After work ride-NEW WTB SADDLE

Went for a nice after work ride at Wilderness Park/ Trout Creek in Tampa. Tame trails, but I got a good cardio workout.
I have to mention something about this new WTB seat I got..it is the BOMB! I have used Bontrager seats and I should have been using WTB's from the get-go. Veeeerry comfortable!! I got the Speed V saddle, which was only $35 on Pricepoint, and it was the best money I ever spent. Usually, my ass hurts during and after a ride, since the pressure is across my upper buttocks. This saddle spreads it out, and I had no discomfort at all during the ride and after. A big thumbs up to WTB for their product- I will never but any other saddle!

BEERFEST 09

Had a little get together at my place the other night. About 25 of my fellow co-workers and I polished off this keg of Mich Ultra while having our first annual BEERFEST. Ahhh, good times. The party went well and I woke up without a hangover the next day.

BULL MOUNTAIN TRAIL MAP

This is the roundabout path I took around the Bull Mountain trail network. The red are areas that I rode on, the green is the main Fire Road that I hitched a ride back in a truck on...lol.

More Tsali pics

This chimney was standing alongside the trail, from an old house that once stood in the area.


The trails are all shared with horses, you have to make sure you time your visit on the appropriate days. Despite equestrian use, I didn't notice too many areas with heavy ruts or horse shit that is typical of many multi-use trail systems..Yes, I did take a swim right after this picture.

Tsali Recreation Area-Day two

The first day at Tsali after a short drive from Bull Mountain, I settled down with a nice steak dinner after some AWESOME singletrack riding.

The Tsali Rec area lies right on Lake Fontana. There are two main loops, the left and right Tsali loop trails, as well as Thompson loop and Mouse Branch trail. Today, I tackled the left loop, since I had heard it was great for views and had some more technical areas than the right loop. Let me tell ya, I was NOT disappointed. These trails are the most amazing I have been on (aside from Thunder Mountain, of course). They offered some tremendous views of the lake, had some wickedly fast downhill runs, and some mildly technical rock sections. Nothing too crazy, though. The uphills were pretty tough, but I made it up about 90% of them.

There was a lot of mud on the trail, and I got my fair share!

I rode about 13 miles today, and relaxed by the fire at the end of the day. The campground was right in the smack middle of all the trailheads- definitely a very convenient riding area. I will definitely come back here again!!

Bull Mountain Video

Day one-Florida to Dahlonega, Georgia

On 09/12/09 I went to Bull Mountain trail, which is located in northern Georgia (Dahlonega). This trail system consists of a doubletrack fire road that loops for 13 miles along some varying terrain. There are a bunch of offshoot singletracks that run off the main trail. A lot of the singletrack was fast and flowed well, and had some technical rocky sections and some quad-burning uphills.


The only issue was the poorly marked trail cards, and the lack of maps in the information kiosk at the trailhead. I ended up taking my GPS, which I thought was sufficient. I started at the Bull Mountain trailhead parking lot and wound my way counter-clockwise up the fire road. This was kind of boring- not much scenery, and nothing major in the way of downhills. I decided to turn around after a mile and work the trail clockwise, and it provided some better distractions. There were a lot of nice trails off the main trail that weaved through dense forest. There were a little section of fast whoops where you could do some jumping, and there were a few sloping downhills that really got the heart going.
For the most part, the trail was fun, but the lack of a decent map and trail markers turned a 2 hour ride into a 3 hour.
What was worse, is after getting lost I finally emerged back on the fire road....but at the FAR end of the trail, and easily 5 miles back to the trailhead via a steep climbs and short downhills. Thank goodness there was a trail worker truck heading my way. I hitched a ride with them in the bed of the F250 and they took me back to the trailhead- I tipped them $20 and thanked them for cutting a good hour out of my return trip- great guys.
They informed me they are in the process of changing all the signs on the trails and making it more user-friendly. They gave me two maps- one with trail NAMES and the other with trail NUMBERS. You technically needed to use two maps to match up the names and the numbers at this point. They told me I was riding "during the transition"...once the signs are changed, one map with trail numbers is all you need to know exactly where you are. They said this job should be done by the end of the month.

New Santos trail video up!!

2010 Vacation Plans

Well, I know it's early and I just got back from my big trip a few months ago, but I think being prepared is better than throwing something together at the last minute, so here we go!
I have been kicking around getting a kayak for almost a year now, and I am still on the kick. Additionally, I missed out on getting out onto Lake Powell my last trip, which kind of frustrated me. So, what I am planning on doing is a 3-5 day kayaking trip on Lake Powell probably around May or June 2010.
The logistics of this trip are going to be a little rougher than your typical camping trip, since I won't have any support boat- I will need to kayak in my gear and food MYSELF. I still am not sure how feasible this trip is at the moment. I plan on leaving from Antelope Point marina as opposed to Wahweap, or maybe even Bullfrog. I want to be further into the lake since I will have to paddle to some of the primo camping spots. Starting at Wahweap will put me pretty far from some of the more quiet slot canyons; I want to get away from the main population exploring the lake.
I'll be camping right at the shoreline each night, which also poses an issue- since Lake Powell is a reservoir, they have certain regulations concerning human waste. They actually require a receptacle of some sort. I have to do a lot more research before I give this a shot!
I will either be doing this trip or another biking trip out west. If I go the biking route, I will be spending more time in Sedona this time around.
Stay tuned for additional details!

Santos training day

Took a little pre-Georgia/N. Carolina ride today out at Santos. Hit a variety of trails including some at the Vortex area. I am trying to get myself into cardio condition for my trip next weekend- I feel pretty darn good about the level I am at.