The Bendix Woods bike mileage, figure by figure: a dated ledger

item 6 — the county plans and park publications read for the mountain-bike mileage series

The banked set carried a standing flag — the bike system's mileage nowhere stated — and the plans settle it: the St. Joseph County Parks Master Plan 2014–2018, on its Bendix Woods page, states the fact and its date in one sentence: "A six-mile mountain bike trail was completed in 2013." The Five Year Master Plan 2019–2023 carries the same system at the same size on its Bendix Woods park page, in the park's own totals block: 195 acres, 6-mile mountain-bike trail, 5 miles of hiking trails, 27-acre nature preserve. The county's park literature prints the system one step looser: the Bendix Woods brochure and trail map give "over 5 miles of specially designed mountain bike trails managed by NIMBA" — a floor, not a count, and consistent with the plans' six. NIMBA's own trail page gives no total at all; it describes the ride in segments, an intermediate section of approximately 2 miles and a beginner section of 2.5 miles, which are a rider's description of the loop's parts and are not summed by their carrier. The independent cross-checks cluster around the official figure without landing on it, and print UNRECONCILED as a set: Singletracks carries the trail at 6 miles (entry first added 1 January 2013, updated 28 April 2020); a NIMBA-series race account at Bendix Woods (WSI Cycling) rides it at approximately 6.5 miles; AllTrails' measured loop stands at 5.8 miles, while the county-derived text on the same platform calls it "the 6.5 mile mountain bike trail"; Visit South Bend Mishawaka's cycling guide gives Bendix Woods 6.6 miles of mountain-bike trails. The ledger therefore closes: the plans do separate bike mileage — 6 miles, completed 2013, restated 2019–2023 — and the measured and promotional figures around it run 5.8 to 6.6 miles, printed unreconciled, never averaged. The banked flag is discharged by the plans themselves.

Sources:

1. St. Joseph County Parks, Master Plan 2014–2018, p. B-18 (Bendix Woods) — "over five miles of hiking trails… A six-mile mountain bike trail was completed in 2013"; the park at 195 acres.
2. St. Joseph County Parks, Five Year Master Plan 2019–2023, pp. 44–45 (Bendix Woods) — totals block: 195 acres; 6-mile mountain-bike trail; 5 miles of hiking trails; 27-acre nature preserve.
3. St. Joseph County Parks, Bendix Woods brochure / Trail Map 2026 — "over 5 miles of specially designed mountain bike trails managed by NIMBA."
4. NIMBA (nimbamtb.org), Bendix Woods trail page — the ~2-mile intermediate and 2.5-mile beginner sections; no total stated by the carrier.
5. Cross-checks, named as such: Singletracks, Bendix Woods (6 mi, added 2013, updated 2020); WSI Cycling Team, Bendix Woods race account (~6.5 mi); AllTrails, Bendix Woods Mountain Bike Trail (5.8-mi loop; county text at 6.5 mi); Visit South Bend Mishawaka, cycling guide (6.6 mi).