Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Santos Mtn Fla

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Santos Mtn Fla

Getaway Cycle Center

Today I drove up from Jupiter Fla to Bellevie, just below Ocala. This area holds the Mountian Biking Mecka called Santos. Up the Florida turnpike past Orlando I get off on a country highway where big beautiful local strawberries are being sold on the side of the road for $5 per flat. The first stop I make is at the Santos Trailhead Bicycle Shop . I am met by some very nice and informative staff who invite me to use their parking, restrooms, and trail access area. They give me a heads up on the 40+ miles of trails that awaits me. This shop will be featured in an upcoming issue of Mtn Bike Action magazine. They also inform me that the article is going to feature a local rider of thiers, along with a local rider of North Jersey.....Jeff Lenosky. They say he loves the trails doown there.
I head up to the main trailhead and parking to try and chat it up with some local riders. I pull in to the parking lot and find many riders preparing, finishing, or just hanging out. There are pavillions, Kiosks with maps, and bike washes where you can hang 3 bikes to hose down. I suit up and head into the trail. These trails are well maked with Trail Named colored 4 ft posts. The trails are yellow-easy, blue-advanced, and red-expert (some single black diamond, and some double black). I choose a blue trail and am greated by pine needle covered twisty single track that Florida seems to be covered with. The trail is fun, fast, and has a technical element of 6-12 inch size roots, with short 3-6 ft ups and downs. Very cool.
A few miles of this and I run out on to a road. I cross the road and head down a dirt road which has a gate across it with a 3ft wide wood bridge about 30 ft long going up about 6 ft high. This is known as the "Qualifer". If you can ride this you can come in......into to what......the Free ride area and the Red trails. I am greeted by a trail that is very much a tecnical expert trail. 5-20 ft ups and downs that are very step, with much rock and drops, and a lot of twisties in between. The red trail snakes around the center area which is covered with ramps, bridges, and large drops. It is like Diable Free Ride park, just flat. There are sink holes, single track with 30 ft drops off the sides, and plenty of Rock.....Yes I said Rock...in florida.....it is definitly not just sand.
At this point it is getting dark and I start to head back to the trailhead. I have all day on saturday to ride the 40 mile epic ride that is here. I pack up the van and head out to find a hotel. As I drive all I see is motels that get more scary as I drive. I have to say that the center of Ocala is very much a dirty gheto. I high tail it out towards the I-75 and find a Ramada travel lodge. I check the weather and find a huge rain storm moving in to the region. That screws up the epic ride. I wake up and it is a gloomy, rainy day. I check the radar and find that ann hour+ drive south it will be clear until late afternoon. I pack up and head down to Alafia State Park to ride.