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.

  

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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

Page under construction...

Mountain Bike Review: Alafia River State Park

Alafia River State Park

Brandon, Florida

This page will be completed soon...had to get the pictures posted before I forgot!

Mountain Bike Review: Snowhill/Little Big Econ State Park

Little Big Econ State Park / Snowhill Road

 Oviedo, Florida

This is a rough-draft post. I saw pictures of our experience and wanted to throw something down before I forgot...again.

I'll start my review with this picture that I took with my phone:

 

From my FaceBook post, October 29th, 2012:

Von Maxey Story Time! Yesterday, we had a mountain biking experience of a lifetime...one we don't want to relive. We wanted to try a different trail and went to a trail park near Oviedo, hoping to ride along the Econ River. 

We had heard beforehand that the trails were very poorly marked, so we made sure to have maps, a compass, and April's GPS trail equipped phone. Unfortunately, not only were the trails not marked at all, the map that is available at the entrance was totally unreliable with some trails listed and others missing from the map but clearly on the course. We rode for a while, hoping for some fun climbs and drops and after a haul, finally found only a few. We decided to take one more trail before heading back to our car and headed on the path. The trail wasn't easy to follow as wild hogs had torn up the earth hunting for grubs and there were paths that forked. 

After riding the one trail for over 30 minutes, we realized we were riding in a circle, but managed to come out to a service road, or so we thought. We consulted the GPS, knew the direction to head, and followed the service road...only to have the road U-turn in the opposite direction. We rode through mud and standing water, with deer jumping out on the trail in front of us, and wild boar squealing in the brush about 10 feet away....only to realize we weren't on a service road...it was hunting tract and we had been going around a two mile circle.We realized we only had about 45 minutes of light left, 15% cell phone battery left, and temps dropping, Kevin decided it was time to call for help. After spending 20 minutes on the phone with a dispatcher who had sent out deputies to run their sirens around the trails for us to hear and locate us (no luck), a boar hiding in the shrubs clicking its teeth, and a rattle snake in brush about 8 feet away (we placed our bikes around us like a fence), we finally heard the thundering of a helicopter from the northwest. After another 20 minutes of the deputies in the chopper figuring out how to get to us (we were in barb wired property with no vehicle access), one finally walked over to us (after the helicopter relaunched and hovered over us to guide him). 

We had to walk about half a mile to the chopper where a road deputy met on foot. He walked us back over another mile and a half over more hunting property that backed up to the trails and to his vehicle. He helped us load the bikes on top of his vehicle and we climbed in his cruiser...April offered to ride in the back. We had never been so happy to get an officer's car... While walking, we asked where we went wrong, what choice we should have made instead, and if we had done everything correctly survival/search and rescue-wise. He told us that we hadn't done anything wrong and this happens almost weekly...that we were the farthest ones out that he knew of, but because the trails are so poorly labeled and the map so unreliable, people got lost all the time. All in all, we ended up about some nine miles away from our car at the trailhead. The deputies were incredibly helpful and kind, and we appreciated their help more than we can say. So, officers, we thank you for helping us get home...

 So, yeah. True story. One that I don't want to relive again and I wouldn't go back to this park if someone offered to guide me. I was truly traumatized and still get chills when we pass by an area of vast land.

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By the way, this happened the very next day:

FaceBook post, October 30th, 2012:

You know God has a sense of humor and is poking fun at you when at the LCEA Union Rep meeting tonight a sponsor held a raffle. I won a wilderness survival kit, including compass,flashlight, binoculars, a whistle, and Swiss Army style knife. What's funny is that as soon as he described it, I honestly knew it was coming my way. While I don't see this fitting on the mountain bikes, this will definitely go into the kayak bag! All it needs is a helicopter boarding pass and we'll be complete!  

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Pictures from Kevin's previous ride:

Mountain Biking Review: Ocala's Santos and Vortex

Photo credit:omba.org

Santos and Vortex MTB Trails,Belleview, Florida

Santos 6.15.13 on Pinkbike
">Video from one of our rides

If you mountain bike in Florida, I can almost guarantee that you've had this conversation when talking with non-Floridians/non-mountain bikers:

Me: Oh! You mountain bike!  Cool! My home trail is Santos in Central Florida. You should totally check it out!

Them: ::quizzical look:: Umm, isn't Florida flat?

Then, I continue to gush about all Florida's awesome trails have to offer. Don't believe me? Check out singletracks.com and you'll be surprised.  What Florida lacks in mountain terrain and elevation, it trumps others with limestone quarries, coral quarries, and man-made obstacles.  

