You can plan for most anything except bad luck. One moment I was ripping through Shelly's Loop trail trying desperately to stay with the race pack, the next I was laying at the bottom of a ridge pinned between my twisted bike and a tree. It took a few seconds to figure out exactly what happened but one thing was immediately evident, my race had not gone the way I planned. Let's start from the beginning. After spending an entire summer training for the Florida State Championships Series Race at Alafia River State Park the day had finally arrived. The morning started with a few mistakes. I woke up early, too early, a full hour before I was supposed to. While setting the alarm I had accidentally reset the time but early is better than late. My morning meal had been pre-planned to ensure enough energy for the race but the smoothie I chilled overnight had gone bad. In addition I had forgotten to pack ice in the cooler. That was strike three but still I had hope. Unli...

It was only my second trip to the Alafia River State Park and I had already fallen in love with a trail. North Creek is a miniature version of the great heights we all strive to reach when bouncing along on knobby tires. Narrow singletrack winds its way through a hilly terrain alongside fern lined brooks and algae covered swamps. The elegance of North Creek is matched only by it's ability to challenge the rider. As an intermediate trail it has the perfect combination of small sharp climbs, quick racing downhills, multiple bridges and sudden technical elements. The amount of care put into North Creek is evident around every twist and turn. Concrete blocks solidify the earth from sliding away under heavy rains, wooden slats protect dirt turns from eroding into the swamp and there is even a newly built descent bridge that is not for the faint of heart. North Creek is only two miles long and it goes by fast. Your attention is held by each obstacle and the beauty t...

Sometimes you have to overreach in order to find out what you are capable of. Three years ago when I decided to try Downhill racing people told me that I was crazy. It was one thing to race Mountain Bikes but doing it at high speed down a mountain was suicidal. While DH was a bit too expensive to continue on a regular basis, I knew that the skills would be invaluable. It's 2012 I'm back on a Mountain Bike looking forward to a Florida Cross Country race. The first step was get myself into XC shape but the second step was to hit some of the trails I will be facing in October. That's why I made a visit to the Alafia River State Park. Alafia is beautiful, well run and the SWAMP club does great job tending to the trails. There is an easy to read map at the trail head, plenty of parking, bathrooms and most importantly - shade. I started my short journey in the place where I knew I would have the most trouble - the double black diamond trail known as moonscape...