Turkey Trot

I think this was my 9th Turkey Trot. This year we decided to do the 1 mile Fun Run. I ran it with my Dad in about 9 minutes. Not too bad considering there was a gazillion people I had to try and get around.
Then......................


Now............

Taking A Break

I'm sad to say that we will be taking a break from racing. After competing in the first couple of races, I think I'm up for a little bit more of a challenge. I don't think I'm ready to race on the adult course yet... and the kids course is way too easy. My Mom and Dad said it costs a lot of money to travel during the race season and they would rather put the money towards building me a bigger bike. They have also booked an awesome cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia. I'm so excited to ride someplace new!!



I will still continue to race here and there in the next year. We were at Lakeland over the weekend and they were having a cyclecross race there. I wouldn't mind trying that sometime. Oh yeah, speaking of Lakeland...I finally made that huge cinder block climb on Puff and Stuff!

Over the next year, I'm going to ride as much and as often as I can. After all... I do want to be a pro-mountain biker when I grow up!!

Halloween

I had an awesome Halloween this year!! I was dressed as Very "Bat" Girl and my sister was Hannah Montana. Of course...when we were done trick or treating my goofy Dad had to play around with the wigs.

Just An Update

I didn't make it to the race in Tallahassee last week because my sister was sick with the flu. My Dad offered to take me, just him and I, but I didn't feel right about leaving my Sister and Mom behind. I think that was the first race in 3 years that I missed. I checked out the Gone Riding website and noticed someone new got first place. It would have been fun to race a new girl. Oh well...I can't wait for the race in Miami!!!

Not Off To A Good Start

Well, we decided to leave for Alafia around 2:00. It had been about 35 minutes into the drive when my Dad realized he forgot the pump for the air mattresses. So, we turned around and headed back home. We didn't get very far, there was an accident and the traffic was really backed up. We turned around again heading back towards Alafia. We ended up stopping at some gross K-Mart in Brandon to buy a new pump.



OK , we finally got to Alafia. I practiced my course a couple times, it was the same as last year. It was a pretty difficult course, so I was happy when I made all of the climbs except one. Then, of course, it started to rain. Here we go again with the rain!! We waited under the shelter for a little while until it stopped. After that, we decided to finish the day out with a nice easy ride on Sandy Pine. Of course, we started riding the trail the opposite way of the race course. After aggravating some of the riders, my Mom insisted we turn around and go the other way. So, we did. Half way into the trail, my sister starting complaining. She was tired and hungry, I was too!! We hurried up with the trail and headed back to the campsite.


I was sitting at the picnic table, ready to eat, when my Dad told me that we were not going to be camping there overnight. The lock broke on the roof box so, he couldn't set up the tent. Whatever, too many things have gone wrong with this trip!! My sister and I were very sad that we were not camping ,but at this time all we could think about was FOOD!! We decided to wait to eat until we got home. We finally got home around 8:00. Then, pigged out on our sandwiches and fruit, took a bath, and went to bed.


Race Day: FSC #3
We were up super early and off to Alafia. I warmed up by practicing my course one more time. Then, it was 8:30 and time for the kids to race. I was only racing 4 other girls this time. I had an OK start on the road and managed to get into the lead before going into the woods. I held my position the entire race. Sorry, no pictures this time. My Mom's camera was not working!!

Bad Luck

I have had the worst luck over the past couple days. First, I tripped over something in the garage and landed face forward on my long board, scratched my face up pretty bad. Then, I stubbed my toe on the pool deck and ripped my toenail off. After that, I was playing baseball with my friends and got hit with the ball. I have the fattest lip ever!!

FSC #2 Fort Clinch

Practice Day:
I was super excited to be racing at Ft. Clinch. The park has cool trails and a beautiful beach... my 2 favorite things! When I got there, I quickly put on my riding gear and was ready to check out my course. Then, My Dad and I went out on a practice lap. The course was a little longer than last year, I was happy about that! A little later, my Dad and I decided to do another lap with Nicholas and his Dad. I took the lead while Nicholas followed close behind. When we got out of the woods, he passed me. It was hard for me to keep up with him on the road, his tires are much bigger than mine. I really pushed myself on that practice lap and had a hard time catching my breath. Maybe I should practice with Nicholas before each race, he definitely gave me the extra push I need to get faster.


Race Day:
I was very surprised to see so many girls lined up to race. I think there were 8 of us. Dave led us down the road until we reached the woods. I took the lead, passed a bunch of boys, crashed a couple times , and won the race. Next year, I think I might try to race on the adult course in the one-timers... just to see how I would do.

Lakeland

My ride at Lakeland didn't start off very well. I crashed going down a small cinder block hill on Sprinkler Hill. I ended up breaking the end of my brake lever off. How often does that happen? Oh yeah, does anyone know what the sprinklers are all about??

After the crash, I was so excited to finally make the climb on Snake Ridge (I think that is the name of the trail). Then, for the first time I cleared everything on Baby Beast. I felt awesome, I just had to ride it again.

We rode a couple more trails and made our way back to the 2nd Finger. The trail was way too hard for me!! But, I did go down a super big drop...I felt like I was flying!

FSC #1 Gainesville

I only had to race 2 girls this time. The whistle blew... I had an awesome lead throughout the entire race and placed 1st. I'm so happy it's race season!! It was fun to see my friends again.

