11 people on the group ride although only 9 completed the loop. No one got lost (AFAIK) so the maintenance must have helped. There were a lot of tires on the trail so maybe it’s getting worn in some.
Slingblade
The dog and I got about 4.5 hours of just trimming. The weather has been so manic lately, it’s hard to plan anything. It was warm and muggy today. Yesterday was cold and rainy. My weekly riding schedule is almost nonexistent. I finally busted out of the house around 10:00 and I trimmed back the remainder of Junebug, what Steve didn’t finish. Steve did about 5.5 hours earlier in the week. I bought a new weed cutting tool that works so-so. I guess some folks call it a slingblade. It’s rough on the hands and hard to grip but it does cut the small stuff well. I fixed a couple of bad corners along the way. I also scoped out a creek crossing that looks promising. With the high water, it was still inside it’s banks so there’s not much of a flood plain.
Convergence
We finally got to do a lap on the cleaned up trail. Saturday, Steve met me up there for a couple of laps. It was cold and damp and windy but the hardest part of the ride was getting out of the warm car. Billy, Chris and Buzz were also there riding but as I was running late, they started without me. The Junebug and Lupine trails still need some trimming but both were easy to follow. The rest of the loop was great even after the big storm we had during the week. Even though the ground was still a little soft, we managed to do a lap in under an hour including quick stops. I bet a 50 minute lap is possible if you know the trail. Billy and Co. headed out to ride elsewhere after their lap. Steve and I hit it both directions but I’m not sure if I have a preference yet. Some sections are now a lot faster than they were so what was a technical uphill section now is a fun downhill section. I’m still thinking about a leaf blower but I might wait until every last leaf is off the trees. After Steve and I finished our laps, we headed back to the cars down at the creek. When we got there, there was a large rental truck parked in the road with people milling about. They had bikes and kayaks strewn about and were lounging around drinking beer. Billy and his group arrived at the same time as we did so it made this weird convergence thing happen. Anyway, they were from Destin and they were looking for adventure. They had just ridden the Jackson trail and were disappointed that the creek was to full to go kayaking, never mind that it’s 45 degrees outside. I told them about PORC and the new trail just up the road. They seemed interested so maybe we’ll see them on the trail soon. I need to start thinking about a trail head marker and kiosk.
Thanksgiving Week IV
It was just me and the dog today. We did a quick job on the Porc chop trail, a little trimming and a lot of raking. I tried renting a leaf blower from Home Depot but they didn’t have one to rent. Bummer. I want to try one out before I buy one. I need to go through the June Bug trail but I think it’s in fairly good shape. I’m aching to do a loop on the trail. There was a guy pulling up just as I was leaving so I stopped and chatted with him. He had never ridden the loop and was going to try it out. He said he works out at Whiting Field so he was planning on hitting Blackwater after work on occasion. 5 hours.
Yesterday, Steve and Ed and I went to Mobile to ride Chickasawbogue and USA. Chickasawbogue is in rough shape but still pretty fun. The bridges they built back in the day are beginning to fall apart. USA is a blast. 9.5 miles of twisty singletrack. It was all I could do to hang on to the wheel in front of me. They do a great job of keeping that trail going.
As far as the whole week goes, it was very productive, although I didn’t get the whole loop finished. A couple of more bodies would have helped a lot but I didn’t expect anyone to show. Thanks to Steve and Matt for investing their time.
Thanksgiving Week III
Steve helped out again and we did a bang up job on the rest of Serpentinas. My friend Matt showed up just in time for lunch but he raked for over an hour which moved us along. Serpentinas should be pretty darned easy to follow now. I might try to make it up again on Saturday just to fix some other small areas on other trails that I remember requiring some attention. I might rent a gas powered leaf blower and see how well that works. Steve and I got in 7 hours and Matt got 1.
Thanksgiving Week II
Steve joined in again and we worked about the same amount as yesterday which i think is about three quarters of a mile. I think about another three quarters of a mile and Serpentinas will be done. That is the major goal of the week with doing the whole loop as a possibility. The small reroutes ride very well. 6 hours each.
