Quick Update on Dan

Talked to Dan last weekend, he verified that his collar bone is broken and is out a month but his spirits are high . . . The crazy guy told me that he's already back on his bike riding it around the parking lot with one hand. Just can't hold him down!!!

Croom . . . Give it a chance

Alrigh I know most people have negative thoughts when they here the word "Croom". Well hopefully this post will change that for someone. Last Saturday Dave the machine, Bob the mountain goat and myself went for a ride. . . we ended up doing 30 miles and if anyone remembers it was the first real hot day that we've had this year (kicked my butt). The ride was good we parked at fire tower (like parking there for security and the shower) did the south blue loop to the north blue then took the yellow shortcut back to the trucks. I took my camera and didn't get near as many photos as I had intended(I will be getting much more in the near future) on but got a few and wanted to share the goodness of Croom with everyone . . .


So the first picture is of Bob coming down an option near the pits on the north blue loop . . . There is a fun little drop semi technical down hill followed by a small tire jump . . .


This here is Mount Pisca I believe(not sure on the actual name) . . . If you look hard you can see Dave to the top right well at least his legs are there, the picture doesn't do it justice but its a pretty good down hill you just have to be able to make the climb . . .


Here I am on a log ride just south of the Drunken Monkey which is my favorite section of Croom, there is also a log before this one which is a little more challenging . . .

And this is Dave again on the more challenging log ride, soon hopefully we'll be able to roll right into it and get both on our first try, hasn't happened yet . . .

Anyways those are just a few of the many good options that you can find at Croom. Yes it is sandy and yes there are big hills . . . that are sandy . . . but sprinkled through out all the hills and sand you will find enjoyable and at times challenging sections. If you have only been out there a time or two give it another chance. Its not Alafia or Santos its different, if you ride there enough you will build amazing endurance that you can't get at other ride spots in the area. The key is going out with someone who knows how to get to the good stuff and being able to push yourself on some of the more XC style things. Two pieces of advice bring water, LOTS OF WATER and a map. Because the loops are huge you can easily be 16 miles from your vehicle . . . so if you get lost you want a map to get you back and enough water to get you there. Again if you've only been out there a few times and haven't enjoyed yourself I suggest doing the next SWAMP ride which is the last Sunday of the month I believe you can check Swampclub.org for more information. So please before you bash Croom give it a chance, you don't write a review on a bike after only one short ride, it takes time to get to know the bike and get comfortable on it, Croom is the same way . . . So hopefully we'll see you out there . . . till next time Just Ryde!!!

His Biggest Fan

Well, he's finally done it. He has made every breathing moment about Xterra racing and fitness and I couldn't be more proud of him. He has come a long way since that enervated finish at his first race and will grow to be even more amazing I'm sure (even at the cost of 63 year old men he cripples on the trails)! He will be sure to ride that Cannondale Super V 500 past every unsuspecting person on the trail. I'll never forget his first tri when a guy looked at him and said "Ohh a Super V 500, I had one of those...like 8 years ago!" I will also never forget how he blazed past him on the trail and took 4th in his age group and 23rd overall. It was his first tri! He is soon to be traveling the country to attend every Xterra race he can and if you can stand to look past his horrible proof reading and lack of spelling skills he is now wanting to take you on the journey! Of course I will be there too...being his biggest fan

Feeling like a jerk !!! Sorry Dan . . .

