ill probably be moving up there in the summer for school, and im in the market for a trail bike to take with me ... what is the mtb terrain like up there? what are the conditions found most often in the area? what are some cools trails and/or parks that i could scope out next time i visit?

any feedback at all is great. thx

Mountain biking? You're about a 15 minute drive from San Felasco which is accessible just south of Alachua on 441; it's actually pretty decent. There's also a decent little public trail out by "The Rock" church on Newberry Road (about 10 minutes west of the Oaks Mall). We're also about a 45 minute drive north of Santos trail down in Ocala.

There used to be a great network of trails out by 120th and Newberry up to 39th Avenue called "The Powerlines" but unfortunately they've been posted for several years now. I used to go and bandit them fairly regularly up until about 2003, but then some a-hole started stringing barbed wire on the trail and now it's being heavily developed and turned into more town houses.

There's also a pretty extensive "urban" trail system with a bunch of single track hidden in a ton of neighborhoods. You can easily go out and do a 30 mile ride on single track while never leaving the city limits, however most of those trails might put you at risk for trespassing (I'm not sure of the legalities of them).

When you get here, swing by Chain Reaction and talk to Bike Man Jim, he can probably help you out. Another place that might have some info is Mr. Good Bike on N.W. 13th and 5th.

Ken
ps - There's a lot of road riding here too.

sweet. thanks kensuf ill remember that..i wrote it in the margins of my ride log so ill still be able to get that info when i move.

....but what are the trails like? hardpacked, soft-over-hardpack, rooty and rocky, or just soft and sandy and crappy EVERYWHERE (like it is here)....?

You've got to get a road bike in Gainesville. There cycling team kicks major ash. At least they did up here last year......

Most of the trails are hard packed single track. Some of the urban stuff is pretty gnarly sand though (there's one set of trails just east of I-75 south of 24th that has a lot of loose sand). When it rains we've got lots of mud.

Oh yeah and believe it or not, but there's some hills here. Not many, but still some. The Rock goes up and down a series of sinkholes which makes for a lot of fun after a good rain.

But while there's a fair number of mountain bikers, there's a huge roadie contingent here. The Gainesville Cycling Club and Team Florida (UF collegiate team/club) are quite active and always riding. Actually, I haven't ridden my mountain bike since last April and typically ride 150-200 miles per week on the road.

Man, there used to be a pretty decent web-site listing a bunch of the local trails, but the guy who ran it died 14 months ago and it's now down. However, go hit https://www.gccfla.org and https://grove.ufl.edu/~cycling and follow some links.

Once or twice a year, there is a XC race out by Gatorback MX park. It's private land, so it's only accessible during race weekend. Worth the wait. I used to drive up there the Sat. of the race weekend just to ride the course.

Other than that, Santos as mentioned is a great place to ride. Worth the 45 min drive south. Also, Razorback in Reddick (yeah I know).

For maps check out www.omba.org

Also, you MUST eat at Burrito Bros. for me!!!!

Thanks, I know, and I've already got a road bike. Today was its first birthday in my possession!


And yeah, I also know about the cycling team .. they are very well renowned to be sure. I checked out their website a while ago, emailed them and requested info on how to become a member..... anybody happen to know anything about this themselves?

If you're a student, faculty, or staff member at UF you can join the team. It's officially considered a UF Club, so membership is open.

My understanding is the training rides are pretty much open to anyone who wants to show up and not be a dipstick. Two of the team guys work at Chain Reaction and can probably answer all of your questions ("Big Phil" and Brad).

sweeeeeeet
open membership, eh? cool!
lookin forward to it