Friday, February 8, 2008

Ocala Mountain Bike Trails

Today we biked 13 of the 50 miles of trails built and maintained by the Ocala Mountain Bike Association. These trails are without question the finest mountain biking I've encountered on all my trips. I've biked here 5 or 6 times the last few years, but today was Ellen's first experience here. The wide grin on her face during our 2 hours on the trails was testament that she now loves this area as much as I do. Here are both of us as we run the "practice" course at the Santos Trailhead.







Some sections have expansive views as you tour the national forest. Straight segments like this are rare, as most of the trail twists and turns, and you must have constant vigilance due to the rocks and roots and ruts that may lie around a turn or over a rise. We did this on a Friday and had the place pretty much to ourselves, though it does get a lot more traffic on weekends.




Other sections are dense with foliage and require careful maneuvering to get through narrow openings between trees as seen below. Our 13 miles today represented a far more strenuous 2 hours than did our 22 miles yesterday, but the magnificence of the scenery and the challenge of the terrain made it exceedingly more rewarding.

Here is my web page from my previous outings here.

Ocala Mountain Bike Association web site

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