Newbie from Northern Illinois

[comfortablycurt]

Hey everyone!

Figured I’d drop in here and introduce myself. My name’s Curt, and I’m just starting to get into mountain biking in a more serious way. I’ve been riding bikes constantly for my whole life, but I’ve never really done much in the way of real trail riding/mountain biking. When I was younger, I was really into the BMX scene, but as I’ve gotten older, those dinky little bikes just aren’t comfortable anymore. I’ve had a couple different mountain bikes over the course of time…but I just got what I consider to be my first "real" mountain bike, which is a Giant Rincon. I’m not sure of the year, but it’s probably not any older than 5-6 years old or so. I’m actually still in the process of buying it off of a friend of mine, but I’ve had it on "loan" for the last couple of weeks.

I’ve been spending a lot of time riding the last couple weeks, mainly just around town but I’ve also hit up a couple different local bike paths. I’ve been doing some research lately, and it looks like there are several different established bike trails within an hours drive or so from where I’m at. I’d love some more suggestions for trails in my area to ride though. My location is Dixon, IL…which is about 45 miles south of Rockford, IL. However, I’m going to be moving to Chicago(Blue Island/Oak Lawn specifically) within the next few weeks, so I’d also love some suggestions for trails in that area. I’m a beginner, so I’m not quite up to any real advanced trails yet, but I also love a challenge(and I’ve already accepted the fact that I’m probably going to take a tumble or two through out the course of this hobby…lol) and love to push myself.

I’ll post some more info about my bike later on. I believe it’s been upgraded some, but I’m not sure. I’ll try to get a picture up as well, and see if we can determine what year it is. I’d also love some opinions on what the bike would be worth. I’m buying it off of one of my real good friends, so I’m sure I’ll be able to get a bit of a deal on it but I’m not expecting to get it dirt cheap either.

I’ve browsed around the forums here for the last few days and it looks like you guys have a great community here. I’m looking forward to getting to know you guys, and maybe meeting up and doing some riding sometime down the line.

[fat_billy]

Welcome! Enjoy! 😄 Later,

[bikenut1]

welcome curt. singletracks is the fricken "learning channel" so glad i found it!! you know you can pull up the trails listed for your state. just go to the mtb trails and click on best mtb trails go to the right side and bring up your state. that should give some help finding trails. and don’t forget to let r rip!!

[blundar]

Rock Cut State Park is pretty close to you in Rockford , IL. There are plenty of miles of  varied trails there including multi-use trails and some pretty good singletrack trails. Here is a link to a map from this website: https://images.singletracks.com/2017/09/ScreenShot2017-09-03at81923PM-orig.jpg

[charding]

I can’t help with recommending trails where you are, but wanted to welcome you to the sport and forum, comfortablycurt! As for taking a tumble or two, it won’t “probably” happen…it will happen! 😉

[rmap01]

IMO Singletracks is the best source for finding good trails to ride.  If you haven’t already, check out the trail list for IL

https://www.singletracks.com/mountain-bike/best_trails.php?new_state_id=394

This is a ranked listing (best to worst) of trails in IL

https://www.singletracks.com/Illinois-bike-trails_15.html

This has a map of the locations.

Look for trails that are rated at your skill level (Easy, Intermediate, Advanced) with good reviews that are within the distance you are willing to travel.

Most importantly, have fun!

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