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.

Carter

We decided to go on a "Father's Day Ride" at Carter. We brought a picnic lunch and planned on spending the entire day here. On our first ride out, we did the same course as last time. Once again, I tried to make it up the first hill on Snake Ridge. Well, I made it further than last time, but I just couldn't get my tire around a root and ended up sliding off the ridge still clipped in. Thank God, my Dad was there to catch me half way down. My Dad thought I should try it again.This time he ran behind me. I made it up to the same spot as last time and was able to unclip. One stinkin root is holding me back, I know next time I have got to get the power to ride over it, not around it. I ended up finishing the rest of the trail with my Dad running close behind me.

After that, we headed back to the picnic tables to eat lunch. Then, it was time for our second ride. We skipped some of the fingers this time, but added a couple new trails...like Lil Humper, Black Forest, and Modelo Hwy. Let me tell you about Black Forest. Nothing but a big muddy mess!! I tried riding through a monster mud puddle and ended up falling in it. It was disgusting and very stinky and there were tons of mosquitoes attacking us. I can laugh about it now, hope I didn't trash my new jersey.

I think my Dad had a pretty awesome Father's Day!

Croom

We decided to go to Croom on Saturday. We got there late in the afternoon and it was still super hot. I had a lot of fun at the beginning of the yellow trail. Then, my sister started to slow down and got really tired from climbing some of the hills. It was awful, every time we would stop to take a break, we would get attacked by those stupid deer flies. So, we decided to take the bailout. I think we only rode about 6 miles. Maybe next time, I could come back with just my Dad, so I can finish up the trail.

Always An Adventure

We have camped at Alafia tons of times, but each time is a totally different experience. This time, when we got there it started to rain just as my Dad began putting up the tent.

We hopped in the car when it started raining really hard and we saw lightning. When it stopped raining it was time to mop up the tent floor and continue to set up the tent. Then, it started raining again. This time we stayed in the tent and had a picnic lunch on the floor. It was fun!!

This is what the sky looked like after the storm passed by.

Finally, it was time to go for a ride. We headed down to the trails. It was cloudy out, no rain ,and a nice breeze kept us cool. We pretty much had the trails to ourselves. We started off on Sandy Pine, over to North Creek, then to River Loop.



Instead of going for another ride, we decided to check out the hiking trail. It was cool, but it kind of freaked me out a little. The trail went right by the edge of the water and I was afraid we would be attacked by alligators. I know they were out there, I could hear them making their croaking noises.

That night, the thunderstorms were back. It rained all night...the lightning and thunder kept me awake. In the morning, we decided not to go for a ride because we knew the trails would be very muddy. We packed up and headed home.

Umm...Something's Not Right

I know nothing will change that I came in 2nd place in the Jr. Olympics, but I did not loose to this boy. Check out the boy who won in the orange & yellow jersey #635. Then, check out the boy who is standing on the podium. He's #283 in the green & yellow jersey. #283 didn't even place in the top 3. I feel bad for #635, what happened to him?...and how can this boy stand on the podium knowing he did not win?

My Awesome Trip to Alabama

Friday, May 29th


It took a long 9 1/2 hours to get to Oak Mountain in Alabama. Since we were going to be here for 4 days, we decided to do some other things besides riding. We checked out Rickwood Caverns. It was super cool!! I wish I had some pictures to share, but my Mom forgot to put batteries in the camera, oh well. After that, my sister and I went in the pool at the hotel, then it was time to meet and ride with Pua. We headed up to Oak Mountain where we met Pua and Ron for the first time. She's awesome...she even gave my sister and I a little goody bag. I had a great time riding with her. Later, we went up to their campsite. I got to check out her trailer and meet her dog Koa. On the way out of the park, we took a little walk on the Tree Top Trail. We saw some cute owls, hawks, and even a white vulture.

Saturday, May 30th
Today, we did some hiking on the Peavine Falls Trail. We hiked only about 1/2 mile because we were wearing flip flops. It was very hard walking down the steep hills and my Dad thought it would be too dangerous to go on.

After that, we headed over to the lake. This was my second time swimming in a lake. I don't think I like it too much. The sand felt very squishy.

OK, enough playing around it was time to get down to business. I practiced my course 3 times, then it was time to race. I was a little worried, there were tons of kids lined up to race. I wasn't sure how old most of the kids were. I only saw about 3 girls, the rest were boys. Once they separated the 7-8 year olds, I felt a little better. The whistle blew, I had a great start and was in first place from start to finish.

Sunday, May 31st

I woke up early in the morning and ready to race. We got to the park around 7:30, so I had some time to practice before racing. This race was for the Jr. Olympics and had kids under 10 years old. I have never raced a boy that was 10 years old before...I was a little anxious to see how I would do. I had a pretty good start. There was only one boy in front of me, I passed him on the road. Then, I crashed on some gravel going into the woods and again on a big rock, he passed me back. I ended up placing second. After the race, I was a mad at myself because I knew I could have beat him if I had not crashed.

After my race, it was time for my Dad to race or should I say go for a ride. Look at all those crazy single speeders.

While my Dad was racing, We (my Mom, Nana, Sister, Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins) hiked up to the Wild Life Center.

After lunch, it was time for Pua's race. She was amazing to watch and ended up in fourth place.

Time to say good bye to Pua and Ron. I wish we lived closer to them!!