ThE 4 RiDeRs Of ThE ApOKaRiP: NoRtH to SilVer GLeNN

Photo Cred for this above pic Http://mucaromtb.blogspot.com

Three days after the ride is done I feel Overstimulated.

Work seems so mundane. Coffee does not give me a kick anymore. I am apathetic about so many things, racing bikes, every day life, etc. Seems like there is not much that can provide the wanderlust I felt while dirty touring this past weekend.

I dont know who said it, but it has been said, that in order for others to love you, you must first love yourself. So I am going to take a moment to break my arm patting myself on the back.

I have become a sort of Bike Packing Pioneer for the community. What started as required preparation for my 2010 GDR ride, has blossomed into an interest that has others eagerly joining in. Luis, was in it from the get go, from about a year ago when we drove up to Pisgah and I laid out my plans to him. And I told everyone, soon as I got a hold of a good Ocala National Forest map I was going to start venturing into it. And with time and money and gear development it has all come to fruition. This past weekend marked my second trip into the ONF.

I calculated the route, put together a Cue sheet, came up with the game plan and put together and expedition group of 4 riders. I was real impressed with Brett and Morrisson and their ability to put together a very functional kit for the trip and their eagerness to join.

I knew what to expect in terms of the roads, but that morning I cooked up some extra fun for us and threw in a little more exploration and a little more improvisation. Turned out to be the dominant theme of the weekend.

The single track was scrumptious as good as any Felasco or Croom trail out there, maybe better. The scenery was inspiring and awe stricking. The Forest roads were the cats meow. My gps data showed that after 122 miles of riding for the two day period, we climbed 28.5 miles total. That my friend gives you a small clue as to the nature of the terrain. Rolling rolling rolling!

We were touring after all, we made Silver Glenn on the morning of day two and we checked out numerous side trails and vistas along the way and even improvised the route on day two. I have become very trusting of the forest map and can easily recognize by using the key which roads are rideable. We found a perfect camping spot that could easily host up to 10 riders, this campinng spot will forever be known as the FO Rida camping spot.

The nights were just as good as the days as we built fires and chatted and ate. With the exception of a wrong turn or two and a little bit of backtracking everything went perfect.

Now for some funny tid bits. We all laughed as we watched Morrisson fall twice from not being able to clip out, and then cried small tears when we spent 1.5 hours fixing three flats in a row. We all woke up with frozen feet on Saturday morning, and I had a Bear Grylls survival moment as I scrambled to light a fire to thaw out our feet, FYI, mission was accomplished.

My gear is set, and all is working Great. Huge Thanks to the Man Jeff from Carousel Design works dot com, his I believe is the best custom bike packing gear you can purchase. I recommend everyone get their hands on some and build your kits, there will be more trips and a personally guided tour in the future.

There was one fire road we were going downhill and with your eye sight you could spot the entire prairie that sat at the bottom of the road, which was huge and the 1/4 mile long climb on the other side. You could witness all of this in your line of sight and it was enormous, I was amazed by the big country feel you could get out there. I saw 6 deer, one bear, one rattle snake and a lizzard. No negative encounters, everything was positive. On day two as we got close to Santos, I had not done a good job on nutrition that day and felt a little bit dazed and confused but we still managed to make it to the end. HUGE thanks to Morrisson for feeding me a Snickers, saved my life.

Brett, Luis and Morrisson could not have been better dirty touring companions and I would take them any time.

Keep your eyes and ears open cause I got big plans for all the stuff I rode. Maybe a little Cross Florida 200 mile time trial, a dirty group tour, who knows what will be next. One thing for sure, I am not done taking trips and the adventure and exploration is just beginning.

Enjoy,
laters.
LOS