Join us for "Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day" October 3rd

Come Join BAADR Mountain Bike Club of Tampa Bay, Trips for Kids Tampa, and the Wilderness Trails Association for the IMBA's 6th annual "Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day" event at Morris Bridge Park in East Tampa! We will be offering a 20 minute "Basic Training Class" for new riders, guided rides for all skill levels, prizes and drawings, and cooking a great BBQ lunch for all!

bring your friends and family out for a good time and a great ride! We will be accepting donations for Trips for Kids Tampa at this event.

When: October 3rd 2009 at 9am to 2pm

Where: Morris Bridge Park in east Tampa ( 13330 Morris Bridge Rd)

What to Bring: Bike, Helmet, Family!

Spencer and I at Santos on Labor Day!

Spencer and I met a few people at Santos for a Labor Day ride around the Vortex Red trail! Here are a few pictures. We rode Vortex Red, Twister, Dr Ruth, Marshmallow, pine tree, puppy loop, and Sink Hole. 14 miles and I burned 3000 calories and drained my 100 oz camelbak! Thats Gregg Irving in the last picture with Spencer, he led us around the Vortex Red trail!

BAADR Monthly Family Ride This Saturday Sep 12th, 9am!

We will be having our Monthly Family ride this month back on the normal day of the 2nd Saturday of the month. We have also decided to move the location down the road 3 miles to "Morris Bridge Park" site due to better access to those trails (no road crossing involved) and the site is more secluded and we can be by ourselves a little more. We will be having a class once again for those new people who want to take it.

This will also be the site of the "Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day" event we will be holding on October 3rd. That event will take the place of our "Family Ride" for October.

Watch for "Trips for Kids Tampa" on Fox 13 News Tonight!

Tonight on the 6pm newscast, Trips for Kids Tampa will be featured in Kelly Ring's "Whats Right with Tampa Bay" section! I hope it shows up on their website soon after so I can send it around to every one!

We will also be shooting a story with Bay News 9 this Thursday around 10:30am at Trout Creek.

Getting Ready for Trips for Kids Tampa 1st Official Ride!

Well, after months of planning and getting things all set-up, Chris and I are ready to have the 1st Official "Trips for Kids Tampa" ride! We are going to incorporate it into our BAADR Family ride at 1st just to make it easier for the new volunteers and the kids. We have been working on getting the word out there that we need volunteers and donations so we can get a few more bikes and equipment to meet demand we already have.

We also have a few fundraiser ideas we are working on. I will be starting a "Trips for Kids Tampa" blog to keep everyone up to speed on whats going.

We are also registered with IMBA to have a "Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day" on October 3rd and we hope to be working with SWAMP and local bike shops on this event. I plan on making this a larger event that can help promote BAADR and Trips for Kids Tampa and the sport of Mountain Biking in the area. If all goes well we can make this an annual event.

More information to follow soon!

Trips For Kids Tampa Test Ride 7/29

Chris and I were supposed to meet a reporter from channel 10 news for a story on Trips for Kids and we brought some kids to get video footage. She had to cancel due to a heavy news day. Since we had all the equipment and 8 kids in tow, we decided to take a test run of the program. We were all pleased with the results, especially the kids!

Of The 5 boys Chris brought, only one or 2 had ever ridden off-road before. The ones who had not really enjoyed themselves and all of them said they could not wait to do it again! Spencer and I brought his friend Dustin who had never ridden a 26' bike, or a bike with gears and never been off-road. He struggled a little in places, but overall he had a great time as well. We took the all to Cici's Pizza for lunch after and they could not stop talking about how much fun the had!

Trail Work Day at Croom was HOT!

Me and Shawn met up the SWAMP club for a ride and trim at Croom today and it was Hot.. I don't know what the temperature was, but swinging the machete and riding after made me feel like i was going to pass out. When I got home my shoes were so wet from sweat they felt like I went swimming in them. I left them out in the sun to dry for 3 hours!

Although it was hot, the trails are in really good shape up there right now. if you have a chance, you really need to ride up there before the sand comes back.

