We Came, We Saw, We Conquered.

Fear and adrenaline. They are two amazing forces, and today, I conquered them both. Thrice. (Yes, I used the word "thrice" ;)

I've been mountain biking for about two years, and Kev and I are always looking for ways to challenge ourselves. Thankfully this is a sport where you don't have to go faster to find that challenge...It can be found in trail difficulty: technical, elevated, downhill, pump track, rocky, rooty, sandy, you name it. I love it. I'm nearly obsessed with it (ok, yes I/we am.)

Over the last few months, Ray Petro, the father of the Santos trails, has been on fire building all sorts of new crazy awesomeness. And, because we riders are LOVING these new toys, he's building more awesomeness. How lucky we are as a community!!!

Here's some of his beautiful work:

 

Ahh, Ray. You're the best.  After riding at over 18 trails in Florida,  you keep giving us a gajillion reasons to keep Santos as our favorite.

Wooden drops @ Vortex, source: HMBA.blogspot.com

There is a crazy set of obstacles at Santos that have always been daunting: wooden ramp drops. We've always only felt brave enough to ride the farthest one (which is hard to see). Wait, Kev once took the middle...and bit it. Hard. I just read on Ray's FaceBook post that they are called "Baby Bear," "Mama Bear," and "Papa Bear."  Since then, we only dreamed of the day when we'd be good enough (heck, brave enough!) for Papa Bear!  So, we tackled other obstacles, including the revamped Red Panther at Chuck Lennon that now has some pretty wicked climbs and steeeeeep descents.  


Anyway, Ray altered the drops in the picture to include some bridge work.  This is a new addition onto the drop that was closest in the picture. 

 
Because of the grade on the first drop, the first time we rode this beauty, we drug our bikes up the dirt to the landing where the new wood meets the old and started there.  Here's a video of me on this first day. I felt so brave! (yes, I know some of you are underwhelmed...but I felt great!)

We rode over today, and something told both of us that today was the day. The day to tackle the top drop. We'd discussed it before and talked about how it seemed like the next progression. We rode the red around to it and took turns just sitting at the top of it. It felt so close to possible, but so stinkin' scary. I knew my bike's geometry would make it, so why was I so freaking scared?  Granted, the drop is blind. When you approach the drop, you can't see down. Then we met a really great couple, riders from Tallahassee. The guy was able to hop through it and over everything like it was cake. We got to talking with him about it and he gave us a few pointers, one being priceless: drop your saddle. We watched him press his fancy button, drop his post, and fly away. It was awesome. I plopped my seat down, rolled up and sat. I mustered up every bit of guts and cojones I could, went back and lined up, got rolling, and pulled the break. Dang it. Psyched myself out. I shook it off, Kev asked if I was ok, and I went back again. I rolled up (again) this time pulling the back break slightly and over I went. I think I may have even closed my eyes for a split second and I literally had my tire hit my butt. But I made it. With about five people watching, I let out a sigh of relief/cheer of excitement/squeal before I even got to the bottom of the first drop. Everything else from there was routine. By the time I reached the group (who were so sweet and happy for me) I had perma-grin...and a huge case of the shakes. Adrenaline shot through me like a drug. It was so awesome to have accomplished that...in one piece. Kevin followed a minutes later and we rode it again. And again.  We are so freaking happy and proud...and I'm not gonna lie...there are few things greater than sharing an experience like that with your soul mate...

Here's video of our final ride on it today:

    

Stay Awhile...

I've been a busy girl on here lately!  I've done quite a bit of rearranging, updating, and creating in hopes of just sharing my little piece of this awesomeness called life. 

So, a little bit about the updates:

My classroom page Happy got a mega facelift.  The tour is up to date...as fresh as four hours ago ;)

New stuff:  a new tab Vacation Rain that will feature our adventures in travel, and Little Things where my posts of randomness will be linked.

New posts: lots of our bike trail rides and kayaking paddles have been updated in Out There.

