Southern Trip in Review
Videos and review of each location to follow...just figured I would start with an overview to give you all an idea of what the week looked like.
Joel and I, along with Cliff, decided to escape the cold and snow in Pennsylvania and head south for a week. It would be the perfect way to get in some good base miles for the upcoming race season and the perfect way to enjoy some warmer temperatures for a bit. Our plan was to hit a few premier ride locations (based off of internet research and personal input from friends); driving from place to place every two or three days; staying the van along the way at state parks and the occasional Cracker Barrel parking lot. We would be cooking all of our meals on the camp stove and hopefully packed enough clothing to go the entire week without doing laundry. Take note as you read on...things don't always go as planned.
Sunday- Departure day; van was packed and off we went. It was a smooth drive to Anniston, Alabama. Stopped in a Cracker Barrel parking lot for the night located not too far from the trail head.
Monday- Rode Coldwater, Alabama trail system. Great riding there, a good mix of flow and technical with some moderate climbing and great descents. I think we rode every trail there, and they were all awesome and well maintained. That evening we drove to Fort Mountain State Park near Ellijay, Georgia. We had been hearing rumors all day from locals about a "snow storm" and cold temperatures that were coming; we sort of blew it off, we were from the north, how bad could it get in Georgia? Blog post and video of Cold Water to come in the future.
Tuesday- Wok
e up in Ellijay to cold temps, camp host told us it went into the teens at night, and was forecast to be in single digits that night. Yikes! Thank goodness for our zero degree sleeping bags; Cliff was outfitted in his Ruff Wear jackets and still joined us in bed for some added warmth. Not only did we wake to cold, it then also started snowing. After waiting it out a few hours to see what would happen, we decided to leave. And thank goodness that we did, as we were leaving, the park ranger stopped to tell us the park was going to be closed as of that evening due to the icy road conditions. We drove south for a bit and decided to squeeze in a ride at the Georgia International Horse Park, the site of the 1996 Olympics; both the equestrian events and the Olympic mountain biking. We got in a quick lap of the trails there; despite being out of the mountains it was still cold (in the mid 30s) and there were flurries during our ride. We had planned to stay in the Atlanta area for two days (Tuesday and Wednesday), but due to the weather the decision was made to head south to Florida a day early, driving as far as the Florida/Georgia border. We also decided to abort sleeping in the van that night, we had enough of the cold (even Cliff looked cold) and stayed in a motel. We didn't splurge, it was a cheap motel, but at least it was warm and we could take hot showers.
e up in Ellijay to cold temps, camp host told us it went into the teens at night, and was forecast to be in single digits that night. Yikes! Thank goodness for our zero degree sleeping bags; Cliff was outfitted in his Ruff Wear jackets and still joined us in bed for some added warmth. Not only did we wake to cold, it then also started snowing. After waiting it out a few hours to see what would happen, we decided to leave. And thank goodness that we did, as we were leaving, the park ranger stopped to tell us the park was going to be closed as of that evening due to the icy road conditions. We drove south for a bit and decided to squeeze in a ride at the Georgia International Horse Park, the site of the 1996 Olympics; both the equestrian events and the Olympic mountain biking. We got in a quick lap of the trails there; despite being out of the mountains it was still cold (in the mid 30s) and there were flurries during our ride. We had planned to stay in the Atlanta area for two days (Tuesday and Wednesday), but due to the weather the decision was made to head south to Florida a day early, driving as far as the Florida/Georgia border. We also decided to abort sleeping in the van that night, we had enough of the cold (even Cliff looked cold) and stayed in a motel. We didn't splurge, it was a cheap motel, but at least it was warm and we could take hot showers.
