Holy Water

As cyclists, water is our life line.  In the middle of a Florida July it means the difference between enjoying the ride and just barely making it home.  This is the story of two such rides, the names have been changed to protect the weak.

Ride #1- Santos Saturday

The Santos MTB trail system near Ocala Fl. was our destination when we left the HG parking lot at 6 am.  In my mind a 6 hour round trip to ride different trails, and trails that I enjoy, is a small price to pay.  We were already sweating after loading Fred's (not his real name) bike in my truck.

We parked at the Land Bridge Trail Head, unloaded, and headed west on single track.  Fred started out behind me as he had never ridden the trail and I had a couple of trips under my belt.  I kept the pace easy, knowing we had planned to ride for 4 hours.  This arrangement lasted until Fred slipped around me when I missed a turn, I noticed the pace picked up slightly.

We got to the Ern and Burn section after about an hour.  This little piece of work has lime rock hills with short but punchy climbs.  It's tight and with no air moving around me I could feel the heat building.  I backed off hoping Fred would notice.  He just kept it pinned.  "Ok" I said to myself "It's going to be a long day if we keep this up."

Now please don't think that I was worried about my ability to finish the ride, and I wasn't mad a him for going a little faster.   I just knew Fred had had trouble measuring out his efforts in the past and didn't want him to not enjoy the rest of the ride. That's just the kind of person I am, always thinking of others.

The Santos trails are custom made for MTB and are so much fun to ride.  Plus, even though I-10 cuts right through it, it still seems like you're in the middle of a forest.  My kind of place.

Land Bridge Trail over I-10

We made it back to the truck just as our water ran out.  We had almost 3 hours in by that time but hadn't touched the trail system to the east.  I at least wanted to do Spider Kingdom before we headed home but Fred was having trouble getting up the energy to get back on the bike.  I downed a cold Coke and a bag of peanuts, and after laying around on a picnic table in the shade, I was ready to roll again.  Fred said he thought he could do a little more, so we rode east and managed to put in almost another hour.  By that time it was well into the upper 90's and afternoon thunderheads were building so we called it a ride and headed home.

When we stopped at a store to gas up Fred came back out carrying a grocery bag full of food and drinks.  He consumed two bags of chips and what must have been 4 bottles of Poweraide ("It was on sale, 2 for 1.") before we passed Live Oak.  As we unloaded I asked if he wanted to ride Sunday, he just gave me a funny look and said to let him know what I was doing.  I didn't call because he looked like he'd had enough for the weekend.  Besides, he doesn't do clay.

Ride #2- Sunday Clay

I really felt bad about dodging church, but it was going to get soooo hot in the afternoon I decided to ride in the morning.  Sam (not his real name), Silk, and The Kid were the only brave souls to show up for our little clay adventure.  We were doing the Flag Loop, Silk was going to go hard, the rest of us were not.

Dirty Proctor (a road) had just been graded, plus it was dry, so all the rocks were on top.  It made for a rough start.  Silk hit the gas and that was the last we saw of him.  The three of us kept the pace steady until we turned onto No Hope Church road where The Kid and I played king of the mountain (he always won) until I couldn't breath.  Sam got a horse fly in his helmet so he didn't play.

Did I mention it was hot?  But I still love riding those clay roads.

With water running low we stopped at a little white church nestled into the pines on one of the big plantations.  There didn't appear to be any services that day so we went around back to the well. That was the best water I have ever tasted.  And it was cold!  So cold that when Sam stuck his head under the hose he started shaking.  I could have sat down in the grass and let that water run all over me.  I settled for just sticking my head under the flow.  After that we refilled our bottles and resumed our journey.  Refreshed by holy water, can I get an AMEN!

On the last few hills I noticed Sam falling behind, which was unlike him.  He had stopped sweating and had this odd look on his face (odder than normal).  We split up on the pavement and he headed home.  Turns out he made it back, but it wasn't pretty.  Something about laying on the kitchen floor while his girlfriend brought him cold towels.

The Kid and I rolled into the HG parking lot with our bikes covered in orange dust and sweat.  The lot had been empty when we left that morning but was full of shoppers by the time we got back.  I always enjoy changing out of my kit with an audience.  We got smoothies and I drank mine so fast I had brain freeze.

I've had enough hot weather for now.  I am well aware of how fast time goes by at this age and I know I'll be wearing arm warmers before I know it.  Still, I'm ready to say uncle on this heat.  At least until next weekend.