A change:  I use to feature a tab on handbells, but I'm expanding that to all music experiences.  So, check out One Love soon for our experiences.

Hazelnuts will appreciate the little things in the blog.  It's amazing just how easily Sister Hazel fits everywhere into life ;)

So, take, take a rest, take your time, take, take the whole bottle of wine.

Shine down!
--April

Just a little shout out!

I'm an edu-geek. You know that by now. You probably also know that Steve Spangler is my Science teacher hero and the guy who inspired me to be the teacher I am today. So, while preparing to host our school's science fair expo, I tweeted out to him that we were doing his epic Coke and Mentos experiment as a 30-kid show. He tweeted back and asked for pics...which I of course couldn't help but share!  An email interview later and good 'ole Steve featured little 'ole me on his Teacher Spotlight of his blog.

Um, awesome?! Mind. Blown. And thankful. And, it's a good thing no one was filming my happy dance because I'm sure I looked ridiculous.

Check out the original story. ::SQUEE!!!::

Steve Spangler Blog

Our Top 10 Florida MTB Trails

I came across an interesting article on FaceBook the other day. It was a post on SingleTracks.com, a website dedicated to spreading the word about trails throughout the country and the author featured his top five favorite trails in Florida.  You can check out the original link here.  That got me thinking about our own top 5. Because Kevin and I are nerds, making top 10 lists aren't uncommon, and we pretty much had already rated the trails in our mind. But, some recent changes, more experience, and better skills have helped us to really shape our top 5.

Before I start, the author listed his top 5 as:

1. Santos, Belleview
2. Alafai/Balm Boyette, near Tampa
3. Tom Brown/Cadillac, Tallahassee
4. San Felasco, Gainesville
5. Markham Park, Sunrise

We have ridden four of these five parks/areas  (well, I haven't ridden, #4, but Kevin has).  Cool enough, we agree on most.  Definitely NOT his #4. Kevin hates that trail. But that's ok ;)

Once I sat down and asked Kevin for his insight, we both had to stop. It's so dang hard to pick just five!!! So we moved to top ten. We like them too much!!

10. Mt. Dora -- this is our hometown trail. That's not the reason it's up here though. It's a cool little trail for sure. And it'll kick your butt.  With a new wooden wall berm, a tough as heck red (difficult) trail, and a murderous uphill climbing exit that makes a thrilling downhill entrance, you can't leave this guy out. Plus it's fun riding down storm run-off concrete!! ;)

9. Virginia Key, Key Biscayne - I haven't blogged about this one, but it gave me some fun fodder for sure.  When you enter the park, you see iguanas and cats, yes, cats sprawled out all over the park entrance lawn. Everywhere.  Crabs cross the road in front of you. And you may run into race car driver Juan Pablo Montoya.  But, besides all that, the trail is very cool. Sketchy obstacles like a true flight of mobile home stairs, concrete wall berm, and rock bridges that make you jitter all give you an adrenaline buzz, just in time to be relaxed as you return to the parking lot by the beach.

8. Amelia Earhart, Hialeah - Who wouldn't love riding up into the back of a semi trailer and flying out the other end? Or taking a speeding s-curving downhills with berms that are more than impressive. This little park packs a punch that makes it a thrill to ride.

7. Mala Compra, Palm Coast - Ok. Best part? Riding and working up a sweat and then jumping into the beautiful ocean. Besides that, this park offers lots of technical trail with some fun stuff as well. And, there's one down hill like no other I've scene...complete rock, two story option that makes me wonder how anyone has skin left after they take it.  This park is serious fun.

6. Carter Road, Lakeland - Two words. The Fingers. Wanna know if you've got it? Ridge them and you'll find out. You may come out with no teeth. Riding along the limestone quarry lakes, up and down technical climbs and drops, and the legit possibility that a big momma gator might be at the bottom of a descent make this one a ride not to miss.

