Thursday night "get out of the house" ride

My Hardrock Sport Disk 29er at the river overlook.

Alex and I met up over at "Hole in the Fence" aka Morris Brige Park. We started riding the main trail, starting at #4. At #5 we hung a left and caught the beginning of Gator Bait, and then left again on Misery. Misery really isn't all that miserable, in fact, none of the trails at Morris Bridge are any more difficult than the easiet trail at Alafia. We keep going down Misery till we hit Gandpa. We took Grandpa to piglet (aptly named for all the hog holes along this trail. We diverted over to techno pig, a section with lots of little "play" drops. Alex and I practiced drops and jumps here for about 10 minutes and then headed on down the red section (it isn't labled) to Grandpa again. We took Grandpa over to the start of washboard. This trail again is very aptly named, as it feels like what I imagine riding over a washboard would feel like. Once we got past washboard, we took Heart Break Ridge, a supposedly "very difficult" trail. Again, not much of an issue, lots of roots, and two nice little bridges. We actually passed another rider here. We rode HBR to the end, and then saw the sign for "river overlook" so we decided to check it out. The trail was very wide, likely so park vehicles could go down it. It was starting to get a little dark, which made this section pretty creepy. At any rate, there was a nice overlook of the Hillsborough river, but I cannot imagine being down there very long in the summer - between the mosquitos and the humidity, it was a little rough.

At any rate, we headed back and followed the main trails. The really nice thing about the trails here is that they are fast with lots of twists that really make you lean the bike into some of the turns. All in all it was a fantastic ride!

SWAMP Trail Map of Wilderness Park


Our route:


Alex's Trek 6000 at the river overlook:

Over the bars and into the woods

Lovely. One way to describe the feeling of weightlessness one feels as their body takes flight over the handlebars on their bike. Even more lovely is that this happened on the first drop of the ride. This would not be my first foray into the dirt today. What was really amazing is that while I did get ejected from the bike, the bike landed perfectly upside down - seat and handlebars and stayed this way.


Not me, but you get the idea...

We had decided earlier in the week we would try the tougher trails first. I elected to do rollercoaster, one of the more difficult trails in Alafia. We rolled up to the first drop, a 5 or 6 step staircase of pain. Shawn, Jason, and Rich (the more adventurous and more experienced) went down no problem. Then it was my turn. From what I could tell I was doing great - I made it down the first 4 or 5 steps and then physics took over. Mistake #1 - I was not behind the seat. In downhill drops and staircases, you have to literally have to get your body behind the seat to put enough weight on the back to prevent the over the bars scenario. Mistake #2 - which may or may not have occured - locking the front brakes. I assume I did this as a gut reaction to the falling sensation, but who knows. Alex told me that I looked like I had cleared it just fine, but said at the bottome it was like something grabbed the front wheel and flung the bike and myself over like the worlds worst pendulum. I am pretty sure that everyone in the park heard the words "OHHHH F@@@CK". I took the hardest shot to my left knee, in nearly the same spot I did the first weekend I had my bike. The last wound had just healed. My gloves protected my hands, helmet scratched a little, got a nasty raspberry on my leg from where it caught the handlebar grip, and I got covered in dirt. Uggh.

This was not what I needed to start my adventure on one of the toughest trails I had ever attempted. With my confidence gone (and I apparantly took Alex's too) we continued down the trail. I had a lot of fun on the trail and had I not fallen off, I probably would have loved it and attempted to do more of the drops. I did ok the rest of this trail until I got to a spot dam near at the end. Coming up a steep climb I did great till I hit the summit. At the summit I caught a large rock with my left pedal and lost my momentum. I tried to balance it out, but alas, on my ass I was. Timmmmber! Pitched right over on my side, laughing the whole way down.

Finally we exited Rollercoaster and went back to the picnic shelters to cool off. It was already in the 90F range. My "moisture wicking" jersey was basically a hot wet towel at this point.

