Mountain biking while caching

[+pittrfc]

how many others do this? i was out today in a big area looking for caches while on my Mtn bike. I also got to thinking how cool would it be to have a mountain bike cache race in this area. has anyone ever heard of or done something like that?

[+The Jester]

Is it mountain biking while caching, or caching while mountain biking? I've thought about getting a cross bike to help get at some of those caches up the old logging roads...

[4wheelin_fool]

I bought a mountain bike from walmart last year. I wanted a cheap one but with disc brakes front and back and with quick release on the front and back wheels. The seat was a bear, and I had to change it out, but otherwise it was great after I peeled off all the gaudy Mongoose decals. I wanted disc brakes so if I bent the wheels up, it would still stop ok (which I did) The quick release wheels was so it could squeeze into the trunk ( which it has) It was a lot of fun in Manhattan last summer, and easy to ride up curbs and ride through Central Park, as well as the west side bike path and over the Brooklyn bridge(which is an awesome pedestrian/bicycle bridge by the way) I grabbed quite a few caches with it, and right now its getting a tune up with both wheels being trued. It is great in the woods and mountains also..

Edited March 15, 2010 by 4wheelin_fool

[aniyn]

I've kinda been doing something like this. Everytime I look for GC1H837 I do it from the top of the hill (via a shuttle) on my mountain bike. My personal record for top speed reached on the windy forest service road is 55.6 km/h. Unfortunately the cache owner decided to delete the logs for most of my attempts. It doesn't really have anything to do with the cache though.

[hoosier guy]

I don't ride trails myself but there are some nice ones in Hoosier National Forest I am told. that would be a great place to combine the two. I may have to start riding & caching myself. Thanks for bringing this up.

[+nekom]

I need to get myself a nice bicycle because there are tons of rails to trails in these parts, and plenty of caches hidden along them.

[+B_Tuck]

I have done a few Mt Bike cache runs. The last was Saturday. I ended up pushing my bike up hill most of the way for 2 hours. Coming back it was only 30 minutes to the car. The only problem I have noticed is that hikers are always looking around wondering where the rider went to this lone bike.

[+Casting Crowns]

I use my bike (sans mountains) frequently when the weather is good. Saves on gas and gives me some exercise.

[+geodarts]

how many others do this? i was out today in a big area looking for caches while on my Mtn bike. I also got to thinking how cool would it be to have a mountain bike cache race in this area. has anyone ever heard of or done something like that?

 

There are some trails in my area that would be so boring to hike that a mountain bike is essential. And when a new cache was published just after I was in the area, it was easy to hop on the bike (a 29" Marin) but I would have thought twice about hiking it again that soon.

 

Until our daughter graduated last June, she was on the MTB team of her high school. I had a great time going out caching, before or after her race, either mountain biking or hiking (depending on whether I was going off on my own or following the race course). I sometimes thought then that it would be interesting to combine caching and an MTB race, but couldn't quite imagine it working in practice. Either a bunch of racers would get to the cache at once or somebody would leave it particularly hard to find for the next racer (okay, I am a bit cynical since true MTB riders have the "howdy spirit" and would never think about doing something like that). Even if you had a monitor at a cache site to ensure that it was left properly, there might be a geotrail that make it easier for subsequent riders. Still, as I watched some of the kids race to an insurmountable lead, I wondered if it would level things out a bit if they had to find an evil micro on some mountain.

Edited March 15, 2010 by Erickson

[+Firefly911]

Last weekend we did some caching on our mountain bikes. We were on some bike trails, some dirt etc. It was alot of fun and we got a lot of smileys. We've done it on a few occasions and I'm sure we will go again. Good stuff.

[+RobDJr]

I enjoy caching and and I enjoy mountain biking. Anything that combines two or more areas of interest is a bonus, so caching while biking or biking while caching, it's all good.

 

However, since I cache for fun and personal enjoyment as a form of relaxation, I avoid like the plague anything that introduces an element of competition into the picture, so a cache race will never be for me.

 

That said, I could see how some people would enjoy such a race. I imagine it would be set up very much in the same way as an orienteering race, along with 'temporary caches' set only for that race.

[+G & C]

I do a lot of caching on my mountain bike. Not even in the mountains sometimes. I much prefer riding my bike to driving my car, so I do it whenever possible. Lately, since I've kinda depleted the supply of unfound caches in my immediate area, I look for some level of concentration of caches, and drive there with the bike, then start my ride from there.

 

It's just a great way of getting outside, and getting some much needed exercise. I'd be doing it whether I was caching or not, so I may as well do the caching too!

[+mountainman38]

how many others do this? i was out today in a big area looking for caches while on my Mtn bike. I also got to thinking how cool would it be to have a mountain bike cache race in this area. has anyone ever heard of or done something like that?

 

I find multi's only bearable if I'm on my bike. I like to ride at my own speed, so I don't know about a caching race. What I have thought about was putting together a multi in the woods that is 10 to 20 miles long round trip, so a bike would really be the only way to do it. This would be a great way to show off some local trails, and the caches could be at great viewpoints.

[+Ralfcoder]

I just did one tonight on my bike. I decided I wanted to ride the DALMAC this fall - a bicycle ride from Lansing, MI to Mackinaw City, MI on the week before Labor Day. The route I picked is 340 miles in 5 days, so I need to train and get a few miles in the saddle this summer. What better way than to ride after some caches? There are a few fairly close, and some more that are 5-10 miles from home. If I don't clean out too many in one ride, I can get maybe 10-20 training rides this way. And if I take the bike someplace and start riding from there, I can cache and ride all summer.

 

Does anyone have a good way to secure a Garmin Etrex to the handlebars of a bike? I stopped at a Dick's Sporting Goods to look for a clip or mount of some sort, and they didn't have any. The clerk said he attached his carrying case to the bars with wire ties. That might work, but doesn't sound ideal. If anyone has a better solution, drop me a note through my profile, please.

[+Borst68]

There is a rails to trails project in the town I grew up in. So far only 12 miles but plans call for expansion. I have walked and biked some of it. Now that I am a Geocacher (I think), I will bike and cache it some time this summer with my daughter. I currently live near the Erie Canal in western NY. That is also a place I ride with my daughter. We'll do a caching ride there too.