5. Chuck Lennon, Deleon Springs - Near and dear to our hearts, Chuck Lennon has been one of the two main parks where I learned to ride. This is the park where I'm willing to try new stuff, like jumping down into a pit instead of rolling, or climbing bridges two feet wide. Riding next to a speeding Amtrak train isn't bad either. The red option kicks ass. Blue Raccoon is one of my favorite trails of all time, especially the roller coaster section. My heart really belongs to Chuck.

4. Balm Boyette, Brandon - Not sure why the author put this trail with Alafia because even though they are close by each other, they are NOTHING alike.  Their terrain and trails are completely different.  Aside from the two mile ride in, everything else here rocks. Built on preserve land, this trail takes you through forest, open land (where big wild hogs will chase you. True story.)  Pandemonium is awesome, Golf Cart is fun, but Ridgeline is the best trail in Florida. Bar None. YouTube it. The drops and climbs offer real G-forces. And it's long. And there are like a dozen of these drops. One is even named OMG. Yeah. I freaking love this trail. But take a map.

3. Alafia - Lithia - Old limestone quarry territory here, which makes for some great trails like Rabbit Ears, Rollercoaster, Bridges, and Gatorback. North Creek is a beautiful and fun trail, and it's one of our favorites. The layout is very friendly and the facilities are extremely nice. Definitely a great place to ride and worth the 2-hour drive.

2. Markham Park, Sunrise - This one is so close to the top spot for us. This park is so stinking fun because it's so diverse. Technical stuff that challenges our skill, some tough climbs with downhills that are amazing, and awesome wooden features make this so much fun. This trail offers sooo many spaces for speed. Gun Range, Route 66, Outback, and Alligator Alley... A little bit of everything!

1.  Santos/Vortex, Belleview - We agree with everything the author said about Santos. It has so many amazing features, when we ride, we want to do it all. The Santos side trails are fun with good flow, some like John Brown and Anthill are very challenging and technical but enjoyable. Then, once you cross the road to Vortex, craziness ensues with the jump bowl, wooden ramps, new wall berms, qualifiers, and impressive climbs. This trail reminds me every time just how much I love mountain biking...and that's what it's suppose to do.

Handbell Love

I am proud to be part of an amazing handbell choir at The First Presbyterian Church of Eustis. Our church and its congregation have supported music generously and we are blessed to be part of something so special.

Our Gold Handbell choir is comprised of 13 ringers, led by our amazing director Cindy Curtis. We perform often for services and are part of the church's extremely popular Christmas Concert that also includes the church's Chancel choir and a professional orchestra. A Spring Concert is also becoming a tradition each year.

Street performing for the city of Eustis' First Friday Festival

I am also part of a five member four-in-hand ensemble, self named the Five Gold Rings Plus (I can't help but say it using my best Miss Piggy Christmas song impersonation ;)  The "Plus" is our wonderful sixth man, Mr. Marvin, who joined our group to fill in for an illness and we've kept him ever since. We perform in service, but also at community events.

 

So, what's a handbell, you may ask?  Better than try to fumble around and explain, take a look at my church's beautiful choir!  We are a choir of seven full octaves of bells, with seven aluminum bass bells: F2, E2, Eb2, D2, C2, A#1, and G1.  We have a complete eight octave set of hand (and rack) chimes.  (You can find me as the redhead off to the right ;)

One of our bells, the E2

Other pictures are below.

Pieces we have performed:

• My favorite: (I'm on clarinet)  Just a Closer Walk with Thee
• Day by Day
• Come, Christians, Join to Sing
• Exuberant Joy
• Song of Gladness

2009 Christmas Concert (December 6, 2009) 

• Go Tell It on the Mountain
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• The Christmas Song
• We Three Kings 

2010 Christmas Concert (December 5, 2010)

• White Christmas 
•  We Three Kings 
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas 
• Festival of Carols 

A Raleigh Ringer bass handbell ringer and me after their Gainesville concert...and the A2 bell ;)

Only in handbell choir can you ring with two of your favorite people in the world...and Elvis ;)

I love to play some heavy metal! (**snort**)

 

 

The price my fingers sometimes pay...mega calluses.