CPR Class and A Nice Ride After

A few of us who plan on being ride guides for Trips for Kids Tampa met at Lithia Springs Park for a CPR class the Head Lifeguard taught as a favor for Chris. After that a few of us went and rode Balm Boyette even though it was hotter than all get out.

Kevin Acevedo, his son Stephan, his brother in law Ken, myself, and Jonathan Hill had a great ride at boyette that included about 14 miles of trails.

I will be working this week on getting some press coverage for the Trips for Kids Tampa kick off ride to be held on August 15th at Trout Creek!

Wow, Been awhile since my last post....Sorry.

Time sure does fly! I guess I better take some of that time and post a few updates..

1st of all we did have our Family ride last Saturday, but it was a light crowd since people were still traveling and doing other things after the holiday weekend. Our family celebrated both my son Spencer (8) and daughter Rachel's (2) birthdays last week so we had family over Saturday for lunch, which meant no cookout after the ride. Jonathan Hill, a member that joined a couple months back and not been able to attend rides yet made it out that day. He did a great job after not riding for 6 years! We did about 14 miles on the Flatwoods side of Wilderness Parks..

One other great thing that has happened is that Chris has finally been approved for the "Trips for Kids" Tampa Chapter! That means we are now able to fully operate and get TFK Tampa off the ground! 6 months of planning are now put into actually getting kids riding. The bikes that Trek has donated are in the shop at www.justridebicycles.com and will be completly built today and David Luppino, the owner of the shop has done this for no charge, thank you! The 5 bikes they donated are all 2009 4500 series which retail for $689! Nice bikes to start out with, huh? We are planning to have our 1st TFK Tampa ride as part of our August 8th family ride at Trout Creek Park and hope to have some prizes to give away, some press coverage, and a BBQ lunch after the ride to celebrate, so please come out and join us if you can!

With that, we are going to start making a big push with marketing both Trips for Kids Tampa and push for members for BAADR to make this club into the most fun Mountain Bike club in the state!

Darrin

Santos was a Blast!

I think I can speak for everyone when I say we all had a Blast! It rained on us a little in the morning ride Saturday, but it did cool us off and none of us seemed to mind it. We all took a ride to Rainbow springs for a quick dip in the cool water at lunch time and came back to ride around the Vortex area in the afternoon.

Dinner was great and inspired us to start a "BAADR Recipe Page" on the website. It was hot but we did not let that beat us down. I think everyone liked the "Skills Area" and Spencer now wants me to build one in our back yard! He even mastered the "Skinny" 2x4 planks!

Spencer's New Ride Just in time for Santos!

My 7 year old (8 on July 9th) has outgrown his 24" Hotrock and I spent the last 3 weeks scouring Craig's List for a decent 26" wheeled bike for him. Here it is! 2006 Gary Fisher Advance w/ light weight aluminum 13" frame, decent component mix for $120.. Great Deal! I sold his 2001 Hotrock the same day for $80, so we upgraded for only $40 out of pocket!

it Was HOT Today!!!

A couple of us met at WTA today and did about 2 hours of Trail work and then rode for about an hour... I must have sweated off 10lbs of water! "feels Like Temp" was 106. I hope it cools off for the campout next week.

Getting Ready for Santos Next Weekend!

Well, I have never been to Santos but I have heard a lot of great things about it. I did not want my 1st time there to be a rush ride with a 2 hour ride up and 2 hours back in one day, so we planned this camp out weekend at our BAADR Family ride in May. So, June 26th to 28th we will be at the Santos campground with 7 campsites.

This will be a "Mini-Fat Tire Festival" for us since we will have 25 to 30 people show up on Saturday so far. We are going to have a "Pot Luck" dinner on Saturday night with me smoking pork all day in my Electric Smoker and others bringing side dishes. Karlos is planning a Night Ride on Friday night and I plan on riding as many trails as I can so I can get the real Santos experience.

anyone reading this is welcome to come on out and join us! Email me at Darrin@BAADRMTBClub.com or just comment to this post.

Family Ride on June 13th was great! Hot, But Great!

Well, we had a good turn out of about 20 riders and had a good 11 mile ride. the heat was a factor for some, but overall it was a good ride. Lunch after was burgers and dogs and all had a good time. We did have a few new riders with us and I hope they decide to come back. Anyway, we are looking forward to the Santos Campout next Week!

