IDIDARIDE 2010 MTB Ride Florida

IDIDARIDE 2010. White Springs, Florida.
My Buddy Duane and I left Friday bound for Stephen Foster State Park in White Springs, Florida. We got there in plenty of time to set up camp, register. The Weather was beautiful! Apparently it had rained a lot the weeks before making the trails a MUDFEST. We checked out the suwannee river and the Florida trail. there were canoe launches and fishing piers. We rode our mountain bikes around the state park. We set upour camping gear, tents, lanterns, camping equipment we have from many past camping trips.

The Campsites and Bathing facilities are great at stephen Foster.

IDIDARIDE 2010 MTB Ride Florida Suwannee Bicycle Association White Springs, Florida. Rained the week before so the trail had a few wet spots


IDIDARIDE 2010 MTB Ride Florida VIDEO


All Photos and Videos Here:





. We were the last finishers of the 50 miles. We had a great time and are looking forward to the next one.

.

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FSC MTB Race at Amelia Island, Florida

Camping at Ft. Clinch State Park on Amelia Island, Florida.  For the Florida State Championship series Mountain bike Race put on by GoneRding.  Raccoons Raided my Campsite the first night! The Shower Facilities were very good, clean with lots of Hot water.

I took my Aluminum, Row boat with me to go exploring round the area.  There is NO Boat Launching Or Mooring at Ft. Clinch State Park. Launch boat from Dee Dee Bartels Boat Ramp. east coast of Little tiger Island. Cumberland Island, Georgia Fort Clinch State Park, Florida

The Start Finish Area of the Florida State Mountainbike race was in the Parking Lot of the Ft. Clinch Fishing Pier. Florida State Champ race #2. The trail is of course sandy flowy and Fast. Few large low tree limbs that I hit my helmet on pretty hard.

ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS BELOW:


Official results at www.goneriding.com

endurance race, florida camping, florida beach, boating, fishing

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Santos 12 Hour 2008

Santos 12 Hour Report, Better Late than Never! Took Friday Off of work and set out for Ocala, Florida Via Mike B.'s House in Macon, Georgia. We made good time and arrived in the Vortex approx 2:00. We did loose some time waiting for the Popeye's Chicken to open. The Biscuits were worth the wait later that evening. Monte was there and had already picked out a Prime Spot along the two way trail near the Start Finish.

I set up my camp/pit area. My pit was in a prime location. I could get right on and off the trail with plenty of room. My tent and all my gear was right behind my Pit Table, the perfect set up.

After setting up camp we suited up for a Pre-Ride. I did not have time to switch over my new rear tire so I just rode with the 2.5. It was Mike B. on a Rigid Fixie, Monte on a Carbon Cannondale, Mike from Jax on his FS Cannondale. These guys started off in my XC race pace. I new I wasn't about to kill myself on the Pre Ride so I just let them go right of the bat. The course was Rough and Rugged near the Start and end of each lap. Drops, steep tech climbs, Skinney ladders, single track along cliff drop offs. it was exciting. Some of the Trail looked to be freshly cut in and I noticed some vines with huge thorns. I made a mental note to stay on the trail there. I do not need to get off the trail and pick one of those up. The back side of the course was flat flowy trail with berms you could carry a tremendous amount of speed through. This was the tough part for me. I knew I would need to just sit back and spin through this section every lap.

I made my way the rest of the way around the 9 mile course feeling strong. I was sweating a lot I noticed, It was HOT! I made sure to drink plenty of water once I got back. As I was hydrating I noticed my front tire was going slack. Sure enough I had picked up one of those huge thorns. I decided to go ahead and put on my new rear race tire wile I was at it.

I didn't stay up to late as I needed my rest. I covered most of my stuff up as to not get soaked by the heavy Central Florida Dew. I got up with the birds Saturday Mornin. Boiled some water for my coffee and oatmeal.

