I just got back from Tampa. Big thanks to http://www.swampclub.org/ and http://ridgeriders.net/ for helping me find people to ride with and advising me on places to go.
I did not get to ride the TOE or Alafia as suggested. Not having transportation other than the bike made it tough to get out of downtown Tampa. I did get three rides in.
1 - Bayshore urban - I took the surface street Bayshore from the Convention Center area down to the Air Base. This is a street ride that takes you along the bay. There are plenty of nice houses along the way. I took another surface street (forgot the name) back up and checked out more of the neighborhood. The outdoor laundry facility I passed was interesting. Walls of washers and dryers in the middle of the block. No doors, no windows, just laundry. I also did some riding on the university campus. I rode the skinny rail over the bridge in the middle of rush hour traffic. No pics
2 - Lettuce Lake - A five hour day. I rode for almost two hours to get to the trail. I needed to stop to change a flat along the way. I am amazed that a nail went through my Nokian Gazza, but I guess that happens. I was trying to make it to Flatwoods, but I just did not have enough time to go that far. Once at Lettuce Lake, I rode the main trail to Indian, than back to Main, then Grandpa, Misery, and Gator Bait. I got a bit lost on the way back. Indian was listed as a difficult trail, but it was far from it. It was a nice twisty bit of trail with white sand, roots, and gentle climbs. On the way in, I spotted an armadillo in the wild. That was a first for me. I also spotted a Tampa sand dirt jump. I took a break to call my buds back in LA and tell them what they were missing. It was breathtaking. Straight outta Pirates of the Carribean. I was happy to pay the requested "suggested donation" access fee of $1.
3 - Rick (a local from Ridge Riders) took me to Carter Lake. There was rain the night before, so the ground was good and moist. The TOE was probably too damp to ride, and there was pre-racing at Alafia. That is fine by me, as Carter was gorgeous. It is an eight mile loop around a lake. It took us over an hour because of my slowness; hey, I was tired from the five-hour marathon the day before and a night of party-time at The Castle. There are little fingers of land that extend into the lake. They are no more than 20 yards wide and full of rolling up-and-downs. You ride out on one side of the finger and ride back on the other. There were roots everywhere. Some sections were very steep (though not very long). The white mud was slick. The last thing I wanted to do was fall into the water where Big Mamma, the 14 foot alligator, and lots of venomous snakes live. My tires did not like sticking to the wet roots or the ladder climbs. The mud filled up my SPD's too (another first for me). It was good to ride there. Quite the change from SoCal fireroad-freeride.
I did not get to ride the TOE or Alafia as suggested. Not having transportation other than the bike made it tough to get out of downtown Tampa. I did get three rides in.
1 - Bayshore urban - I took the surface street Bayshore from the Convention Center area down to the Air Base. This is a street ride that takes you along the bay. There are plenty of nice houses along the way. I took another surface street (forgot the name) back up and checked out more of the neighborhood. The outdoor laundry facility I passed was interesting. Walls of washers and dryers in the middle of the block. No doors, no windows, just laundry. I also did some riding on the university campus. I rode the skinny rail over the bridge in the middle of rush hour traffic. No pics
2 - Lettuce Lake - A five hour day. I rode for almost two hours to get to the trail. I needed to stop to change a flat along the way. I am amazed that a nail went through my Nokian Gazza, but I guess that happens. I was trying to make it to Flatwoods, but I just did not have enough time to go that far. Once at Lettuce Lake, I rode the main trail to Indian, than back to Main, then Grandpa, Misery, and Gator Bait. I got a bit lost on the way back. Indian was listed as a difficult trail, but it was far from it. It was a nice twisty bit of trail with white sand, roots, and gentle climbs. On the way in, I spotted an armadillo in the wild. That was a first for me. I also spotted a Tampa sand dirt jump. I took a break to call my buds back in LA and tell them what they were missing. It was breathtaking. Straight outta Pirates of the Carribean. I was happy to pay the requested "suggested donation" access fee of $1.
3 - Rick (a local from Ridge Riders) took me to Carter Lake. There was rain the night before, so the ground was good and moist. The TOE was probably too damp to ride, and there was pre-racing at Alafia. That is fine by me, as Carter was gorgeous. It is an eight mile loop around a lake. It took us over an hour because of my slowness; hey, I was tired from the five-hour marathon the day before and a night of party-time at The Castle. There are little fingers of land that extend into the lake. They are no more than 20 yards wide and full of rolling up-and-downs. You ride out on one side of the finger and ride back on the other. There were roots everywhere. Some sections were very steep (though not very long). The white mud was slick. The last thing I wanted to do was fall into the water where Big Mamma, the 14 foot alligator, and lots of venomous snakes live. My tires did not like sticking to the wet roots or the ladder climbs. The mud filled up my SPD's too (another first for me). It was good to ride there. Quite the change from SoCal fireroad-freeride.
mud. We rarely have mud in south CA.