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