Cub Scout Camping, and a Shattered Rear Window...

Well, the weekend started out OK. Was ready for our last cub scout campout of the year at Medard park. Brought the bikes to ride around the sand hills and the park to get some exercise. Friday night we got some rain but we managed OK. Saturday was a good time but we got hot with the cross over ceramony and running and riding after.

I started feeling ill so I packed up while Spencer went fishing with some friends. got all ready to go and was backing out of the camp site when i hear Smash! Yup. I shattered the rear window of my Ford Flex. The bikes barley touched a low hanging limb that was out of my site, and the next thing I now I am calling the wife to come get the bikes. Oh well, it will be fixed tomorrow for about $350, and since it is my work vehicle, my company will pay to have it fixed.. YEAH!

Now i need to find a good used hitch mount....

Darrin

croom Was Great, A little Hot, A little Sandy, But Great!

The weather was nice but just a little hot at 89 degrees, but under the trees it was nice. The trails were mostly packed with some sandy areas, but nothing we could not live with. We rode the yellow loop for about 14 miles of climbs, decents, little whoops, and a lot of trees. Croom is one of the few places around here that has REAL hills and not just dug out phosphate pits. If you have never ridden here, now is the best time to ride since the rains have knocked back most of the sand. Next time I will attempt to do the entire blue loop of 32 miles.

Darrin

Crappy Thursday Night Ride, and Looking Forward to Croom Tomorrow!

Boy I had a crappy ride last night at Morris Bridge... My legs felt like lead balloons and would not go faster than a 8.7mph pace for the whole 15 miles. Gregg Irving even gave me a Gel to give me some energy but it did not work... Oh well, at least i finished before dark and burned some calories..

We are having our Club Ride at Croom in the morning and I hope that is a better ride. Karlos and his wife will be there and a few others may crash in on us. I really like Croom for all the nuances it has. Spencer likes the downhills and some of the pits stuff also. I'll report in after the ride...

Darrin

Successful Class & Alafia is Awesome!

Hey All!

Just wanted to update you on Karlos' class "You Dont Have to Crash" we had on Saturday! All of those that I talked to who attended said it was well worth the time and money. I hope we have another class soon so I can attend!

Rode Alafia today with Joe, Chris, Travis, and Spencer and had a blast! Spencer rode Rock Garden, Bridges, and North Creek and did great! For his 1st time riding those trails, he really did good. I think he surprised himself on some of the bigger drops!

Darrin

Getting Ready for Karlos' 1st Training Class

It is finally here, our 1st intermediate/advanced class will be taught by Karlos Saturday at Alafia titled "You don't have to crash!" and i know some of you are looking forward to it. If i didn't have to babysit all day I would participate, but I don't think my 21 month old could take being quite for 3 hours. I will show up to help kick off the class and introduce the club to those who are not familiar with us, but I wish I could stay and learn.

Karlos promises an "in-depth" class that will help all levels in their riding skills. He will have a ride after the class so you can put to use the skills he taught you right away.

I look forward to seeing you out there and I will report how it went next week.

Darrin

Trail Work at WTA Yesterday..

We had 6 people show up for trail work yesterday with SWAMP at Wilderness Trails Park! We cleared a lot of overgrowth to open up lines of sight in sections that are prone to head-on collisions. We did a ride and clip and everyone did a great job on the trails, including our 2 younger boys. Shawn even came out on his birthday to help out, wow! Here are a couple of pictures:

A lot has Happened Since my Last Post...

Well, Not really too much. I just havent posted in a few days and it feels like longer. Here are a few things that have taken place in the last week or so:

• I went to North Carolina and visited my oldest son and new Granddaughter. Had a good time, but my wife and Kids all got sick. I didn't get sick until we got back and i am still getting over a cold.
• We had another Family ride and Class at Trout creek. The chicken was good and the company was great! we have a great core membership that seem to really enjoy each other.
• Santos Camping trip is booked! We will have close to 30 people camping at Santos the weekend of June 26th. Some of us have never been there and it should be a great time!
• I got a new bike, again. I don't know why, but it seems i need to change bikes more often now! Honestly, I got a really good deal on a 07' Cannondale Caffeine 29er with the Lefty fork and Avid Juicy's. Sold my Gary Fisher for what I had in it, so no loss there.
• We are now participating in SWAMP Club's "Adopt a Trail" program where we will be responsible for keeping some of the trails at Trout Creek and Flatwoods parks trimmed and cleaned up.

