It was a day for the bold and daring as 240 mountain bikers took to the trails of the T. Mabry Carlton Reserve in Venice, Florida for the annual Piggy's Revenge Off Road Challenge. The park had received two inches of rain in the three days preceding the event turning otherwise pristine singletrack into mud rutted splash zones. Outsiders to the sport might watch the music video and think to themselves: Why would any one want to do that? Part of the reward of mountain biking is the journey through suffering. That is why we call it an Off Road Challenge, it's not for couch potatoes. You've got to have grit. This was truly a Pigtacular Mudfest! Let's see what the riders had to say. "Another Piggy's Revenge in the books! This course was about as mean as a junk yard dog. I don't think I have ever ridden in so much water! Glad I survived to talk about it but it's going to be a while before I remember it fondly." - Scott Pfaff, 60 Miler ...

Sat, June 27th (Venice, FL) - Remember that pesky water crossing on the BoldyGo trail in the Carlton Reserve? Well, it's still there but you no longer have to get your feet wet. A trail addition has been added that bypasses the creek and the steep rollers but reaches a newly built wooden bridge that spans the water farther upstream. Hoorah for trail progress! A dozen members of the Sarasota County off Road Riders (SCORR) carried an 800 pound log, equal to half a telephone pole, through the woods to a selected location. This pole was used as the core of the wooden bridge which was built on site. The bypass has been cleared and will allow riders to choose the hard route over the rollers and through the water or the easy route over the bridge. This bypass will be especially useful in the deeper summer months when the water crossing becomes impassable. Yours truly was on hand to help out and I also managed to take a full array of pictures that show the construction proces...