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Old 03-27-2011, 12:37 PM
 
279 posts, read 508,403 times
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I'm huge into mountain biking and this will be the first year to race in a circuit if I am around MA longer than expected. I have heard good stuff about Alafia, Boyette and Wilderness Park. Any other areas I should be aware of. I found a group called Swampclub and they seem like a good group.

Suppose to move to Palm Harbor by Summer and I will certainly miss the riding in NE.

Steve
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Old 03-27-2011, 01:30 PM
 
Location: Tampa
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I think there are some bike trails at Flatwoods Park. It's up near USF. I don't know if it's entirely flat; there might be some hills.
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Old 03-27-2011, 05:28 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ferret111 View Post
I think there are some bike trails at Flatwoods Park. It's up near USF. I don't know if it's entirely flat; there might be some hills.

Thanks, is that part of Wilderness Park?
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Old 03-27-2011, 05:53 PM
 
Location: Tampa
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Originally Posted by stevo75 View Post
Thanks, is that part of Wilderness Park?
Yes, it is, actually. Just had to look that up, as I'd never heard of Wilderness Park before.
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Old 03-28-2011, 06:59 AM
 
Location: Tampa Bay Area
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Considering Florida is basically flat you have a bit of a problem. Nevertheless -

Jack Taylor at Awesome Cycles (Inverness, FL) estimates there are over 140 miles of singletrack loop both north and south of Croom Road in the Withlacoochee State Forest east of Brooksville. According to the SouthWest Association of Mountain Bike Pedalers, however, the official singletrack trail inside the state forest comes closer to 55 miles ... but there are plans for adding to this official mileage to help take care of the large number of bikers who use this area.

Read more at Trails.com: Croom Trails, Withlacoochee State Forest | Brooksville Florida Mountain Bike Trails | Trails.com

Brooksville to Dade City actually does have some elevation changes.
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Old 03-28-2011, 07:29 AM
 
428 posts, read 1,243,377 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stevo75 View Post
I'm huge into mountain biking and this will be the first year to race in a circuit if I am around MA longer than expected. I have heard good stuff about Alafia, Boyette and Wilderness Park. Any other areas I should be aware of. I found a group called Swampclub and they seem like a good group.

Suppose to move to Palm Harbor by Summer and I will certainly miss the riding in NE.

Steve
I used to be heavily into mountain biking in the central FL area, but that was 15 years ago or so. However, I don't suspect things have changed *that* much.

Back then I used to ride at what is now called Santos, which is in the Belleview/Ocala area. The original trails surrounded some old rock quarries so there were some pretty good elevation changes. I think those trails are still there and the whole network of trails has expanded greatly. At one point in FL's history someone had the ridiculous idea of cutting a barge canal across the state. I believe most of the land was retained by the state and eventually evolved into recreational use (bike trails, equestrian trails, etc.) The Santos area is part of that effort.

I do not know the current state of things but back in those days these were some of the best trails around. There was also a private MTB park in Ocala called "Hard Rock" and also some trails in Reddick, I think they called it the "Widow Maker." All those spots were superior to anything in the immediate Tampa/St. Pete metro areas.

I know my advice is out of date, but here is a good spot to start:
Ocala Mountain Bike Association: Santos, Vortex and Cross Florida Greenway trail stewardship | Home (OMBA.org)

Please report back when you figure out the current state of things. One of these days I'll dust off the mountain bike again!
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Old 04-12-2011, 03:52 PM
 
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Santos, Wilderness Park, Alafia, Boyette, those are all some great trails. I live right across from Flatwoods (Part of Wilderness Park trail system) and ride there regularly. The whole wilderness park thing is flat and technical (think palm scrub roots all over the place) but it's gorgeous.
Santos is one of my fav's but it's a further drive...
Boyette and Alafia are near eachother. They each have some easy riding and some technical riding. Alafia has some of the most challenging technical riding in the area.
My husband and I are both members of the SWAMP...great club that does regular club rides.
have a great day!
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