Well, that's about it. We have had a few more members join in the last week or so, and the word is still getting out that we will be here for the long haul. The summer time riding season will be here soon, and hopefully the rains come soon to pack the sand down on the trails. See you on the trails!

Darrin

No ride for me this Weekend.. But Carter was fun on Thursday

I am up in North Carolina (the coast, not the mountains) visitng my new Granddaughter, so no ride for me this weekend. Thursday afternoon we rode Carter Rd (Loyce Harpe Park) in lakeland instead of our normal WTA ride. Chris, JP, Kevin & family, and a friend of his all met around 4:30pm for a ride around this technical single track park. I have to say this being my 1st time riding it, I was surprised how technical it was.

I did fall once due to not knowing of a stair step drop off on the other side of a little bank, but no great damage. I was still not able to shift good because of my sprained thumb from 2 weeks ago, but it was still fun. I had to bail early due to trying to get home and pack for my trip, but i did as much as "Cruddy Buddy" which is very tight and technical. I look forward to riding there again soon.

I did get my thumb X-rayed and there is no broken bones, but the ligiments were torn and will take another 4 weeks to heal per the Doctor.

Oh well, I have to run, see you all at the May 9th Family ride and Class!

Darrin

Great Ride Today!

Hey All,

The weather was perfect, the trails were a little sandy in spots, but rideable, and a fun time was had by all at Balm-Boyette. I spoke to Wes Eubanks prior to our ride and he confirmed that SWAMP was 100% behind our club and will work with us on several things including Fat Tire Festivalem, and Croom 35/50 (giving our club the SWAMP discount) and other things. They were even willing for us to be folded into their club, but we declined for now.

The trails we rode today included:

SST, Loch ness, Upper loch ness. Randy's trail, Spider berm, Gator pit, golf cart, Mt boyette, Canyon, Big Drop, east meadow, spur, woods trail, west meadow, inner loch ness, and Joe and JP rode Ridgeline, pandimonium, and south abyss. Joe, kevin and family, and Spencer & I had lunch at Beef's after and that was good too. AlI around a good day! now time for a nap.....

Darrin

Trail Work and Sundays Ride....

Hey All,

Spencer and I showed up yesterday at Wilderness Parks to help the WTA and SWAMP with trails work. We rode and cliped a lot of growth back in preperation for the growing season. The trails are in good shape due to the rain we had this week, so I suggest you get out there if you can before the sand dries up too much.

Today's Sunday ride at Balm-Boyette was reported to me by Chris and Shawn to have been a big success! They met our new treasurer JP, and a new member Kevin Acevedo and his family for a great ride. 11 people showed up for a great ride with great weather at a great park!

Next Saturday we will be riding at Balm-Boyette again since Alafia will be filled with Adventure racers (Sorry, I failed to check before I scheduled the ride there..) and I will get to meet some of our new members! Remember the Thursday after work ride at Hole in the Fence (Morris Bridge Trails across from Trout Creek Site) at 4:45-5:15pm. if you are running late, let me know at 813-300-6840...

Darrin

What a fun day!

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who came out today, as Coty and I had a great time! I also have to mention Carrollwood Bike Emporium, Bicycle Outfitters, Unviversity Bicycle Center, and Temple Terrace Schwinn for providing such great prizes!

Sounds like everyone had a great time, and welcome aboard to our new members. Please shoot me an email if you have any comments about today's ride, or feel free to post them on the message board.

Remember, next week is a WTA trail work day, and Sunday is a Boyette ride. The Boyette ride will be a relaxed ride that even an 8yr old on a blue 7 speed Specialized can do it. Once again email me for specific details. I will also shoot out a Yahoo message with more details.