Wednesday- Finished the drive to Ocala. Finally, we made it to warm weather! We had a spot reserved at the Santos Camping area for a few days; and it was directly 
at the trail head. We arrived in Santos early afternoon, which gave us just enough time to get a good ride. Riding the Santos Trails is a strange mix of everything; tight and twisty trails, long and flat double track, rocky sections that contain everything from large jagged boulders to lots of bouncy babyheads, a skills section with dirt jumps and skinnies, and the far-end of the trail system that is chewed up by wild hogs making for some bouncy sections of trail. So what a eclectic mix of riding. The only thing you won't find in Santos is climbing; the place is flat! Despite numerous sections of trails that have what I like to call "whoop-de-do" climbs; short and steep ups and downs, there isn't a substantial climb there. Oh well, at least it is warm. Individual blog report and video of Santos trails to follow.
at the trail head. We arrived in Santos early afternoon, which gave us just enough time to get a good ride. Riding the Santos Trails is a strange mix of everything; tight and twisty trails, long and flat double track, rocky sections that contain everything from large jagged boulders to lots of bouncy babyheads, a skills section with dirt jumps and skinnies, and the far-end of the trail system that is chewed up by wild hogs making for some bouncy sections of trail. So what a eclectic mix of riding. The only thing you won't find in Santos is climbing; the place is flat! Despite numerous sections of trails that have what I like to call "whoop-de-do" climbs; short and steep ups and downs, there isn't a substantial climb there. Oh well, at least it is warm. Individual blog report and video of Santos trails to follow.
Thursday- Another day in Ocala, temps were getting ever warmer, mid 60s. Despite a mechanical, it was still a good day on the trails. Fit in some relaxation time also; did some reading, watched a movie (Red Box movies are great for traveling, can pick them up and return them pretty much everywhere), and did the mid-trip grocery shopping.
Friday- Last day in Ocala. Joël and I have to say, the camping there was great. Nice spots with water and electric, hot showers, and a quite campground. We had to check out of our camping spot in the morning; so we moved the van to the trail head parking area for the day. We put in another great ride, going completely from one end of the trail system to the other. And the best part of the ride, the temps were in the 70s. But alas, it was time to say goodbye to the warmth and we packed up to start our travels back north. The accommodations that night were a Cracker Barrel somewhere in Georgia or maybe South Carolina, I forget.
Saturday- After waking up, drove a bit to our next stop in Charleston, South Carolina. We planned a bit of sight seeing here, stopping to tour the Boone Hall plantation. After our tourist stop, it was on to Buck Hall Recreation Area to ride the Palmetto Trail. Well, this didn't work out as planned. The Palmetto Trail was underwater! Within a few minutes of riding we realized it was unpassable. Cliff even seemed unhappy with all the water on the trails. And we weren't the only one, we met a few hikers who had the same plan and had to turn back. Luckily we were in the rural south, where dirt roads are numerous. Went out and did a dirt road ride. Not really what we planned but at least we got some riding in. Our plan was to drive to within an hour of Richmond that night and sleep in the van in another parking lot...until we heard the weather forecast, temps in the teens. Thus, it was decided that it would be another night in a cheap motel. We made it just about to the Virginia/North Carolina border before we called it quit
Sunday- The last day of our riding vacation. Today we were meeting fellow Giant Co-Factory team mates in Richmond. It was a cold ride, temps were in the mid 20s. Oh how Joël and I longed for the 70 degree temps we had just ridden in a few days ago! Our ride leader Lester showed us some single track in Richmond we had never ridden before; it was nice to see something different. Despite the temperatures being on the chilly side, we all put in a good ride. It was nice seeing friends we hadn't see since race season last year. After treating ourselves to some post-ride hot chocolates we headed out for the final leg of our journey- the drive back to Pennsylvania.
It ended up to be quite a different trip than originally planned; weather threw us some curve balls which changed our plans. We had to do some alternate rides, lodging locations changed, and we spent a lot of time driving. But all in all we did what we planned to do- we rode bikes, slept in, and didn't think of work the entire week. It was the perfect base miles training week and perfect prep for Trans-Sylvania Epic; 236 miles and 26 hours on the bike. Now, it's back to work and the regular lifestyle again.
- Jess, Joel, and Cliff