About 15 minutes before the start I decided to go ahead and anchor a good spot on the start line. I had a good time chit chatting with the racers. Some whom I only know through Forums or Blogs. I wanted to get out near the front so I could get some good photos. I started out at a good steady pace and did not let anyone make me "chase" them. I was on MY time, and MY time Alone. I had a wonderful Time navigating the technical parts of the course. I would push hard through these sections and Sit back and cruize through the flat twisty parts.

I was drinking Hour Bottles of Hammer Perpetum and eating Power Gel packs and a PowerBar protein bar. I also had 2 liters of water in my camel bak that I was sipping from constantly.

At the half way mark (6 hours) I stopped and took a long break. I showered using gallon milk jugs, right next to the course. Fresh set of clothes, Chicken and pasta, stretched and even laid down for a few minutes. I totally felt revitalized! I was ready to go. Out again I went for one more lap before I have to put on lights.  That was plenty of light for me. The cut off time to go out on your last lap was 9:45pm. I started my 7th lap at approx. 9:00. I was feeling tired in my upper body. My shoulders were cramping some. I had not kept up the perpetuem and gels these past couple laps and I could feel it. By the time I was into the fast, flowy, twisty, section I was broken down like alka seltzer. Both Mentally and physically exhausted. Going over personal things in my life in my head, having conversations with grandparents that have long ago made the eternal journey. Just Picture the dude from the Movie Hidalgo when he's deep in the desert chanting for help, except with a bike.

To sum it up, I believe this is going to end up being the Trip/Race of the Year! I had such a good time I'm not sure if there is an event planned this year that will top it.

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ALL PHOTOS


Full Race RESULTS

Florida State Championship Mountain Bike Series, Hanna Park, Jacksonville

Wednesday October 10, 2007

This past weekend I took a trip down to Jacksonville, Florida for the 3rd race of the Florida State Championship Mountain Bike Series. Gone Riding put on great event at Hanna Park.

I got to my camp site at Huguenot Park about 4:00 pm on Friday. It was steady raining so I went looking for the nearest Wal-Mart. I ended up at a

Food Lion off HWY 105 in the bad part of town buying a loaf of Merrita Bread, Mayonnaise, and a pack of Pickle Loaf sandwich meat (I was on a serious budget). I also had to stock up on Chocolate milk for in the

mornin. By the time I made it back to camp the rain had slowed enough for me to set up my tent. This was primitive camping (site w/no water or electric). The wind was blowing hard so I put extra tent steaks in each corner of the tent. I unloaded all my gear from the van into the tent. I had taken out all of the seats in the back of the van before leaving home. Knowing that the weather wasn't going to get any better I set up shop in the back of the van. I'm glad I did cause it rained hard and the wind howled all night. It was very comfy and I had plenty of room to move around, more than I would have had in my 4 person tent. My camp site was right at the mouth of the St. Johns River. It is a major marine port and huge ships were floating by
all the time.

I woke Saturday to pouring rain but as the sun came up the rain cleared to beautiful sunny skies. It was looking good for the Pre-Ride. I decided to hang around camp a wile and do some exploring over to the beach to watch the surfer's that had been streaming in the park

since 8 am.

I drove over to Hanna Park (about a 20 min drive) to get a couple pre-ride laps. I got all signed in and got my number plate. While chit chatting with folks around the Gone Riding trailer no one told me of the trails condition. I new the trail was wet but I was thinking it was just gonna be packed (semi white) sand throughout. Boy w

as I wrong. As soon as I entered the Single track there was a 200 yard long black, stanky, mud puddle. I thought "oh well a little mud at the start" but as I went on there was puddle after puddle.

After about 1.5 miles in the trail dried out and was fast

 and flowing with tight turns with huge berms. Then about half way through I had to make a hard left hand turn through a big puddle. I dove right in thinking it would only be as deep as the rest of the puddles I had encountered (about 6 inches deep) Well my front tire went out of sight as I bogged down right in the middle, now standing in nasty water above my knees YUK! I Dredged on and came to another deeper whole and again dove right in before I knew it was soooo deep.

I made it through the first lap and even though I had planned to do two laps it would not be worth it. I took my bike over to the beach showers and washed her down then sprayed her with WD-40 and gushed chain lube all over every moving part. I planned on lub

ing it all again before the race.