Our newest handbell, the A#1.

Handbells come in huge, fun,awesome boxes!

 

 

Kayaking Review: Blue Springs, Florida

Paddle date:  Sunday, January 5th, mid-afternoon


Manatees are my favorite animal, and they have been since I was an elementary-aged kid. One year, my parents blessed me with a backstage tour of SeaWorld where we could meet a rehabilitated manatee up close. Instant love. Manatees are the most gentle and massive of God's creatures, only threatened by man himself. I had learned that manatees tend to flock the Florida springs in the winter to seek out the year-round 72* temperatures and have always wanted to experience them in the wild. I learned about the where and how too late last year and promised myself that when the opportunity came along (and in Florida it happens quickly) I wouldn't let it pass me up!  Our cold snap was going to hit the next day, so I had high hopes, grabbed my husband and our boys, threw in our Sea Eagle kayaks and PFDs, and we headed up the road an hour!

Because of the manatee refuge, Blue Springs State Park does not allow water activity during the winter months. Because of this, the early cold weekends in January usually promise large numbers of the mammals. The day before our paddle, there were a record 350+ manatees in the water!!  Because I wanted to be see them up-close, the deck from the state park wouldn't do...so I contacted Google Earth.to search for public access to the St. Johns River, of which Blue Springs joins. Low and behold, I found a local boat ramp just up the river!

To access this boat ramp, travel straight toward Blue Springs State Park on French Road, but when you are to turn left into the park, stay straight onto the dirt road. This will take you about a half mile and around a bend toward the river. You will dead end into the ramp area. There's no facilities, electricity, etc...only a ramp, picnic table that some people put in the water, and dirt space to park. It was perfect.

Blue Star: Blue Springs Run Observation Deck
Red Star: Blue Springs State Park entrance ($5 fee)
Yellow Star: Free public boat ramp

Once we inflated our kayaks, geared up, and put in, we turned left only had to paddle for about a minute before we were immediately greeted by a herd! I was giddy beyond all get-out...shaking and about to burst into tears with excitement. A calf was with them, about five feet long. The others were massive, the largest about as long as my big kayak...about 9 feet long. I noticed his flipper had been cut by a propeller long ago. Bless his heart.  When they finally moved on, we paddled up to the line that separates the river to Blue Springs Run. Manatees can cross but humans are not allowed. So, we sat and watched, but didn't see much activity. My little one and I paddled over to some vegetation hoping to find some feeding, but we only caught glimpse of a two-foot baby alligator. We didn't stay long because where there's a baby, there's a momma.

We caught back up with Kev and Taylor, only to have them hush us with beaming smiles on their face. They whispered to us that the large manatee had returned and was swimming figure 8s around them, approaching their kayak, and popping his snout above water to them. When we approached, it was as if he had another friend to visit and he did the same with us. He swam under us, around us, popped up his snout, and finally flipped up his tail and curled it as if to wave goodbye. Then he paddled away. He was the last one we saw that day, and while I didn't get to experience the record number of gentle giants, one special gentle giant made my first manatee experience one I'll never ever forget. I only hope others get the opportunity to appreciate these beautiful animals!

The view from our put-in spot. The Run is just to the left.

My heart just melts!!

So massive, yet gentle

To the left of my son and husband's kayak is the manatee...the light spot in the water

Sniff sniff!

Kayaking Review: The New River Gorge

Kayaking Review:  The New River Gorge

Fayetteville, West Virginia

 As you probably know, we've been fans of kayaking for some time, especially after Santa brought my husband a Sea Eagle 330 inflatable kayak.We've been whitewater rafting/duckying before down the Upper Pigeon River in Tennessee, but because Alex and I had to ride in a raft because of his age and size, we didn't have the full experience.  Taylor and Kevin had a blast in their individual duckies, so I knew I'd love it.

