zzOtherlandzz

Yep, Got out for a ride today. Decided on the mountain bike again, didn't feel like dealing with the wind today. I decided to see if they cut the other part of the FL trail today. The part that is south of SR20 in Putnam County. The first part of the trail is logging and hunting roads that I ride once in awhile to the power lines. The second part I have not ridden in probably about 4 years or so. The last time I checked it out I could NOT even see the trail it was overgrown so much. I got to that point today and YEP.. they did cut it. Ended up riding 10.11 miles all in the dirt/sand/grass/woods... FUN...

Just a few pictures .....
1st... Start of the trail off of SR20 (south side)
2nd... The power lines that I usually ride back to sr20
3rd... The start of part of the trial that I have not ridden in years... trail mowed..
4th... Wooden crossing that didn't look all that sturdy, a couple of boards felt a bit rotten. Over all it was in good shape though.
5th... This part of the trail follows the old RR tracks and is hard packed but a bit bumpy.
6th... Trail entrance after crossing Old Gainesville Road (I think).
7th... End of the line today, didn't feel like walking who knows how far in the sugar sand. Looks like a fire break line. Eventually if you keep following this trail it will come out on SR19 south of Palatka just before the barge canal. Rode it once years ago.... Trying to con friends into riding it with me again

kjc9640

02/21/2011
30.1 miles today with perfect weather
Mileage this month 55
Mileage this yr. 1140
Over/under riding days this yr. vs last yr. +5
Over/under miles this year vs last year +190
31.7 miles average per ride this yr.
5859 miles needed to hit my 2011 goal of 7,000

My daughter and I left about 4:30 and rode to the end of the trail and back. We got home about 7:30 and it was quite dark. Both of us had front and rear flashers but neither of us had thought to bring any head lights. For about the last 10 miles it was very dark.

zzotherlandzz those photos make me want to get a mtn. bike

Robofunc

Rode my 10-mile downtown loop after work, planning to do it again with my ladyfriend once she's out of work.

Lindaosm

[QUOTE=zzOtherlandzz;12259068]Yep, Got out for a ride today. Decided on the mountain bike again, didn't feel like dealing with the wind today. I decided to see if they cut the other part of the FL trail today. The part that is south of SR20 in Putnam County. The first part of the trail is logging and hunting roads that I ride once in awhile to the power lines. The second part I have not ridden in probably about 4 years or so. The last time I checked it out I could NOT even see the trail it was overgrown so much. I got to that point today and YEP.. they did cut it. Ended up riding 10.11 miles all in the dirt/sand/grass/woods... FUN...

Just a few pictures .....
1st... Start of the trail off of SR20 (south side)
2nd... The power lines that I usually ride back to sr20
3rd... The start of part of the trial that I have not ridden in years... trail mowed..
4th... Wooden crossing that didn't look all that sturdy, a couple of boards felt a bit rotten. Over all it was in good shape though.
5th... This part of the trail follows the old RR tracks and is hard packed but a bit bumpy.
6th... Trail entrance after crossing Old Gainesville Road (I think).
7th... End of the line today, didn't feel like walking who knows how far in the sugar sand. Looks like a fire break line. Eventually if you keep following this trail it will come out on SR19 south of Palatka just before the barge canal. Rode it once years ago.... Trying to con friends into riding it with me again

Great pictures! Hubby and I might just have to try to get back up to the Palatka area to ride some of these. I am lovin' riding my mb better than my road bike right now. The last time we road the Gainesville/Hawthorne trail, it was just too crowded and not alot of fun. It's amazing how many wildlife areas there are up here in North FL that are great mb areas. The St Johns River Management and SW FL Water Management websites have some great trail maps on them. Is there a name for this trail?

zzOtherlandzz

Great pictures! Hubby and I might just have to try to get back up to the Palatka area to ride some of these. I am lovin' riding my mb better than my road bike right now. The last time we road the Gainesville/Hawthorne trail, it was just too crowded and not alot of fun. It's amazing how many wildlife areas there are up here in North FL that are great mb areas. The St Johns River Management and SW FL Water Management websites have some great trail maps on them. Is there a name for this trail?

Rice Creek Conservation area website here ---> https://www.sjrwmd.com/recreationguid...eek/index.html

The trail south of SR20 that I rode today is part of the Florida Trail. The part that is on the north side is part Florida Trail and Rice Creek Conservation Area. The trail head for Rice Creek is actually on SR100 a bit west of Palatka. The Map says there isn't any parking on the south side of the trail on SR20 but there is a space to park, off the road and out of the way. It is about a 6 mile ride on the trail from SR20 to SR100, so there and back 12 miles or so. There are other looping trails that can add a bit if you want to ride more though. The coolest thing is the 1800 foot boardwalk over the swamp in the middle of the trail. You can't really ride the boardwalk though because 1) Hand rail on one side. 2) The boardwalk is made up of 2 (2x6) boards with a gap in the center that your tire could and most likely would get stuck in. Their isn't enough room to walk beside your bike over the boardwalk either. I usually put my bike up on the back wheel and walk it that way. I know your husband just had shoulder surgery so it could be a bit painful to walk the bike that way for 18 hundred + feet? There is a nice bench in the middle though.... If you don't feel like hoofing it back across the boardwalk you can hit the pavement for the ride back to your vehicle. Some good paved roads & bike lane on SR20. I guess "technically" some of the trails are only for hiking.....