I made my way back to camp to hunker down in the back of the van for the night. I kept thinking of Chris Farley saying in a skit on saturday night live "You want to end up living in a van down by the river?" I took a shower in the park facilities which were very substandard. I didn't even want to stand in the shower with sandals on it was soo nasty. I ended up spending most of the night fishing with no luck. I only had some artificial baits. I would have caught something had I gone and got some shrimp for bait. I had fun any way walking the shore listening to Planet Radio 107.3.

Sunday morning came quick, it seemed like time flew by. I packed everything up and bolted for Hanna Park. The White wave (beginner) had already started by the time I had got there. I was trying to talk myself out of racing but I knew if I did not race I would regret it when I got home. I got race ready and rode over to the start.

On the start line of my race (Sport Men 30-39) it looked like a bunch of pro's. All light weight XC bikes with riders with full kits on and clipless. I looked really out of place with my flat pedals and shin guards. The whistle blew and I was off. I settled into last place within the first 100 yards. The start was along a tree line next to a grassy field. It was mud bog city by the time we started. I entered the single track right behind the pack and tried to hang on. I managed to keep them in sight for the first mile but then the later classes begin to catch me. About two mile in I was passing a dude pushing his bike carrying his chain. I said need some help, I gotta chain tool? He said sure. I jumped off got out my chain tool to hand it to him but he says " uhh i'm not sure how to use that". Sooooo of course I spend 10 min fixing his chain, even put in a new link pin for him. I was assuming he was going to try and finish. He finished out that lap and quit. Had I known he was just gonna ride out and quit I would have let him walk. Anyway I had an extra long first lap. By the middle of the second lap some of the sport women were catching me. I was amazed to see these women just plow thru the mud and muck like it was nothing. Some wearing only Bike shorts and jog bras. My subsequent laps got faster.

I finished in fine fashion as usual. Dave of Gone riding was pulling up stakes as I crossed the line. I was glad to be thru but did have a good time of it. After finishing and making sure I got counted as finishing, I rode straight over to the beach and got in the ocean. Shoes, shirt, riding shorts and all. I just wallered around in the surf trying to get the ZOO smelling mud and muck off me. I changed clothes, made my last two "Pickle Loaf" sandwiches and headed north Home. Of course I ran in to construction traffic on I-75 and it took me 6 HOURS to get HOME!