The hardcore guys decided they were going to go run North Creek and Rollercoaster again, Alex, Ryan, and I, decided to do Sandpine, Rock Garden, and the River loop.

We had a great time on those trails and running low on water, we headed back to the camp to relax and to refil our drink bottles.

We decided to run one last pull throught Rock Garden, then we called it a day.

I also had forgotten to turn on the GPS, so by the time I realized it, I said forget it.

Distance covered: 14.8mi + fire roads (probably another mile on these)

Roller Coaster:2.2mi
Sandpine:2.5mi
Rock Garden:3.5mix2
River Loop: 3.1mi

Map of Alafia, courtesy of SWAMP


Alex sent me his GPS based route (notice the difference from the stated mileage vs what the GPS sees since it gets lost in the forest)

View Larger Map

When good plans go bad

Normally Ana and I end up dropping Alana of with her parents and we ride the Pinellas Trail on Saturday mornings. Normally... Today we couldn't get a hold of her parents so we decided to do our own thing. While Ana was riding her bike, I went down to AJ's and bought a new set of gloves and a pair of Tifosi Pave. These are sunglasses that also come with clear lenses with vents on the side to let them breath. I had discovered on previous trail runs I was getting all kinds of dirt in my eyes or spider webs from early runs. These frames also included a dark and a red set of lenses in addition to the clear.

I didn't have anyone with me so I took it easy. I did the Rock Garden twice, took the loop back after second run and rested for a bit under the shade of one of the pavillions. After a short rest, i headed back out to do Sand Pine. I rode the entire length of Sand Pine, and once I reached the end, I turned back and went the opposite direction and took the trail a second time.

Wildlife

On my way back to the parking lot on the last section of Sand Pine, I saw something moving in the trail ahead of me - a snapper turtle eating plants sitting right in the middle of the trail. I decided to let him eat, and double backed to the muti use trail cutoff. Interstingly enough I saw another turtle doing the exact same thing on the other side of the fire road.





View Larger Map

Pictures from the trail

Picnic Island Adventure Race

Tonight's race was one word - HOT! The temperature was 97F at race time, with heat index numbers around 105. I ran with a coworker Thom, and one of his friends who was crazy enough to ride Alafia earlier today and decided to brave the run. Having started riding my bike in the heat, I knew hydration was going to be very critical in this heat, so I filled up my camelbak with 3 bottles of cold water.

After the last race we decided that starting in the middle was not opportune, as the choke point of the race is in the singletrack portion of the mangrove swamp. This would have been terrific if it wasn't almost 100F outside. Ultimately Thom and I both started off way too fast. I have never ran 7 minutes during a race and had to walk and unfortunately, this would be the way the entire race would go tonight.

Course Routing
From the start line, run north down the length of the beach. At the north end of the island turn left and run uphill. The ascent here is probably 30 feet. Head toward the NE and then make a sharp left and make a loop around the berm. Once back around stay to the left and run down the top of the hill parallel to the beach. As you approach the shelters, you will find the obstacles 1) a net to crawl under, 2) a tire obstacle, 3) a 2.5 foot tall hurdle. Continue past these and continue toward the south end of the island. Now you get wet! the image gives the impression you are on the beach - this is not the case - you are in ankle to shin deep water (depending on the tide). Tonights run was just over ankle deep for the most part. At the end of this the course jogs north and back onto dry land. You continue down this path till you get to the water again and then you run through ankle deep water as the course turns to the west. After about 40 yards, the bay water turns into a single track mangrove swamp. This part smells really bad, does not allow for passing, and everytime I have went, I usually end up standing around waiting for people to get through this. Once you get past this the course jogs to the north and you run down the island's service road. This continues down for about .25 mile and then jogs to the right (NE) and depending on the tides, is either dry land or a slippery mess. Tonight was the latter. At this point the trail crosses the service road again, does a few zig zags on flat land and you loop around the berm the opposite direction of how you did earlier. Finally you run up and down the hill as it parallels the beach. Finally after several zig-zags, you continue down the beach, then you get wet again. This time you get thigh deep into the bay and loop around a buoy, back onto the beach and you run 20 yards to the finish line.

