Stoked for Florida - Preface | Mountain Biking at YourMTB.com

By MikeG on 3/8/2007 on MikeG's blog

I'm ready to go to a nice, warm sunny destination: Florida. My wife and kids and I have been looking forward to this vacation for a long time. It will be an adventure for all of us, since we have never been there, and it is about a 20 hour drive to get there.

I've been trying to carve a little time into our family vacation in Florida to do some mountain biking. I've got it all set now. User mattgeo has offered to show me around Alafia River State Park (Single tracks link). on Sunday the 11th. Turns out that him and a few others are camping there that weekend, so it has worked out well. This will be the first time my new bike (Giant XTC) will have seen warm weather, as I just picked it up in December.

Matt has been feeding me pictures, links and weather forecasts to get me really pumped for this (thanks Matt!). I've been looking at videos of the park, pictures, and have been making comparisons to the trails around here. It should be interesting riding around palm trees and possibly avoiding alligators (maybe?), but all in all there seem to be a lot of similarities.

The real difference is that I won't have to bundle up in my multiple layers of clothes, balaclava, shoe covers, skiing gloves, winter hat under my helmet, lights for the short days.....and trading them in for some shorts, shirt and fingerless gloves. It will be interesting to actually be sweating a bit in the heat again!

It just might be too much to take, when I have to go back home, and wait for spring to arrive. But I'm hoping to make lots of memories, to tide me over until then...

(Epilogue to follow when I get back, hopefully with lots of pictures).

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Mattgeo says:

Is it possible that this is the first or farthest multi-national member ride for Yourmtb? If so Walker should give us an all expense paid trip to Whistler!!!

Mike, bring your shorts man! The forecast is somewhere between 78 and 82 degrees for Sunday and sunny as always. I'm looking forward to riding w/ an actual Canadian! You guys are supposed to be the best...no pressure lol.

Just ride the drop..stop bieng a wussy!

by Mattgeo on March 8, 2007 - 5:52pm reply Email this comment report misconduct

P.S. We will be riding on and around ridges in the swamp, THERE WILL BE GATORS.

by Mattgeo on March 8, 2007 - 5:54pm reply Email this comment report misconduct

P.S.S What the hell is a balaclava?

by Mattgeo on March 8, 2007 - 5:57pm reply Email this comment report misconduct

twnty4jg says:

Balaclava - indian for keep your face warm-thingy... You would never know being in FL....

Keep the rubber side down!
Denise

by twnty4jg on March 9, 2007 - 1:48am reply Email this comment report misconduct

MikeG says:

check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaclava

to find out what a balaclava is.

MikeG

Either riding or Thinking of Riding... The madness of MTB, I love it!

by MikeG on March 9, 2007 - 1:52am reply Email this comment report misconduct

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