Blog - Page 9 of 19 - Gone Riding

Coconut Cup series #7 – Quiet Waters Park – Deerfield Bch, Fl Amazing weather weekend in South Florida again, the area got a much needed mild spell before the real summer heat comes and the racers certainly appreciated it at this fun and rapidly evolving course. What I mean by evolving is that since we only come once a year it has been noticeable how much the course has improved each time. The Quiet Waters trail crew has done a great job building and maintaining the system and with each vist it gets more features and more flow. The 6.7

Florida Gravel Grinder series #4 – Jennings Forest Grinder – Middleburg, Fl After weeks and months of unusually wet weekends in the area the weather gods finally looked down favorably on the final round of the Florida Gravel series and produced flawless conditions with sunshine and mild temperatures. Even the original course had to be rerouted the week prior due to the said wet conditions and the racers ended up with a slightly longer but puddle free loop that measured 16.9 miles, this meant the sprint classes would do two laps and the marathon distance scheduled for four. The course

Georgia State Championship series #1 + Time Trial #1 – Dauset trails – Jackson, Ga The 18th annual GSC series kicked off in Middle Georgia on one the best race trail systems in the state. Dauset is a mixture of fast and some rocky sections of prime red Georgia dirt and is tree covered the entire route. We did have a wet weather scare with lot’s of the state covered in rain on Friday but it stopped just in time and presented the racers with a 7.5 mile course with great conditions. Saturday the first of three bonus race of

Florida Endurance series #5 – Hialeah Hustle – Hialeah, Fl Starting to get warm again, it wasn’t too hot but it was getting there as temps were pushing the ninties and it was obvious to the racers that heat and hydration was an important factor for the day. The course was on the dry side and was set for a 7.5 mile loop around this fun and flowing trail system which set up a four lap affair for the sprint classes and an eight times around for the marathon racers. In the long distance race the winner of the men’s

Florida Endurance series #4 + TT#2 – Hammock Hauler – Alachua, Fl Got lucky with the weather again as it was cool but not cold and just enough rain to make both days of racing near perfection at San Felasco trails. On Saturday the final Time Trial of the series was held at 3pm with temperatures in the upper 70’s and it was Alberto Maracano that set the fast lap at 38:13 on the 10.45 mile course while Nicole Blessing set the fastest of the women’s time. Then at around 7pm there was a cold front that blew in and

Coconut Cup series #6 – Markham Park – Sunrise, Fl It has been over a year since the series has been to Markham park and it was good to be back especially with the great weather and trail conditions. The Markham park trail building club has done a lot of great work restoring and maintaining the system and they put together a fast, flowing course for the racers which was right at 6.9 miles per loop. Although rain was expected (it did hold off till after the race) so there were a few wooden options that were taken out but

Florida Gravel Grinder series #3 – Seminole Grind – Eustis, Fl It was a chamber of commerce type of day, just what all the broachers advertise when it comes to wintertime in Florida, sunny & mild and a big switch from what the racers have been facing in the series so far. The 16.8 mile double lolly pop loop has a lot of variation with some open areas, some canopy roads, some small hills and plenty of turns and holes to help keep the focus. The park is proving to be very popular with the riders and this year there

Florida Endurance series #3 + E Vortex – 12 hours of Santos – Ocala, Fl Friday’s E bike race was held on the same course that the endurance riders would use the next day (although dry) which was a nine mile mix of flowing single track and punchy red trails (which had been toned down due to the weather forcast for the next day). The E MTB’ers faced two laps and there was $500+ on the line for the top riders, and it was Nick Mackie and Simone Berger that took home the bulk of the loot by winning the

Coconut Cup series #5 – Oleta River State Park – North Miami, Fl Another picture perfect weather event at this picturesque South Florida park setting, where else would you want to be in Winter especially with the sun the sand and bikes right? These beach side trails however are known for being demanding with lot’s and lot’s of turns, roots, rocks and surprisingly virtually sand free which makes this race feel nothing like a vacation, it tests every riders week points and here only the strong and skilled survive. Angel Rodiguez topped the men’s podium for the third CC race