Once again, thanks everyone, and for the record I did NOT eat 3 hamburgers, and 3 hotdogs.

Jim

Getting Ready for Kick-off!

Well, it's finally here! Our 1st official Family ride! I hope you can come out to Trout Creek Park at 9am this Saturday for our Ride and training class. We have great prizes to give away and free lunch! Come see what we are all about and bring the kids! Trout Creek is off of Fletcher Ave just east of I-75 on the north side of the road.

RSVP to darrin@baadrmtbclub.org or call me at 813-300-6840


See you all there!

What a week!

After being out of commission again with the flu, once again Darrin and Chris have been taken care of all the club business. It looks like an awesome weekend to ride, but I'll probably just take Coty out to Alafia and torture him....I mean improve his skills by the trial by fire method....Just Kidding. Anyway, I have gotten the single speed fever again, so I'm in the market if anyone is selling. You can expect to see me soon on an SS once again. Ohhh....sorry Darrin for using the club Blog to advertise for an SS.....Oops

Look for BAADR and TFK in the Tampa Tribune Next Week

Hey Club!

Chris Kiddy (TFK Pres & BAADR VP) and I had a great interview today with the Tampa Tribune. We discussed both BAADR and TFK and what both groups are dedicated to and we promoted the Family ride coming up on April 11th at Trout Creek park. Keep watching next week for stories on both of us!

Also, we are getting some bike shops to donate prizes for the family ride, so make sure you RSVP and come on by! Turkey Burgers will be served for lunch!

Darrin

New Forums, Chat, and More!

Hey Folks!

You asked for it, you got it! New forums with better functionality and a chat box! You should check out the webaite and the forums today! The club is about 75% up and running right now with a few minor pieces falling into place. Once all the nay-sayers see we are serious and are not going away, they will signup.

Hang in there and enjoy the new stuff!

Darrin

Family Ride was Great!

We had about 10 people today for our 1st un-official ride at Morris Bridge park. I heard from a couple more that were thinking it was at another park, but we will make sure that does not happen again. The weather was perfect and all had a great time. Check out more of the pic's on the website!

Getting Ready for Our 1st Family Ride!

Well it is not our official kick off yet, but we will be having a family ride on Saturday Morning at 9am at Morris Bridge Park in Tampa. Bring your kids, bikes, water, and helmet for an easy Get to know you ride. We will be going over what our club is all about, fill you in on where we are right now, and let you know where we are going. Come on out!

Darrin

Possible New Single Track in the Area? Maybe...

Jim and I are looking at trying to find some single track of our own somewhere in the area. We have a couple of places in mind and are in the preliminary stages of seeing if it is viable. Stay tuned and we will report any information when the time is right.

The Cold!!!!

Finally, I'm getting over this terrible cold. I did take the weekend off from riding.....I'll just have to find some time this week to make up for it. I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone on Sat. It's gonna be an exciting ride. Plus its a great opportunity to meet everyone, and share some of the things we have going on behind the scenes with everyone.

Also, I have to give thanks to Darrin on getting us hooked up with 10% discounts at the local shops.

Jim

Nice Ride Today!

I had a nice peaceful ride today at hole in the fence and it was great. I did not run into anyone until I was leaving. It was just me and the animals for awhile and it felt good. after being so sick last week it was good to get back out and do 12 miles at my own pace. The trails were in good shape for a race just being held last week. The weather was perfect as well. I hope everyone gets to get out there and ride soon!

Darrin

Missed out on Sqiggy

Woke up this AM kinda bummed that I missed Squiggy, so I went for a ride out at Boyette. Had a great ride. I did meet some nice folks today, and hopefully they will become new members. I also ran into the proud owner of my old Trance, and she told me she was very happy with it. I was glad to here that and I'm looking forward to riding with them in the future. Coty didn't make it, as spending the day out in the woods with dad was not to appealing. He will be surprised at our first ride how many kids he will be riding with. Anyway, I'm looking forward to possibly having our first beginners ride next Sat. Everyone who is interested, please email me, and let me know what kind of rider you are. Ohhh Boyette trail report......Sandy! Everyone pray for rain.

Jim

Good Luck Squiggy Racers!