So as I stated I'm going to be talking mostly about MTB riding because well that is my passion ! And also Xterra Tri's and the training it takes to be competitive. Well today I decided that I was going to do a run/bike day. Sounded great up until 1 am when I was still out last night after the Rays game which by the way go Rays it was an awesome game. I'm going to say this once if you are serious about training for any kind of endurance race it takes drive. You will have times when you ask yourself why am I doing this (my exact thought at 4:30 this morning when my alarm was screaming at me to get up) and then in the middle of the training you'll notice that your pace is 10 seconds faster or you'll hammer a technical section that just owned you before and it'll all click. But if more times than not your asking yourself this question then just stop. The most important part in any of this is to have fun, just have fun and if you can kick your buddies A$$ while doing it then dang that's even cooler ! So back to my story . . . its a run /bike day, Sunday's normally are because there is a run group (always train with someone it make it so much easier because you'll realize if people are waiting on you, you don't want to disappoint) that does 7 miles at 7 am on some awesome single track trails at Balm Boyette and its close to Alafia so after the run I normally head over there to do some good MTBing. Well the run this morning was 10 miles and I wasn't so sure I was up for a bike after but I brought it just in case . . . So the run went well we finished in under a hour and twenty minutes. Obviously now I want to ride cause the run was great. Well unfortunately all my friends I ride with are out of town so I head over to Alafia a loner. I just figured I'd meet someone in the parking lot and tag along with them. After rolling around the lot I didn't see any prospects so I headed out to the trails in search of a riding partner for the day. I started on North Creek a really good trail to get loose on and warm up. My legs felt great and for me I was hammering the trail. About a quarter of the way through I ran up on a guy who was carrying a good pace but he politely moved and let me pass. However as soon as I did he ran up on my tire and let me know that he wanted to move. So I'm a man and I pushed even harder, took it sort of as a challenge I suppose. He did a good job of keeping up never lost sight of him. He was close, not on my tire close but insight. I thought I'd lose him on the hard option but he followed and again stayed within sight. Towards the end of the trail I had realized that what I was doing was really just seeing if he could keep pace so I could have a riding partner. At the end of the trail I pulled over to talk to him. First thing I noticed was his bike, a really high end Cannondale lefty fork carbon frame with all the bells and whistles then immediately the second thing I noticed was his age. He was 63, how awesome is that. I told him the trails I wanted to hit and told him I liked to technical stuff just to make sure he was down and he was. So we took off and I let him lead cause my legs were a little cooked from the run. It turns out he was an extremely solid rider who also enjoyed the technical stuff. I was stoked I had met a good guy who loved the sport and wanted to ride fast, sweet. So we headed over towards the rock garden to get to the hard options over there ( Franks loop and the other one just past) and I was impressed with his ability and lack of fear for someone his age. We went on to do bridges then rabbit ears and over to roller coaster. After roller coaster I had told him about a section on moonscape that I had just found out about called doom. I told him I would lead so we can make the turn. Its a tough entrance if you don't run the right line. We rolled through it pretty good staying away from the one nasty downhill section and got back onto the main part of the trail. Just after you get back on the trail there is a climb option which is pretty tough followed by some fun rollers. We took on the hill neither one of us making it and I had warned him of what was to follow ahead. I took off and felt great through the next section but for the first time all day didn't see Dan behind me. I waited like 5 minutes and decided I'd walk back and make sure he was OK. And of course he wasn't, right after the climb there is a drop and he had washed out and crashed pretty bad. The bike survived but he had broken is left collar bone. I felt like the world's biggest jerk for bringing a 63 old man down this trail. He wasn't mad, like he said stuff happens, its why we ride. I pushed his bike out of the woods for him and gave him a ride back to his campsite. He had plans of heading out west with his travel trailer and staying with friends along the way and mountain biking the entire time. He was talking about Moab Utah, Colorado, Montana and ending in Bend Oregon. But with this new injury it would push everything back, just made me feel worse. I gave him my number and told him to keep me posted and if he does I will post it on here. But what a cool guy, 63 and still MTBing hard keeping up with at decent fit 27 year old. We were talking about how dangerous the sport can be and a fraction of a hair can completely change everything. We came to the conclusion that is one of the attractions of this sport. No real point to all this just wanted to share a story about a guy who became my hero for the day. I hope at 63 I'll be fortunate enough to ride the way he does or just ride at all. Dan I hope you heal fast and get back out there sooner than later. It was a pleasure riding with you . . . Till next time Just Ryde !!!

Welcome to my Blog

Well I'll us this as an introduction. The picture above was after my first off road tri, I wasn't as prepared as well as I though I was. However it was July 26th in FL so to say it was hot is an understatement. Anyways thanks for checking my blog out. On this blog you will be able to follow much of my mountain biking hoopla as well as my attempt to compete in the South East Region of the Xterra off Road Triathlon series which is already half way through !!! I'll keep it fun with good stories, pictures, maybe some videos, definitely some MTB part reviews, training tips for off road tri's also known as dirty tri's, and really anything in between as well as answering any questions anyone might have. So check back often for good times till then . . . Just Ryde !!!