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...

Often times I'll come home from an event and comment that while it was fun, it wasn't worthy of an article. However, after a good night's sleep the meaningfulness of that day would slowly sneak up on my consciousness and tap me on the shoulder. The truth is that there is always something to write about. There is always a story. You just have to look for it. On March 1st, 2015 there was a unique event held at the T. Mabry Carlton Reserve in Venice, Florida. As many of my regular readers know, this is the park where I have worked with the Sarasota County Off Road Riders (SCORR) to build mountain bike trails over the last few years. Previous to this day, there had only been one race event held at the Carlton. Piggy's Revenge is our annual ride/race which raises money for SCORR and introduces people to the park. This year we had our biggest turnout with 160 riders. The elevated level of publicity sparked the desire for yet another event to be held on those same ...

Exploration is in the DNA of all human beings. It is the reason we braved the oceans, crossed the plains and climbed every mountain. It has been the pedestal for great men & women throughout the centuries. So the need to explore is within you but in modern America you don't need to risk life and limb to enjoy its benefits. You simply have to remember what it was like to let yourself get lost. When I was in 3rd grade my parents moved to an apartment in Taunton, Massachusetts. Due to my age and unfamiliarity with the city, I wasn't supposed to travel far from home. Luckily, my parents had three younger kids to worry about so I was the one who often slipped away. One day while riding my BMX I found a trail that disappeared into a patch of woods. It curved down a hill into the gravel fields of a construction company. I was in heaven. Surrounded by huge piles of rock and dirt of various kinds all I could picture was how fun it would be to ride them. I started pushing my...

It was a day of thrills and spills at the 2014 Piggy's Revenge mountain bike endurance race. On January 12th, the Sarasota County Off Road Riders (SCORR) hosted their 3rd annual adventure ride. Riders were able to choose 20,40 or 60 mile routes through the vast reaches of the T. Mabry Carlton Reserve. This year a combination of online registration and enthusiastic promotion drove the largest ever crowd to this little slice of natural heaven in Venice, Florida. 73 participants of all ages gathered at the starting line and broke off in two separate groups. The first group started with a neutral procession lead out by SCORR President Eric Claussen. After an easy mile to get everyone warmed up, the race began. Piggy's Revenge is unique for many reasons. Being non-sanctioned means that the normal racing ethic is a bit more relaxed. People come to enjoy an adventure, to challenge themselves, to ride with friends, to visit a new park. On this day they enjoyed the ful...

Success breeds access. That is the theme at the T. Mabry Carlton Reserve, a enormous park purchased in 1982 for the purpose of natural resource protection and nature based recreation. Nowadays nothing is more nature based than Mountain Biking. The most successful trails in the Reserve as of late have been built by SCORR or the Sarasota County Off Road Riders. A steady pattern has developed at parks across the country. Local riders assemble into a MTB group and then seek the right to build on State or Public lands. This can sometimes be a long, tiresome process but with good reason, the park managers need to know that the groups are sincere, responsible and capable. Often times the new trails attract a larger crowd, bringing new life to the park and economic growth to the neighboring towns and businesses. Earlier this year SCORR was given permission to start building Mountain Bike specific trails in the Carlton Reserve ( Read the Trail Building Story Here ). These chan...