Keep SHARP in the off season!!

[MELK-MAN]

(link to vid)   
    
At least ya better be sharp.. trees hurt. I don't do the mx thing any more but with this 2,600 acre park 50 minutes door to door, it is easy to get time on a bike rather than sweat in the gym (although both would be better). Watching the Isle of Man coverage on HDtv, we saw that John Mcguinness is a big advocate of getting dirty on the trails to stay sharp and keeping the "..mind to the hand coordination" thing going. I think we could all agree it is great fun.
   
This is a few minutes of an hour or so ride. Doing this a couple hours a couple times a week has me in decent shape. Aside from a miscue in the mx riding area i have been injury free after about 3 years of this kind of riding.. 800+ hours or so by my calculations.
  
  Croom park is just at I-75 and SR-50 south of Ocala and north of Tampa. I think it's $100 for an out of state pass to ride the year, but they pro-rate it from June to June (so would be less now). Here is the link for the park http://www.floridatrailriders.org/articles/croom.htm
They have overnight camping with electric hookups. It is not a huge park, but the trails are great and you can take your bike ".. off some sweet jumps" There is a main road all through the park that gets graded every couple weeks (so ems vehicles can get in if needed i think).

[MELK-MAN]

sorry .. had the wrong link. Good to go now.
this one is way better. The one i had on my 'channel' was choppy.
sorry.. this one works good    (same as above link too)

[XFACTOR]

WOW that looks tight in the beginning of the video, with the trees. Your ripping thru there at a pretty good clip.

Up here in Jersey there isn't any place left to ride, haven't had a motorcrosser in years, because everywhere you go, it's posted.   I'm jealous of you southern folk 

[Super Dave]

Greg, did you ever go up to Robbie's for play time?

I haven't either, but we play here...

Bike is slow, but it's cheap.  TTR125

[skiandclimb]

You said "sweet jumps" ...I couldn't resist 

[MELK-MAN]

Dave, never been out to Robbies. That ice racin looks FUN though and for sure would be another way to "keep sharp" in that off season time. Im gonna have to call in a favor one day for buying bikes in bulk from him.. IT just looks friggin COLD in that vid!! I have become a big puss when it comes to weather after being down here for 20+ years..

Xfactor.. sad but your right, there are fewer and fewer places to ride off road any more. Legislation, 4-strokes with VERY loud pipes, urban sprawl, etc. We are lucky to have a number of places here in FL dedicated to off road use. This place is literally 50 min from my door so im taking advantage of it whenever possible.

Ski.. I put in the ".. sweet jump" in "" to see if anyone caught the N.D. referance.. good one! lol..

[Garywc]

great videos Greg. I too wish there was somewhere to ride here in Jersey. I have only a small track on the parents farm better ridden on the minis.  my 450 scares me in the woods, think the next step for me is a dual sport.

[MELK-MAN]

great videos Greg. I too wish there was somewhere to ride here in Jersey. I have only a small track on the parents farm better ridden on the minis.  my 450 scares me in the woods, think the next step for me is a dual sport.

Hey Gary.  us roadracers have "good throttle control" right?? LOL.. the extra power the 450 has is nice in the sand down here in FL at least, and it seems a bit easier on the motor rathter than ringing it out for all it is worth. BUT.. For the tight single track stuff I totally agree it is a bit much.

[Jason748]

hum... Ice riding at Robbie's... good memories.  some short vids from a few years ago with a bunch of the CRA guys.

[MELK-MAN]

hum... Ice riding at Robbie's... good memories.  some short vids from a few years ago with a bunch of the CRA guys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP6tnLppNeU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuLyaUJ73Co
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u83uNbPJMyY

sweet ! i have a question, do you use your foot on the ground like a 3rd wheel?  i mean, it is sometimes just touching , but when the bike is in the corner on the ice are you actually supporting some weight on the foot that is stuck out there??

[Thingy]

hum... Ice riding at Robbie's... good memories.  some short vids from a few years ago with a bunch of the CRA guys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP6tnLppNeU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuLyaUJ73Co
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u83uNbPJMyY

Here in Iowa, we build tracks exactly like that in the bean fields in the spring and summer.  The big bikes throw some major roost!

MELK, I wish I had known Ocala had wooded sections.  I have taken my dirt bike to Bike Week a few times and when we went to Ocala, all we found were miles of sand whoops...  So, we ended up stopping in Georgia on the way down and riding there.

[Jason748]

sweet ! i have a question, do you use your foot on the ground like a 3rd wheel?  i mean, it is sometimes just touching , but when the bike is in the corner on the ice are you actually supporting some weight on the foot that is stuck out there??

Personally, I'm not really using it to support any weight.  More of a feeler gauge, kinda of like knee down.  Some times when you get a little slid you might get lucky and and catch it, but since you're on ice... well the minute you put any real weight on you foot it just goes sliding out the other direction and it doesn't end well. 

[MELK-MAN]

Hey Bill, i don't care much for Ocala ntl. forest. WAY to big and as you found, sand woops for miles. The good trails are hard to find there and the place is SO big it is easy to get lost. My first time there by the time our buddy figured out how to use the GPS we discovered we were TWENTY miles from the trucks. All but 1 ran out of gas. Totally sucked. Another time my buddy Eric Grey ran head on into another rider as some of the cool trails have tall brush on both sides.. can't see shit.
I like Croom (about 30 miles south of Ocala). Only 2,600 acres so ya can't get TOO lost. ANd there are some good trails if ya know where to go. At the south end by the entrance (where most park), most trails are wooped for a bit.

[NOBODY]

Greg, that looks fun as hell.  I R jealous.  I love doin' the mountain bike thing on singles trails, but that looks like you could run those all day and not get bored.

[MELK-MAN]

Greg, that looks fun as hell.  I R jealous.  I love doin' the mountain bike thing on singles trails, but that looks like you could run those all day and not get bored.

Even though it isn't a huge park, the trails cross over everywhere. I love riding here. Just started riding some single track stuff lately but not as crazy about it.. Too tight and ya can't get "rythem" like the faster sweeping trails.

[Gixxerblade]

Ya know we have a pretty big MX park here in NC. It's only 1800 acres but it is loads of fun. About an hour door to door.
http://www.buscobeach.com/
It's a riot on my TTR-125, even funner on an ATV.

[MELK-MAN]

1800 acres is nice, Croom where i go is only 2,600 acres..