For our vacation this year, we chose the New River to be our river of choice because rafting company ACE Adventure Resort would allow Alex to ride. So, we reserved three duckies and waited in anticipation!

Some info about the New River:

• One of the oldest rivers in the world, it is believed to be older than the Appalachian Mountains themselves

• The Upper New River Gorge (which we paddled) features class I-III rapids. Lower New River houses all the way up to class V. (ooooh!! :)

• The New River Gorge Bridge is the largest single arch bridge in the western hemisphere...and it's really dang high! 

 Our experience with ACE Adventure was awesome. They were patient when we were late (darn GPS), met every need we had, and our guides were very nice, knowledgeable, and personable!  We are definitely hoping to return again soon to experience more at the resort...including mountain biking!  We paddled August 2nd on the 7-hour trip. It was a 60* the night before, high of 77* on kayaking day.

 Ok, now about the whitewater:

• We wore dri-fit shirts, fleece jackets, and our tennis shoes with poly socks. Very thankful we had everything because we got rained on...and the mountain rain is COLD! PFDs make great body heat trappers and keep rain off your neck.  Our cold-sensitive Alex wore a fleece with the hood up and fleece pants.

• Water temps weren't bad at all.

• We hit our first class II immediately.  Then a class III!!

• I had Alex in my ducky, and when we headed to the more treacherous rapids, I pulled him between my knees to keep him safe.

• NO ONE CAPSIZED!!  Our guides were astonished.  Even through the Ducky Muncher rapid. Nose into wave...that's all you've gotta remember...oh, and paddle!

• Lunch was great, and it was cool how they prepared the hamburgers, hotdogs, and such right there with a portable propane camping grill. 

• Mountain whitewater is different than Florida whitewater. I didn't feel like I was going to get stuck on rocks...I did feel like I might get sucked into waves and had to be cautious of hydraulics. But, we all came out ok!

• Waterfalls from mountains are COLD!! So glad our guide let Alex stick his hand in to experience it!

• Never did I feel at risk; that being said, I know I'm not ready for class IV yet.  I need to be able to recognize dangerous paths on my own. I relied on following my guide.

• I highly recommend ACE Adventure. You can find them at aceraft.com.

  

  _____________________________

Some pics from the paddle:

 

Our put-in...how beautiful

Taylor did an awesome job in his own ducky!!

Mommy and little Alex. He was the hit of the paddle!

Breathtaking...

After the rain! We survived!

Daddy!

Our little videographer

Super cold waterfall!

Ducky wars!

See the fawn?

Alex's handiwork.

Mountain Bike Review: Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart Mountain Bike Trails

Miami, Florida

Page Under Construction

 

Mountain Bike Review: Virginia Key

Virginia Key Mountain Bike Trails

Miami, Florida

Page under construction

Mountain Bike Review: Mount Dora Mountain Bike Park

Mount Dora Mountain Bike Park

Mount Dora, Florida

Sometimes I take it for granted what a great location I live in. I'm 90 minutes from each coast, an hour from the theme parks, and 15 minutes from a cool little mountain bike trail.  In Florida.This little trail, maintained by OMBA with permission from the City of Mount Dora, isn't something to drive distance to ride, but if you're in the area and want to get some miles, bring your bike along!

The trail is a relatively short loop, only a few miles, but recent improvements have given this trail a little bit of (much-needed) character.  The trail conditions are usually dry sand on top of medium hard packed land, with roots and pine straw throughout the trial. But, what this trail is known for are it's challenging, ok, killer climbs. The city is named MOUNT Dora after all.  Do a couple loops on this trail and you've had a great workout...and even more importantly, a great time.

There is now a parking area, park, and bathrooms located at the end of 9ths street with a primitive path to the trail.  Here you can find a basic skills area, of which I'm not much of a fan. My husband and I usually park at the end of 11th, next to the dog park or baseball field and head in the original entrance. No fancy facilities here except space to park.