Santos, part of the 75-mile stretch of trails that extends across Central Florida, is part of the OMBA biking association and they do a fantastic job keeping the trails up to snuff.  The Santos trailhead and Vortex section are my personal favorites, but I tend to prefer the ruff stuff rather than cross-country stuff that you can ride on Landbridge.  But, regardless of your taste in trails, Santos has it all.  The rating system is as follows:

image from outerlocal,com

• Yellow: (Easy) rather level land, hard packed terrain, some roots and pine needles
• Blue: (Intermediate) technical at times with rocks and roots, some elevation changes - both steep and/or gradual
• Red: (Hard) technical with difficult climbs, rocks and roots are plentiful 
• Black/Double Black: (Expert) extremely technical with roots, rocks, and bolders, not recommended for novice riders, sometimes include bridges, platform drops, and/or ramps.

In the Santos section, just off of HYW 27/441 in Belleview (south of Ocala, north of The Villages), you can find a great parking/picnic area complete with bike wash, water fountain, restroom facilities, and a pump track with skills section. You can also camp and bring your horse as well. The trail opens up on the yellow Pine Tree, which is still a bit rooty at times, is great for riders looking to cover land rather than drops.  The trails intersect into other trails, leaving the unaccustomed rider to need to carry a map (but any passing rider can help you out, and the trailhead arrows are marked).

Our personal favorites here include:

• Marshmallow (blue) the awesome, sketchy drop is worth a few loops back!
• Cowbone (blue) The best trail to take to the back trails; not too difficult; great little warm-up
• John Brown (red) one of our favorites; dry conditions are best for this...wet makes us frustrated. Very rocky, but a challenge and fun!
• Anthill (red) good luck with that hill!
• Unmarked drops on Blue Highway near John Brown and Cowbone (red) AWESOME drop!!! Steep as heck and don't grab too much brake! Oh, and I mean the one on the left...not the psycho one on the right... 
• Bunny (blue)  a fun one to take when coming back from Vortex. Smooth with turns, you can get some speed on this without working too hard.

Sweet drop!

The Vortex section is our favorite park/section of all time.  This place isn't for the timid, because once you get in, you'll either cry or get giddy.  There is parking here at the Vortex, but no water and a stinky no-lock port-o-potty (inside the park)...so it might be smart to stage a car here if you're with a group.  There's a red peak bridge qualifier to get in, and to start the beginning trail...but don't worry if you have to push your bike. Others have as well.  Once inside the trail, you'll find pump track heaven.  OMBA has done an awesome job with this. Here, your childhood dream meets BMX fantasy playground. You can ride the three varying tabletop tracks (far left one is for those who can get air... I about swallowed my teeth when my bike didn't clear the top and I came down hard). Then, a small but effective pump track allows you to work on hops. But, even more impressive is the large pump track and BMX jumping section. I personally only take the right jumps and I'm happy with getting four inches off the ground. There is a drop in for crazy-ass BMX bikers who are looking to get at least 10 feet in the air. We've seen them do it...as young as 10 years old. Craziness.  There are some table top drops on the left that are great to try out if you're more experienced. If you're riding a 29-er, you're safe no matter what. I on my 26-er have to get air and get behind my seat. It's enough to get the adrenaline buzz going!

Kev gettin' an adrenaline buzz!

Farther up in the "Pit," you'll find the drops. The drops range from 2'-3' drops (the only I'll tackle right now), to 5-7' drops (what I dream about), to dropping off of a cliff. No joke. Like 30 feet in the air. You can drop off these, hit a large hill of clay and continue to fly if you wish. Or if you're extra nutso, you can go down the hill, get as much speed as possible, hit a hill and back flip. That is an amazing sight. This section is what makes this park our favorite!

The trail has new features!!!! WAHOO!!! 

 It's like the new slide opening up at a kids playground! 

The Vortex section now has THREE of these wooden wall berm beauties.  

    

The trails here are awesome, but don't allow for much speed (They're improving that). They are more technical with roots, rocks, climbs, and turns, but still an awesome ride. The trails connect to form a loop around the Vortex perimeter, but each trail exits out into the pit area to allow easy access back up to the front. ALL trails here are either red or black diamond (for the boulders you'll have to climb...or in my case get off and push).  Our favorite is the trial that meets the top of the crazy-ass drop in...you can access it from there or ride around to it. There's a great hill drop, raised bridge, and other obstacles that I can't help but smile when I finish them.  But, this park is the reason I don't ride clipped in. Too many times I've had to land a foot or toss my bike...so I stick to my 5Ten Sam Hills (which I absolutely love!!)  

If you're anywhere near Central Florida, this is definitely a trail to hit up (EASY access off of I-75 and the Turnpike!).  The bike shops in the area, Greenway Bikes and Santos Bike Shop, are both great shops.  We use Greenway for foot/beverage stops and we've purchased our son's bike at Santos Bike Shop. Both are honest places with great people. 

Let me know if you've ridden them or are planning to! I'd love to hear your experiences!

I LOVE my 5Tens!

The big Von Maxeys

Our little guy learned to ride in
the Santos trail head parking lot!

Learning to ride wore him out!

Selfie!

Yeah, that's how we roll...