I'd love to join ya down there. Only problem is, I can't drive, though. Someone would have to pick me up from the Amtrak, and drive me there, and that's not a drive many would want to make.
 
I have no interest in starting it myself. I just see the possibility. It is near major transportation routes and would be an easy trip by train or bus as well as by car. There just are not that many opportunities that would come up in such a central location with such recreational opportunities in a reasonable cost area.
It would not be me down there at all. I have way too much to do here. I just see the fun possibilities. I have family not far from there so I do think about it. Awesome central location for that part of the US.
On the cost of living scale of 100 that area comes in at 70. That gets my attention as well. Opportunity knocks somewhere and then it moves on. Some other group will see possibilities and act that's all.
I know I would have a stone blast running and biking on those trails there. There is lots to do. Fishing, hunting, climbing and just plain old relaxing in a quiet forest environment.
 
If it were closer to me, I would check that forest out. Over here in the mid-atlantic, we have many choices of forests to ride in. So far the best I've experienced was the Allegrippis trail in Raystown, PA. There are 33 miles of MTB-only trails, and we were only able to cover 15 of those miles in two days.

Also, have you experienced downhill MTB'ing on ski trails during the summer? We put our bikes on the chairlifts at Whitetail Mtn, went all the way to the top, and zigzagged our way back down. I don't think I pedaled more than two times, just hopping and screaming all the way, especially when our brakes were too hot to be useful. That was 20 years ago. Gotta be careful now as our bodies ain't what they used to be...
 
The summer time riding the ski trails is fun! I have done it up here. I have never amazed anyone with what I can do on a bike. There are people out there doing all kinds of wild acts of skill and endurance. In fact there is a site on the internet for a bike club in the Shawnee Forest. They are small and it would not overload the trail system there.
I like the idea of having a small home where I can have a huge garden with a watermelon patch and places to ride and run. It is getting too crowded up here.
 
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goodonya said:
The summer time riding the ski trails is fun! I have done it up here. I have never amazed anyone with what I can do on a bike. There are people out there doing all kinds of wild acts of skill and endurance. In fact there is a site on the internet for a bike club in the Shawnee Forest. They are small and it would not overload the trail system there.
I like the idea of having a small home where I can have a huge garden with a watermelon patch and places to ride and run. It is getting too crowded up here.
Click to expand...

Come to IL. You can have as big as a garden as you want, and not worry about people goofing up over there.
 
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