Thanksgiving Week I
I’ve got the whole week of Thanksgiving off from work so I plan on spending it working on the trail and finishing some chores around the house. Saturday was spent doing said chores so Sunday Steve and I hit Blackwater at 9:00 am. We dragged ourselves out of the woods at 3:30 after trimming, cleaning and in some cases rerouting the trail. The reroutes are going to help the flow a lot and the trimming will certainly make the trail easier to follow. There’s still much to do so the week will be put to good use.
Busy Weekend
Another busy weekend. Saturday, Nate, Steve and I worked on a reroute on a particularly sandy section of the gravel road at UWF. What started out to be a new short section of trail ended up being a long section of reclamation. Someone back in the day had cut a trail going exactly where we wanted and I guess they abandoned it, maybe when the gravel road got constructed. Anyway, we reclaimed it and it should be a lot nicer than the eroded and sandy road. There is a small creek that may be a wet weather creek but it had water in it so there may need to be a creek crossing of some sort. Right now it’s crossed by some slippery rotted logs. I had the trailer loaded down with tools so by the time I got home, my legs were fairly sore. I spent the rest of the evening reworking the trailer so the tools sit lower making the bike not so tippy. I think I had about 4-4.5 hours at UWF.
Sunday, Barbara and I loaded up the bikes and headed up to Blackwater to do a nice and easy lap on a perfect fall day. We got about a third of a lap in before Barbara gave out and headed down to the creek to read the paper. I met up with Marty, James, Mark, Nate, Ryan, and two new guys whose names I can’t remember and we knocked out a lap. The trail is hard to follow in places due to the weeds and encroaching branches. There must be some law about trees falling on the trail because there was so much deadfall across the trail. We got in a good lap though. Several sections were tedious but others were pretty exciting. Mark and Marty stayed on my wheel so I know they had a good lap without having to search for the trail. The others worked on their trail following skills. All the trail needs is a little trimming and a lot of riding. I’m thinking of taking off the week of Thanksgiving and get in a weeks worth of cleanup. I think they stayed to get in some more riding. I finished off the day by completing the trailer project. I loaded it down with all the tools and it rode so much better. 
Mostly Bug Free
Saturday I took advantage of the cool weather and brought the dog out for some trail maintenance at UWF. I got there at around 9:00 and the parking lot was just about full. Lots of people gearing up for the 50 mile Epic Ride in November. It was good to see so many people out enjoying the weather. The schnauzer and I hiked out to the Gorge to finish the reroutes and then headed to the Chute to rework some areas the horses trampled. As we were headed out I saw more horses headed in. I just don’t understand why they choose to ride our trails when they have an equestrian center, trails on NWFWMD land and about 100 miles of trails in Blackwater that are maintained for them. I’m not a hater though. 4.5 hours
Sunday Barbara and I loaded up all the dogs and ventured to Blackwater to do some trail work there. We touched up the first mile or so, nothing real strenuous. We were pleasantly tired and the dogs were exhausted when we finished. 3.5 hours each.
I asked the forestry guy about flagging some trail where they were doing some logging and he said he would rather keep the trails near the Juniper Creek Primitive Area. That’s fine by me. 
Road Ride
I did the Fenner/Wantz ride yesterday, a total of 62 miles. Last year I managed 74 or so but I was with stronger riders and there wasn’t as much wind. Yesterday was blustery and cool. I bet we did 40 miles into the wind with only 22 with a tail wind. I was done in. Road riding is fun but it’s painful mostly because I’m not sure my bike fits me all that well. Knees, hips, neck and shoulders were more painful than my muscles. There was a fellow riding a Bacchetta recumbent that looked less goofy than most recumbents and it sits up higher on 650 wheels. I might try to do a test ride on one if I can find one my size. Lots of PORCers and several first timers. Lots of nice bikes and good food but lousy t-shirts.
On the way up to Munson we hit Sandy Landing road. It’s one I’ve been on in the past. Between the road and Juniper Creek they’ve done some logging and it looks pretty good since they didn’t clearcut. I’m going to ask the forestry people if they did a biological survey and if so can I go ahead and scope out the area for a trail running north. That might be a cool quick and easy trail to build. The only drawback is it’s a hunting area but it’s very open so it shouldn’t be a problem.