RESULTS I ended up finishing 16th of 21 Sport Men 30-39

I only had a disposable camera on this trip! click here for ALL PHOTOS

Click here for Carl Mesta's Photos

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12 6 Hours Of Razorback

Monday, February 19, 2007

Still trying to recover from the weekend of riding down in Reddick, FL at the 12 Hours of RazorBack. Mark D, Beth Mac and I left Perry last Friday, right on time at 9:30am. We made good time getting down to Razorback only stopping at the Florida Welcome center and Steak and Shake. Monte was already there when we arrived. We got ready and set out for a pre-ride lap. Beth was not sure if she was going to race the next day, she wanted to see how the pre-ride lap went before she made her decision. All I will say is, "She did not race". I fell in love with the place right off the bat. Very technical climbs and downhills with fast flowy rolling trails in between. Plus the fact that its in Central Florida, one of my most favorite places to visit. After grinning all the way through the Pre-ride we registered and then bolted to Santos to set up camp. We got there with just enough time to set up before dark. We went and ate at Pasta fair in Bellview, FL and it was delicious as usual. We got back to camp and I had to make some minor adjustments to my seat and front deraileur. I had just put a new chain and derailuer pulleys on the night before so the Pre-ride was the only miles I had on them. I wanted to make sure everything was tight.
Race mornin we woke up to 22 degrees! I got up about 6:45am got the fire going then the coffee brewing. I wore shorts, 1 short sleeve t-shirt, under a long sleeve shirt, under my Maxxis Jersey. Of course I wore PUMA socks, and my PUMA trail running shoes to race in. We ate at BK on the way to RazorBack and the Pit area. Beth was to be the pit master for "Team Collard Green" made up of Monte, MarkD, + Mike and Kevin from Jacksonville, FL. There team would be racing against Sport and Expert teams. I set up my chair along the course not far before the start finish. I had plenty of Perpetuem and Power Gels. There was a prologue run at the start about a quarter of a mile. I got to my bike about mid pack of the runners. It was stacked up for the first mile and had to wait inline to go through some tight sections. After everyone spread out I set into a good steady pace and just had a good time riding. I drank a whole water bottle of Perpetuem each 10 mile lap and ate two Power Gels, also sipped plain water as I went along from my Camel bak. I had left my whole tool kit back at the camp from working on my bike the night before. Knowing I had just put that chain and pulleys on, I had no way of fixing any mechanicals. I did have a Pump and tubes. I did not worry about it, I thought to myself every things gonna be fine and that shimano XT chain is gonna hold, and it did, just like a champ. My bike was shifting crisp and clean the whole race. I felt great every lap, never cramped, I had to stop on the trail and pee one time so I knew I was staying hydrated. My back did not start hurting until after the race was over and I was sitting around the pits.
We did not get back to camp that night till 1:30am after eating at Waffle House on the way back. I used my Etrex Legend GPS to find us a Waffle House. It has points of interest loaded in the map. I just looked at what was on each exit of I-75 along the way back to camp and found one that had Waffle house listed. 441 is the road from Santos to RazorBack and it runs parallel to I-75 through Ocala, FL. Once back at Camp I went and took a HOT shower, as I came out of the shower it was pouring Rain! It didn't matter, I was soo exhausted I did not even care. I slept like a rock! No literally, a rock, because my air mattress would not hold air and I was laying on the hard ground. We had planned to get up Sunday and do a lap at Santos but since the Trail was wet we just packed up and Headed North. I great Weekend! I am looking forward to next years Race!

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12 hrs of RAZORBACK: 6hr, 4Laps, 59th of 76, 38.6 mi, 7.2 mph avg

RazorBack Photos - - -RESULTS

IDIDIARIDE 2007

Great Weekend! Mark D and I left Perry at 12:00 noon on Friday bound for Stephen Foster State Park in White Springs, Florida. We got there in time to set up camp, register, and pre-ride the first 7 miles of the IDIDARIDE. Shane, Diana, and Jessie were arriving as we got back. We hung out at their campsite Friday night, Mark D provided a Spagetti Dinner. Chip, Bill, and Alina showed up later and set up camp at our site. I woke up Saturday morning at 5:30 am to a Hissing sound. I felt my air matress slowly deflating. I guess that was my que to get up and get started! Got the coffee going before I went over to take a shower. The tempurature was ~38 F. I was plesently suprised at the showering facilities there. Clean, Roomy, and had a Heat Lamp over each shower! After several cups of Coffee and lubing up the chain It was time to roll down to the the Start. There was a Pancake and sausage breakfast provided. I rolled up a plain Pancake and stuffed it down before the masses convereged on the Suwannee River trails. Had I known any better I would have put a couple in my pocket for later. I had filled my water bottle with Perpetuem and also had several Power Gel packs that were a life saver later in the ride when my legs began to cramp. Before we reached the Halfway point I boosted my Trail Karma by fixing someone's broken chain who was about to walk out. He (Ted from Pensecola) ended up finishing before I did. At the Half way Stop there was lunch provided, I had some yummy Chicken and Rice made with Saffron Rice. After refilling my Camel Bak and washing my face I continued on. There were open, fire road, double track and tight Saw Palmetto lined single track. The pack was more spread out by now so I rode many miles by myself. I finally made it to the last rest stop where there was Cheese, sausage, and Wine provided. I was not planning to stay long but ended up having to change a tube out for someone before getting back out on the trail. I'm glad I brought all my tools and three extra tubes. I even handed out 6 of the 10 gel packs I had brought with me to various people cramping along the way. I was feeling ok after I left the last rest stop and had no Idea how much further I had to go. My GPS had been loseing reception in places with Heavy Canopy Cover (Trees) and I was not real sure just how far I had been. I decided that I better stop and take a rest and eat somthing along the trail cause I was really weak. I stopped ate a couple granola bars, drank some water, and stretched out for over 10 minutes. Little did I know I was only about a Mile and A half away from the Finish. At the finish there was a huge meal prepared, Chicken, potatoes, salad, green beans, and rolls. After a Hot shower we grilled some Itailian sausages and bratwurst for an evening snack. I didn't even mind that I was going to sleep on the ground with no air mattress. The next mornin Mark D cooked up some scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast before we bolted. A perfect weekend of great riding, food, and friends. If you did not attend this year I would highly recommend putting it on your calander for next year.