And true the G.ville trail can get a bit crowded on the weekends.... During the week though.... good to go .. I just rode the Palatka Lake Butler trail Sunday and it was far from crowded. I saw about 10 other riders along the whole 10 miles of the trail (the paved part). Out and back a good 20 mile ride.. More if you head up towards Goldshead St. Park.. The paved part starts in Grandin about 10 miles west of the Rice Creek trail head on SR100.

I apologize for being long winded today ...

zzOtherlandzz

That is the second time I have seen you mention that ... lol I really love riding the mtb, BUT its not something I feel comfortable doing alone all the time. In the back of my mind i'm always thinking "what if I got hurt out here in the middle of nowhere by myself". I do carry a cell phone and that is a comfort, but still... I keep trying to get my "bum" friends to ride with me though.

wchadw1031

I rode yesterday south into a low head wind. It is flat in Florida so the ride is easy and very enjoyable. Temperture was low 70's and ride was very enjoyable.

abracapocus

Been riding, a little, but crazy busy with other stuff. Last week I had off site training and rode to that 2 of the 3 days. I still get a kick out of taking my bike up in the freight elevator. :-)

I think I'm kind of starting to hate how heavy my commuter is. It might be time to start looking for something else. It has rattled off a few of the nuts holding on the fenders, so I need to pick more up this afternoon. And some locktight. So I brought the road bike to work instead. Today it was 61F when I woke up and is supposed to hit the high 60s. Those short temperature ranges are so much easier to dress for. On a normal day I could end up with my bags stuffed with extra clothing in the afternoon. Oh, on the way in I was behind some dude on a Bianchi that for once didn't pull away from me like I was sitting still.

kjc9640

02/22/2011
31.3 miles today with perfect weather
Mileage this month 586
Mileage this yr. 1172
Over/under riding days this yr. vs last yr. +6
Over/under miles this year vs last year +221
31.6 miles average per ride this yr.
5828 miles needed to hit my 2011 goal of 7,000

My daughter and I left about 4:30 and rode to the end of the trail and back. We got home about 8:00 both of us had front and rear flashers but this time we both took our head lights.

We stopped at Panera Bread on the return trip to put more light on and catch a drink. While we were their 2 guys that I know from the LBS came by on the new Trek electric bikes. They let us jump on them and go for a spin. Those things are really something but @ $2700.00 they should be. I will not be getting one anytime soon

RonH

It was a little cooler than yesterday but no wind. Did 31 miles. Nothing special about the ride except I saw a group of about 20 riders. It was around 12:30-1:00. How did they get the day off?

zzOtherlandzz

Yep..... Did the post office ride + some on the mountain bike. Ended up riding 13.57 miles. West of Interlachen (BIG TOWN .... NOT). There are a couple nice hills (for Florida). Hit the first hill pretty hard and stood until about 3/4 of the way up. Once at the top it is a nice descent for about 2/3 of a mile, did the whole crouch down thing lol (as much as you can on a mtb anyway). That hill isn't that steep but it is about 2/3 of mile and kinda steep towards the top so it was a good work out on the way back. Got chased by a dog on one of the side roads.... I'm not sure if I out ran it.... or if it just lost interest ... LOL..... Wasn't that long of a ride.... but I pushed it a bit more than normal.... so it was good... PERFECT weather too.

Boatdesigner

Boy, it has been a long time since I visited the forum! I haven't done much riding since last fall when I started having some medical issues. It seemed every time I turned around, I had some other problem, the major one being a blood cancer called "smoldering Myeloma". While it isn't causing me any problems at the moment and I am not being treated, it is like a ticking time bomb in your bloodstream waiting to go off. Then I started having knee problems and the doctors told me to stay off the bike until they got it fixed. I did ride one day last week, for a whopping 13 miles! Amazing how out of shape I am now, I was really struggling to get home! I think I'll try to get out this weekend, even though my knees aren't completely better yet. I can't stand not riding!

kjc9640

Boatdesigner, glad to see you back in the saddle. I hope the health issues work out for you

02/25/2011
33.1 miles today with perfect weather
Mileage this month 619
Mileage this yr. 1204
Over/under riding days this yr. vs last yr. +5
Over/under miles this year vs last year +195
31.7 miles average per ride this yr.
5795 miles needed to hit my 2011 goal of 7,000

