Author Alex Hutchinson

The Jamis bicycle company will be coming to the T Mabry Carlton jr Reserve for a Demo Day on Saturday February 9th. This will take place from 8am to 1pm. This event is FREE to attend. Jamis Factory Reps will be on hand to answer your questions. Jamis mountain bike builds include both full suspension and hardtail options. Their bikes range from fun sport models to serious cross country racing machines. Armed with a wide array of mountain bikes sporting 29", 650b and 26 inch tires, you will get to try them all. Take a look at their website to get an idea which bikes you might be interested in riding. www.JamisBikes.com The T Mabry Carlton Reserve is the home of some fun trails. It is also the home of the Sarasota County Off Road Riders (SCORR) mountain bike group. Many of these members will be on hand testing bikes themselves. Be sure to check out this event on its Facebook page: Jamis Mountain Bike Demo Day

Parts of the hour and a half drive to Cape Coral BMX were quieter than usual as a cyclone of questions circled relentlessly around in my head. I hadn't raced BMX since August. That was five months of concentrating on other sports, other types of racing and training. During that time I had also changed my bike and my attitude. Why did I have questions? Let me recap my 2012 season really quick and it will become obvious. I started the year with a new frame provided by my Advertising partners CycleCraft BMX. The former Peddler's Bike Shop made a deal with me on a new Supercross fork and some other parts. In essence it was a completely new bike. We're talking laid back geometry with swift handling but something didn't fit right. For whatever reasons I couldn't get used to my new bike. In race after race I was fumbling and awkward. I was afraid to take chances at the Naples Qualifier and I hurt my back trying to manual the night before the Sarasota Qual

We do it every year. We resolve to make our lives a little better, a little happier, a little healthier. How fitting is it that the South County Family YMCA decided to name a race after such a transformative intention. Starting off the New Year with a 5K run is a declaration of all three desires and yet it is also so much more. The sun was nowhere to be seen on the morning of January 5th as riders gathered under the pavilion shuffling to stay warm. It was only 55 degrees but the ocean breeze was edging 15mph. The runners engaged in small talk, did dynamic stretching and took laps around the pond at Maxine Barrett Park until the watch struck 7:15am. That's when the gathering began. Two hundred and forty athletes both recreational and serious filled the street as the police desperately tried to redirect traffic. The start line was marked by a wildly waving sign from a sponsor Real Bikes of Venice . The wind spitefully picked up a little as someone in the crowd playful