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ALL PHOTOS

Ididaride 2007 WhiteSprings, FLA

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Santos FSC Race

Monday, November 20, 2006

Enjoyed a nice weekend in Sunny Florida. Mark D and I left Saturday Afternoon for SANTOS Trails in Belleview, FL. Before we left I noticed some Blisters on his rear Maxxis Crossmark Tires. Apparently you can't use tire sealant with all tires. He called down to the Santos Trailhead Bike store to see if they had some to replace them and they did. 3.5 hours later we were there. We made the trip down without stopping. He picked up some Tubeless Specialized Pro Resolution 2.0. He uses Stan's Sealant along with them. After checking in at the Santos Trail Head Campground we went for a quick Pre Ride. I was amazed at how technical the Santos Trail really was. The "John Brown" section put the FU in FUN. It was knarsty! I wanted to stop and take more Photo's of the trail but we were running out of daylight and wanted to get back to set up camp. I had brought a couple of fire logs but we needed some real fire wood, There was a dude selling Fire Wood so if your ever down there camping and need "Wood" just give him a call and he'll deliver right to your site. Ronnie FULLWOOD 352-328-4761. The temp got down to 36 F overnight but I was warm and cozy in my Tent.

After setting up camp we went and ate some great food at the "Pasta Faire" in Belleview. I would highly Recommend it if your ever there. Ask For Debbie She was our server and gave us excellent service. I had the "Italian Ride of your Life" its a Ravioli, chicken parmesan, lasagna, and Italian sausage. Also a salad with Raspberry vinaigrette dressing plus all the "Wood Fire Oven" Baked bread you could eat. For dessert Mark had the Strawberry Cheesecake and I had a fine cup of Coffee.

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I woke to a chilly mornin and quickly started a fire. Wile the fire was getting going I went and took a nice HOT shower. Mark was nice enough to get up early enough to take me over to Burger King for a cup of Coffee before my 9:30 race start. The Start was a Short sprint to the single track. I actually beat a couple guys there but backed off and let them through. I didn't want to fight them through the narrow opening. I was able to stay right behind the pack through the beginning big ring fast section. But eventually got dropped. I ended up passing one guy in my class at the top of Magic Mountain. He and I rode most of the second lap together. Then he passed me going over the big rock garden and I never caught back up. I finished 25th of 26. It took me approx 2 hrs 45 min. I say approx because they didn't score my last lap! I was listed as DNF on the results board but written below was "#335 finished". The same thing happened at the Jacksonville Race so I did not think anything of it. Well when the results were posted today on-line I was listed as DNF. I e-mailed David Berger of Gone Riding and he straightened everything out. Class Act! As for Mark D's race he placed 5th in Clydesdale and got some cool schwag like a 25 Years of Mountain Bike by Specialized Book.

We stopped in Ocala, FL on the way out and ate at Don Pancho's Mexical Resturant. I had Chili rellanos with rice and beans along with homemade tortillias. Mark asked me to drive cause he was droopy eyed. He slept til just below Valdosta. He has GPS so he checked to see what my top speed was, 90.3mph BUSTED! I really wasn't going that fast the whole time I think I got up to that speed when I was trying to pass some one on the right. Mabey I was just still in RACE mode.......

PHOTOS

RESULTS

Yesteday's Race: SANTOS, 3 laps, 15.6 mi, ? time, 25th of 26 Sport Men 30-39