The wind on the return trip was 15 to 26 mph out of the SW which just happened to be the direction I was traveling in. They say hills make you strong and wind makes you mean... boy I must be one mean S.O.B.

kjc9640

02/26/2011
35.6 miles today with perfect weather
Mileage this month 655
Mileage this yr. 1240
Over/under riding days this yr. vs last yr. +5
Over/under miles this year vs last year +209
31.8 miles average per ride this yr.
5759 miles needed to hit my 2011 goal of 7,000

Perfect riding day, just enough cloud cover to keep the heat down

FunkyStickman

Perfect weather here too... I went for a group ride, we had over 20 people show up! I rode 6 miles to the starting point, rode 30+ miles with them, and back home again for a total of 45 miles and some change. I saw a 5' dead alligator roadkill, that was interesting. I rode sweep with a newbie, did about 12MPH most of the way. When she stopped, I hammered it 18+ MPH till I caught somebody, and everything was cool. They asked me to ride with the amateur race team, but I told them I didn't have a road bike. They offered me one for $700 or so... one of the riders owns a local shop, they stock Scott bikes.

Tell you what, I'm really digging the Scott SUB 10 men's bike... love the design, love the color, I'd ride one in a heartbeat.

zzOtherlandzz

Yep..... Rode the PLB trail today.... Started in Grandin went to the end of the paved trail and then rode another 1.5 miles or so on SR100. For a total of just over 23 miles i think (forgot to look). I was all mad when I left because I could NOT find my bike camera........ Got home and noticed it was still on the mountain bike..... DOH!!! Not too many people on the trail today.

RonH

It was nice weather today so did my usual 31 miles.

kjc9640

I really like Scott bikes... you should go for it and never look back... if you do I will turn green with envy see it's already starting

kjc9640

02/27/2011
35.6 miles today with perfect weather
Mileage this month 690
Mileage this yr. 1276
Over/under riding days this yr. vs last yr. +6
Over/under miles this year vs last year +245
31.9 miles average per ride this yr.
5724 miles needed to hit my 2011 goal of 7,000

Perfect riding day. Well I need 10 more miles to make 700 this month. March and April will be tough months for me as I had 750+ miles both months last year. If the weather stays nice I hope that I can equal those numbers.

Lindaosm

Boatdesigner, I understand about the knee thing. I had one replaced in August and it took awhile to get back into riding. I'm back, but my mileage sucks. By the way, great to see you back!

kjc9640

02/28/2011
29 miles today with perfect weather
Mileage this month 719
Mileage this yr. 1305
Over/under riding days this yr. vs last yr. +6
Over/under miles this year vs last year +241
31.8 miles average per ride this yr.
5695 miles needed to hit my 2011 goal of 7,000

Perfect riding day except for the SSW 13/24 mph wind on the way home. This has been my best February for riding so far. It's a good thing that I have a 240 mile pad as next month will be a hard number to hit. I did 774 miles last year. If the weather stays nice I hope that I can equal that number.

zzOtherlandzz

Busy busy Monday..... But I did manage to get a short ride to the post office in (on the mtb). Yeah that wind was something else for sure. 6.5 miles or so...

Boatdesigner

I didn't ride today, but I did get out yesterday with the family for a ride up at the Barge Canal. I can never remember the real name of that trail, but it is nice and flat, just what my sore knees needed! Saturday I was so sore I could barely walk, so getting out on Sunday was a big deal for me. I rode with my son and a friend of his who had stayed the night. My wife walked Niki the German Shepherd, so we all got some exercise. Only 13.1 miles, but I didn't hurt after we were done or last night at bed time. Now I need to slowly ramp back up and get my fitness back.

Linda, glad to hear you're back as well! I didn't need replacement, so I am better off than you. Hopefully the myriad other ailments I am afflicted with will stay away for a while.

kjc9640

03/01/2011
32 miles today with perfect (cloudy) weather
Mileage this month 32
Mileage this yr. 1337
Over/under riding days this yr. vs last yr. +6
Over/under miles this year vs last year +245
32 miles average per ride this yr.
5663 miles needed to hit my 2011 goal of 7,000

Weatherman was calling for 50% chance of rain all day today. Kept watching the radar this morning and as soon as I saw a clearing (9:30)I headed out. Met up with Dick Davidson at the trail head and we rode to Panera Bread and back + a few housing developments. Weather was cloudy but we managed to avoid the rain. It turned out to be a very good ride. I always hate the first few days of the month because my monthly mileage number is always a small number.

RonH

Another awesome early spring day. I did 34 miles today. I'm still trying to get the new bike (Specialized) dialed in so it feels like the Litespeed. Not quite there yet but getting closer.