I will be Cub Scout camping all weekend or I would be there. It looks like you will have perfect weather and a FAST Track! Good luck to Chris from TFK I hope you can drum up a lot of Support!

Darrin

BAADR Cycling Jersey's are now Available Online!

Stop by the BAADR Website and order yourself a Jersey! Only $68 and includes free ground shipping! Other BAADR gear also available. Looking for tubes, tires, or anything else? Click on any of our Internet retailer links and BAADR gets a tiny bit of your purchase price with out you paying anymore! Help support your great Club and the TFK Charity! Direct link below!

http://www.baadrmtbclub.org/Shopping_and_Gear.php

The Naked Indian just got BAADR!

We are please to announce that Karlos "The Naked Indian" A rodriguez Bernart is the new new Director of training for BAADR! Karlos is famous, or infamous for his Samurai skills and endurance feats on the Mountain Bike. Now come learn from a true master as he heads the BAADR Training program! He will be teaching our advanced class and having input on all training aspects of BAADR! Welcome aboard! Now put some clothes on, there are kids present.......

We are all sick! Thanks Darrin...

After being exposed to Darrin's Ebola, SARS, or whatever he has at the Yard sale. Coty and myself have been sick too. So we feel your pain. I'm still waiting for some pics from the last ride and the yard sale mostly to give me the opportunity to remove my fat pics. Anyway, it's Tues, and it's not looking good for me either for Thurs. I still have been unable to locate my team for Sat, so it looks like I'll have to go it alone. Heck it's only 6 hrs right?

Take care all!

Jim

BTW please send all pics and sugestions or whatever to: Admin@baadrmtbclub.org

I'm Sick! I hate feeling like this!

I went to the doctor yesterday and was told I have an upper respiratory infection, which i kinda knew since I could not breath very well that last 3 days. Sunday and Monday were spent in bed mostly with fever and aches and being dizzy. The antibiotics should start kicking in later today but it looks like I will skip my Thursday after work ride. Maybe Chris from TFK will pick up my slack!

The Squiggy race is this weekend so I am sure the trails will be busy all week due to people training and trying to get the course down.

Next week I will be back up and riding for sure!

Darrin

TFK Yard Sale!

Today was the TFK yard sale! After leaving early I hope we hit our goal. Coty and Spencer had a great time selling and advertising. Thanks to everyone for their support! I must be getting old, as I had to fore go an evening ride for a nap. Oh well.....anyone up for a ride at Alafia in the AM?

Thursday after work ride!

Meet me at 4:30pm on 3/5 at the Hole in the Fence (Morris Bridge) trails in Tampa. easy pace, getting some miles in. darrinw2001@verizon.net

TFK Yard Sale and Carwash!

Hey all! dont forget to come by the Trips for Kids funraiser on Saturday at 8am-4pm uS 301 and Moody Rd in Riverview!

All proceeds help a great Charity! Email Chris Kiddy at tfktampa@yahoo.com for more info!

It's only Tuesday?

Man it's already a tough week. I missed a 2:30 ride due to being overrun by clients and other employees out. Thanks to Darrin and Chris for carrying the load. Some how I have to find time to get back to a riding routine....the time change should help. I'm still looking for my Sqiggy partners, and haven't been able to track them down. Oh well 3 days left, and the weekend. I hope between the TFK yard sale and the huge birthday celebration for my son this weekend, as his birthday was today, I can get in some miles. Plus I have to take Coty out to my other son. Anyone who went on today's ride email me on how it went.

Jim

Ride at Boyette 2/3 at 2:30pm

Come on out and ride with me at Boyette tomorrow at 2:30pm or so. Ridgeline maybe??? We will see...

Awsome Ride!!!!

Thanks to everyone who turned out for Saturday's ride. Coty, and myself had a great time. Boy we put out some flyers! Hopefully we get some new members to join this club. Coty's looking forward to riding with some more kids.

See ya

Jim

Hey! Welcome to the Club!

Come join the new mountain bike club in the Tampa Bay area! We are a children and family freindly group that is dedicated to promoting the areas off-road trails. Come join us for a ride!
www.baadrmtbclub.org