Tour d' FORCE

9-12-2010

Laziness on a Sunday? Yes, please. So I rolled out of bed around 10:30 and decided I really needed to go visit some other parks today. I toyed with the idea of visiting 3 parks in a day in the West Palm area. I decided to call my little outing, the Tour d' FORCE, as I called it because these were all trails maintained by the mountain bike group FORCE.  This was not a group ride or anything, but just something I made up in my head for what I was doing today and to celebrate my first month of ownership.  

I messed around, found that my bike fit in the back of the car (not well, but it fit) and headed off around 1:30. My first stop was West Delray Regional Park. It's supposed to be 2.5 miles of singletrack. As I headed south, I noticed some rain. Undeterred, I drove south. It rained harder. When I arrived, it was still coming down pretty good. I noticed signs to watch for alligators. I waited on the car for a few minutes until the rain calmed down. I heard a 2 cycle engine in the distance. The rain had cooled the air a bit and it was much like plebe summer on the day it rained when we were out sailing. It was very hot and humid, then tons of rain, and finally quite pleasant to be outside again. Birds were even chirping. A slight mist was coming down and I was ready to ride. I started at about 2:25 PM.

I began by riding down a limestone path to find the 2 cycle sound. It turned out to be an R/C club at the north end. It also gave me an idea of how the park and the trail were connected. I spied a gator trolling the lake and heard several large things run through the bushes or make a splash as well as a black snake in the middle of the trail as I passed.  The trail wound around several small ponds and had tons of vegetation. I kept thinking I would be seeing a gator in the middle of the trail or coming up the bank of the lake.  This made the ride less enjoyable.

I finished at about 2:55 and quit the trail less than a mile in because of losing the trail 3 times. The 3rd time it was so overgrown I really couldn't find it. The trail was quite muddy and very wet. I can't say I'd recommend this trail until it's either dried out and everything is dead or it's cleared off more. This sounds harsh, but after riding Pinehurst 3-5 days a week, I just dont see a reason to hit this park up yet. The "yet" is crucial because I can see the potential here. I think it will just take some more time and trail work. 3.36 miles total. Next up, Dyer Park in 

West Palm Beach.

Wow! What a difference! Dyer Hill lived up to it's reputation of being a cardio trail.  I huffed and puffed all over the place. I was not expecting the difficulty at all. 

To give a bit of history, this trail is built on an old landfill. The hill is not huge (about 50 feet tall), but the way the trail is designed you go up and down it about 10 times and backtrack on yourself for good measure.  I was very glad to see the end. I did stop a number of times to catch my breath and get a drink. The trail is approx 2.5 miles long. I finished the hill and took the paved path down and was greeted with some natural A/C. I did a lap around on the paved trail at the bottom of the hill and ended with 7.54 miles so far today. I also met a family whose children all qualified for the Jr Ironman triathlon earlier this year and will be competing on October. How cool is that? Cool enough that I felt like a loser, compared to those kids. I think it's great that kids are out and doing something instead of sitting in front of their 360 or PS3.  Next, to the apartment to drop off some things then to Pinehurst to finish my 200 mile month and the Tour d' FORCE.

After arriving at the apartment, I got all the stuff I didn't need and brought it inside. I figured if I needed to change a tube or make an adjustment, I could probably make it back to the apartment ok by walking it back. Unfortunately, if you start off with a flat tire in the back of your car, your chances of starting a ride without fixing it decrease tremendously. So, I aired up the rear tire to 40 psi and waited for a few minutes. In those few minutes, I heard babies crying, children crying, and thunder. I was at the point I didn't really care if it rained at all anymore. My bike needed a wash anyway, so bonus there. After waiting 10 min, I checked the pressure and it was down to 20 psi. Yep, tube change needed.

I left for my final 8 miles at 5:49. And again at 6:02. You see, in all the fun of changing tubes, I left my helmet at the apartment. I contemplated not wearing it as I was less than a quarter mile from the trail, but I decided to turn around and pick it up. 

The trail was nice and cool (for South Florida) and was a lot of fun. I do have to remember to lower my tire pressure down to something less than 40psi. I was bouncing off everything. I missed the double logs as I just was not paying attention and I had no speed to get up them. I had a guy pass me twice on the trail. Yeah, you heard right. I let him pass once and didn't see him for a long time and I saw him again at the jump area. He somehow got in behind me again an passed me there too. Why would you pass someone twice? I dunno if he was showing off or what. I decided that I may not be as fast as others on the trail with suspension bikes or gears, but I really don't care. I want to get better and go faster, but beating others at this point is not going to concern me. I finished the trail in 35 min and finished riding with 17 miles for the day and 202 on the bike.

This was a good idea for the three parks in a day, although I would probably want to skip West Delray for now and instead start my day earlier with something to the south like Oleta, Markham, Amelia Earhart, or Quiet Waters. Also, I am definitely getting a rack for my bike because it doesn't need to be in the back of the car and get mud and sand inside.