(click on image to enlarge/follow along)


Conclusion
The most difficult part of this race was the heat. The obstacle course really is not very difficult at all. The swamp section wasn't nearly as deep as it was last time, but it really smelled something horrible (almost gagging me). The next portion proving to be a challenge was the fire road that was slippery. A fall here would have really been painful, as it was covered with limestone.

I finished the race in 43:19, which was 2:30 slower than last time, and I ended up with some really nasty blisters, which is the first time this has happened to me since I have started running. No matter what the difficulty, when it was over I still felt great and had a good time. I hope that in July, it rains like crazy during the run!

First Ride with the SWAMP club!

HOLY CRAP THEY ARE FAST!

Just as soon as you think you can boogie, you are introduced people who have rode the same trail every Tuesday for the last 10 years. They are very fast - but I apparantly have more endurance as I feel like I could keep pace just fine after the first 8 miles. The folks at SWAMP were awesome, Marty, Wes, and many others whose names I'll remember in the future, were all awesome to ride with.

Alex and I rode some of these trails Saturday. We didnt ride nearly any of the super switchbacks that we did tonight. I never did go OTB (although I saw one lady end up in a Palmetto bush). Not a fun option. We also didn't ride as much of the main trail due to the time (park closes at 8:30).

Now I need to find a Zumba class for Ana on a night other than Tuesday...


On the map and stats below, you are not seeing the other 5 miles of trails I rode ro the other 25 minutes or so. I didnt have time to turn on the GPS, as they leave right at 6. When I did get to a stop point I turned it on.

Ride Stats (short by about 4-5 miles)and I never stopped so it when we did rest, so my pace is likely showing slower than we were actually going.

Started: Jun 8, 2010 6:25:22 PM
Ride Time: 1:23:08
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 10.19 miles
Average: 7.35 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 19.41 miles/hr
Climb: 906 feet
Calories: 488



View Larger Map

Pinellas Trails Ride

Today Ana and I rode the Pinellas trails, nearly the same route as last time, but we rode about 2.25mi further than last weekend, and did it only 10 minutes longer. We finished up our ride at Cafe Alfresco, a great post ride lunch spot.

It was very hot, albeit overcast today. I drank all but 3 or 4 onces of the Camelbak, and all of the gatorade.

Ride Specs:

Ride Time: 1:44:05
Stopped Time: 5:13
Distance: 14.89 miles
Average: 8.59 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 22.65 miles/hr
Climb: 341 feet
Calories: 482






View Larger Map

Wilderness Park Trail rides

Today Alex and I met up at the Wilderness Park Trails (Morris Bridge, Trout Creek, and Flatwoods Parks). We started with the trails Grandpa and Palmetto, then just followed the main loop trail for the entire distance.

Ride Statistics:
Ride Time: 2:35:39
Stopped Time: 6:16
Distance: 16.29 miles
Average: 6.28 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 18.14 miles/hr
Climb: 1965 feet
Calories: 1131

Comparison to other trails

Nearly all the trails we road on the Morris Bridge site were pretty smooth, some small downhills and not very technical at all. The worst root section here was easier than the easiest at Boyette or Alafia. There were litteraly no climbs or drops to speak of, there were some "play areas" where you could drop in, but nothing like youd find at Alafia.

Once we made it to the other end of Morris Bridge, you must pedal down Morris Bridge Road about .4 of a mile to catch the next section of the trail which takes you to the Flatwoods area. Once you enter this area, the trails become much more rooty, but just in the sense that there is lots of them, but very few that were more than 2-3" in height or that couldn't be avoided.

By far my favorite section was from marker 41 to 47 - very very fast and curvy. We ended up doing this section three times just because it was so awesome. From here we rode up the berm and down to the flood control gates. There was a gator hanging out in the river just beyond the gates, this was the only wildlife we saw the entire ride.

Map of the area that we did:


View Larger Map