Vid of my trek on abandoned golf course

Gator what are you jumping down there that you need plush landings? Abandoned golf course bunkers? LOL. Seriously though, are there any good trails down there? I'm thinking of taking a trip up to Santos in Ocala which is supposedly the premier trail in Fla. And there's another place near Lakeland which I forget the name of that looks pretty good too from some YT vids I've seen.

 

Yeah the lockout is cool feature - I briefly owned the Marlin 6 (no lockout) for a couple days but was able to exchange it for the Marlin 7 at the same shop I bought it at to get the Marlin 7 with the lockout. Since I ride it on pavement a lot I wanted that feature. Is the pic of your Specialized before or after you cut the bars? Here's a link to the specs on my bike - let me know if you see anything you would recommend I upgrade:
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...ountain-bikes/marlin/marlin-7/p/2021600-2017/

 

Those two photos were when I first bought it. (wanted a phot record of the bike before it was stolen too). I tried getting used to the wider bars and simply did not like the width of them compared the earlier Specialized. I also missed the bar ends which the new one did not have.

I took the bike back the shop where I bought it and my man there said there was a lot of room to reduce the width of the bars. So about 2 inches was cut off each side, and I replaced the handlebar grips with grips that had a flat back side to them (almost like a paddle) under the heel of your hand, and small built in bar ends moulded into them. Very comfortable grips.

 

Also. I don't profess to know a hell of a lot about the different components my bike has. I have a good merchant-customer relationship with my bike shop. I have been dealing with the same place and manager/owner since I moved to town in 1989. He and I discuss finances and riding style, and he fixes me up with what he feels is the best for my money and wants. He has been right on the mark. Then we fine tune what I get.

But a very important thing if you are going to spend a lot if time in the saddle. Get someone who knows what they are doing, to set up the seat height and pedal arm size. If you are not sitting high enough and not getting an almost full extension on your legs on the down stroke when seated, you WILL fuck up your knees. That will bother you to your grave. I know this. Well I haven't died yet but you get the drift. Been taking stuff for my knees for a couple decades now because I did not have my earlier bikes properly set up.

 

Thanks, yeah Ive got the seat height set up pretty good for my knees I think. I broke my knee/leg a few years ago (tibia plateau fracture) which is actually why I bought the Mongoose Beast to begin with - to help me rehab my leg - feels close to 100% now.

 

Wow Randy, I had no idea, cool on you. My Peugeot is from 82 no suspension, built really well, kinda a first generation mountain bike, I use it for urban assault riding. it's only a 18 speed, but I find I only use like 3 gears so it's all good for what I have invested it works great. Now the Giant is a found on the side of the road bike in front of our home, I left it out on the sidewalk with a sign saying" Lost your bike?" but after 2 weeks, no takers. Then after a going over I find it's an 06 model, 21 speed. a brute of a bike. surprised nobody tried to get it. All it needed was the rear tire put back on and a seat. I added new paddle grips to finish it off nicely. It has suspension on the front only, A bit more raw than the Peu, could be the tires, IDK it's nice and all, just that the build quality isn't what the Peugeot is considering how old it is. Getting out on the peddler is Fun and good for ones health. Good to see I'm not the only crazy one.

 

I ride several parks that can scare the hell out of you. One close to my house is still a bit wild but very nice, they have been working it for about 6 years. Not a lot of jumps on it but they are building more and a lot more technical stuff. Quiet Waters park has some excellent trails of all levels, some that I will leave for the young dumb and full of ----. A little further south is Markum park that has huge stuff that I won't even try. In fact I heard they took out a few of the really big stuff, people were getting hurt. Full suspension is a must in these parks unless your young and have gumby legs and a spine of steel. lol I'm sure there are a lot of mountain bike parks and trails up your way.

 

I have Rock Shock Psylo forks that have lock out and the new shock on the rear has a lever to almost lock it all the way, good for the flat stuff.

 

For sure! Keep moving you ass and the knees will be good for a long time.

 

Yet another benefit to living in Colorado...the ski areas do downhill biking in the summer. Ride up the chair lift with your bike hanging on a hook, and ride down a variety of trails for all skill levels. I'm hoping to take my Stumpjumper Elite up this summer...when I'm not exploring miles of singletrack on the KLX300, or railing the Viffer through the canyons, that is :biggrin:

 

That Peugeot looks to be in great condition for a 35 year old bike - very nice!

 

I hate you! :glee:

 

Thanks Gator, those sound like nice places to ride - unfortunately there's nothing that great in my immediate vicinity. I found a good site with lots of trails listed - the closest one to me is in Mt. Dora and it's ranked only #20 in Fla. The place I was thinking about being in Lakeland is actually more towards Brandon and is called Alafia River State Park - it's ranked #2 and looks pretty scary. The Santos place in Ocala is ranked #1 in Fla and looks really scary - so I think I'll try out the #20 place first :glee:
https://www.singletracks.com/mountain-bike/best_trails.php?new_state_id=390

 

Same here. I stopped at Sun Peaks Resort north of Kamloops on my way back from Winnipeg to home for a Impaired Driving workshop. (tax payers dime). I cut my vacation short by a few days to attend this. I had my bike with me and was going to ride down the run that was right behind the lodge room I was staying in. Then I saw some young fool flying and skipping across the tops of the rocks and tree stumps on the ground. Decided to load the bike back up. I was too old for that shit then. Definitely over that hill now. But there are quite a few big resorts that do that here as well.

 

You don't need serious down hill or big mountains to find extremely nice trails to ride. I have never been to Florida but I am sure there are some great rides there not too far from home. Actually I have been to Florida. I flew there to take a cruise back in 2011 I think. Well. I knew I took the cruise just not sure on the year.

A nice long 4 or 5 hour ride through trails or logging roads out in the quiets of wilderness is good for the soul. First rule of hiking and trail riding. Tell someone where you are going and when you are expected back. In some cases, you may feel the need for an air horn and a big fukken can of bear spray. Always a still camera or something you can get stills from. And of course lots of water.

 

Thanks Randy - yes the Audubon Trail featured in my Mongoose Beast vid on the 1st page of this thread is a great trail for relaxation - especially in the early morning hours before it gets too hot and there is abundant wildlife to see. It's an old logging road from the 1960's supposedly and I rarely see anyone else on it which is great. I have seen black bears, deer, raccoons, and tons of birds - supposedly there are some panthers and monkeys back there too but I've yet to see one. Anyway I'm looking forward to trying some of the places listed on the singletracks website and I also still need to do the back nine of the golf course I just rode :glee:

 

This is one of the main sites I use to find trails...

www.alltrails.com

 

Out there fukings around on MLK day when you could have been paid to be a protestor. That money could go to your Aprila 250hp crotch rocket fund and you could be the first one to post up a review of it. But nooooo, you'd rather ride a measly Honda VFR or a bicycle on an abandoned golf course. That warrants a protest in and of itself....and no, I'm not contributing to any company selling hooligan crotch rockets or Hardley Daversons.

 

We now bring you this musical interlude for all you pedal pushers oot there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78MKBHR3NbU