Santos

I was super excited when I found out that we were camping at Santos over Labor Day weekend. We have not been camping in a very long time, so I was anxious to hit the road Saturday morning. After arriving at Santos, we had a little lunch. Then, I rode my long board around the campground while my Dad put the tent up. Finally, time for a ride!! We put our gear on and headed for the trails.

We started off on Dr. Ruth and made our way over to the Vortex. I played around on the pump track, then checked out some of the red trails with bridge drops (too hard for me). After that, we headed back to the campground.

On our second ride out, of course it rained. Not a big deal, we are getting used to riding in the rain.

We finished out the night roasting marshmallows, popping popcorn, and hanging out with some of the other campers.


We came across this weirdo bug on our Sunday ride. What is it??

Great weekend, can't wait to race next Sunday!!

Almost Time For School

I spent the last days of the summer swimming, skating, hiking, and biking. Friday, we went to Honeymoon Island. I had fun swimming and looking for shells. I even found a cool sharks tooth.

Saturday, I went to the skating rink with my friends, then finished the day at the park on the boardwalk nature trail.

Sunday, we headed over to Starkey Park for a little road riding. We did the entire trail this time... from the park to the Suncoast Trail it was about 13 miles.

Sunday Ride

We had a great afternoon ride today at Trout Creek.

Here's my Dad playing around while we were taking a break.

Blazing Boyette

I'm used to riding in the heat...but today seemed to be extra hot!! We shouldn't have rode The West Meadow Trail. Climbing those grassy hills in the hot sun was making me feel really sick. Instead of continuing on, we decided to take the trail back and head over to Spider Berm for a little shade. Wow, the new part of Spider Berm was awesome!! After that, we headed over to Gator Pit and Golf Cart. We ended up riding about 10 miles in the blazing heat.

Wilderness Park Trails

Yesterday, we headed over to Tampa for a ride. We decided to do the Trout Creek side this time. We rode about 9 miles which included Panther. My sister was riding at a really fast pace this time, which made it a lot more fun to ride here. We were about 5 miles out when it started to rain, but that was OK, it felt awesome.

Lakeland

We headed over to Lakeland today. This time my Dad's friend came with us. He has never been mountain biking before, but wanted to give it a try. We ended up doing 1 lap and had to leave after lunch... his butt hurt really bad and could not go on. He said he really liked riding with us and will try it again with a cushy seat and padded shorts.

My Trip To Fort Clinch

It started out with a 4 hour drive on Friday. I had a very uncomfortable car ride because my legs were killing me, especially my calf muscles. I put in about 65 miles on the road that week. Anyway, we finally arrived at Fernandina Beach around 1:00 in the morning, got a little sleep, and was ready to hit the trails. The trails were awesome!! Some of the climbs were a little challenging for my sister. We didn't see much wildlife, but we did see some tiny crabs peeking out of their holes...that was kind of cool.

After our ride, we decided to check out the Fort. Super Cool!! It started raining just as we got there. We didn't care, it felt really good. Then, we went to the gift shop, got a cool book about Florida, then left the park to get some lunch.

After resting for a little while, we decided to go back to Ft. Clinch for another ride. We started at the beginning of the park this time. We rode for about 2 miles, then it started pouring!! We got off the trail and went on the road until we got to the back of the park. We found some shelter under the playground. It was super crazy!!! Kiki gave me her poncho because I was really cold. It finally stopped raining and we started heading back. We were soaking wet and covered in mud.

On the way out of the park we stopped to check out the lighthouse.

After dinner, my Mom kicked my sister and I out of the hotel room. We had a lot of energy so my Dad took us down to the basketball court to play around on our skate boards. We had a good time!

Say Hello to my new friend Mr. Krabs. My Dad was walking on the sidewalk and this crab tried to attack his foot. He latched on to my Dad's $5.00 bill.

We put Mr. Krabs in my bucket and took him to the beach with us. We let him go in the water.

Starkey Road Ride

Nothing much to report over the weekend. We took a break from the trails and did a little road riding. Sunday evening, we headed over to Starkey Park for an "after dinner ride". It was fun!! We saw tons of deer, turtles, armadillos, and even an alligator. At the beginning of the ride, we saw the alligator on the side of the road in a drainage ditch. On the way back, he was running down the side of the road. Pretty scary!! My Dad chased him back into the ditch so, we could pass by and finish up our ride.

It's My Birthday Today!!

I knew exactly what I was getting for my birthday...a long board. My Mom and Dad bought it for me about a week ago and would not let me ride it until today. I woke up super early, about 4:00 in the morning, ready to ride my new long board. My Mom told me to go back to bed. Finally, 9:00 rolls around, I got out of bed, put some clothes on, and headed outside. It's kind of hard to get going on the board, there are no hills and the sidewalks are too narrow. I can't wait for the weekend. My Dad is going to take me someplace where it will be easier to ride.

East-West Trail

At least that is what I used to call this trail. Now, it's called the Ream Wilson Clearwater Trail. I haven't been on this trail since I was 5 years old. We weren't sure about the weather today and wanted to ride some place close to home. It was fun riding here. I forgot how steep some of the hills were. I know my legs are definitely a lot stronger than they used to be. I was able to climb the hills in my hardest gear.