Picture from John's Blog

When you enter the trail from the 11th Avenue (ok, either one actually),. you'll enter the yellow trail which is the mail loop.  All blue and the red Big Dipper are optional extensions that connect back to the trial. So, even beginning riders can feel comfortable knowing nothing will surprise them.  The Big Dipper area is the first difficult section you'll intersect, and it's guarded with an awesome qualifier.  The ^ style bridge is steep and rather narrow. Speed, power, pedaling on the bridge, and timing your pedals is essential if you don't want to bite the four foot fall. Complete this and you're greeted with a bigger animal: Big Dipper (pictured at right)...and I'll admit I've never tried her.It may not seem much in the picture, but the top of her is a blind roll and your bike must have good clearance. My husband's more-XC style bike won't make it without his sprocket eating the wood. Our friend's teenager got brave (silly?) and rode it with some friends and broke his wrist. It must be taken with caution...and I'm a daredevil sayin' this. If you have a 29er, I'd say you have a better shot at making this more comfortably.  Regardless, this roller is impressive to look at...and look down from. I've been thisclose to letting go of my brakes while I scout from the top, but not yet. I WILL ONE DAY.

Continuing on the path will take you over roots,  between narrow trees, and through some trial that lets you pick up some speed.  Tacoma Trial and Bridge will come up next to the right and are just a little more technical than the yellow. Then, get ready to suck wind because you're headed up the big hill. There's a bench a the top for a reason. Save yourself some gear because you're going to need it.  Once you reach the top, there is a secret local path off to the right that's been nicknamed "Powerlines."  This takes you off the property and leads you to the storm run off drain that runs parallel to the highway. Ever see those run off alleys on the interstate and dream of riding one? Here's your shot. Just don't say anything ;)  But, be sure to hoof it back up to the hill, because you don't want to miss the next section!

After you finish dying make it to the top of the hill, hit up Extra Crispy for the trail's newest feature, the wall berm. (PIC COMING SOON). Grab some speed coming down the hill (and they've thankfully covered the roots with dirt! YAY from a hard tail rider!!) and prepare to turn RIGHT, not left, to ride the wall berm. Just don't ride too high because the exit of the berm NARROWS quickly! I almost kept my high line too long and came close to flying into the trees...AWESOMENESS!!!

After a bit more riding, you'll come upon Little Dipper, which isn't so little anymore.  Little Dipper is a big 4' ride-in/drop-in/ride-out/fly-out/whatever-your-style...um...ditch. I prefer to get waaay back on my seat and roll in, but our friend drops right in.  Be careful on the exit...too much air and you'll fly right into the vines (that will save you...they have me), or you'll fly left, clip a tree, and bust your ass...like I have too.  Either way, you can get some good air...

For the way back, I highly recommend taking the yellow trial up so you don't have such a hard climb. Otheriwise, you're climbing a major hill straight up. Then, if your legs are forgiving enough, take the new red trail, Helter Skelter.  This trail is roughly a year old and is improving with age.  At first, we honestly hated it. It has steep climbs with a turn in the middle, is very technical, and at times rough. But, as I learn the trail, I find myself liking it more. I may not say that next time though, haha.  It has some sketchy lines...be prepared to grab that back disc. You are rewarded with a mega-fun downhill sweeping ride that almost makes the trail worth all the effort. Unfortunately, when you go down you must go up an even bigger hill. Last weekend was the first time I ever made it...it must have been the Snickers bar.

All in all, I like our trail. It's a great trail for squeezing in a quick ride or spending a lot of time if that's your preference.  Below are pictures of the map and of my family...enjoy!

The Skills Area...before.

Dad and Son on their first Trail Work Day together

During the skills area build

Oh, Mt. Dora. I'll always respect for taking a piece of me in your parking lot....

Ready to ride!

Mountain Bike Review: Markham Park

Markham Park

Sunrise, Florida

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