Biking Log
Staying on the eastern side of SW 25th Ave.
12/21/02- Santos has a reputation as one of the finest places to mountain bike in Florida believe the hype. Let me first say that there is something at Santos for any level of off-road bike rider. The trails are well maintained, well marked and even though the map looks like it's incredibly difficult to navigate, I found the trail system to be relatively easy to find my way around in its labyrinth.
Santos is around a two-hour drive from Tampa (where I live), so I was hoping the trails would be worth the drive. My wife Kelli was with me today. She is an advanced beginner level rider who is developing her skill set. I am an extremely low-level advanced rider. I was hoping for something that would challenge both of us. After a quick check of our bikes, we set off. After a short distance I came across a local and asked for a bearing. He kindly showed me exactly where we were on the map. Locals at Santos are friendly and understand the potential challenges of a first timer finding their way around. We rode an intermediate trail called Dr. Ruth that led us to the first of two quarries that are in Santos. The trail descends slightly from the parking lot and makes for a nice fast run if you so desire. The trails seem to run to or around two quarries at Santos. Within the quarries are the majority of the red (advanced) trails. Since I was riding with Kelli, I only briefly rode a little of the red trails here. I can tell you though that they are rocky and challenging. Nice climbs and technical descents are all present. I'm looking forward to returning to ride these trails more in depth later.
At the edge of the quarry, we checked our map and decided on a trail that would take us around the southern side of the first quarry. We ended up on an intermediate trail that after a few connections and a mile or two eventually led us around to the quarry again. This was actually pretty cool considering I thought I was going to get lost for sure. Kelli and I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the trails that branched off of the original one we were on and found that we always ended up somewhere we recognized. To my surprise, we were never lost.
The intermediate trails we rode were all very nice. Twisty, canted turns, small hills, rooted semi-technical sections as well as winding flat trail through forested canopies kept us in grins all day. We rode one yellow (beginner) trail and it was very enjoyable too. Santos really is a nice place to ride. I've heard that there are some great trails on the other side of SW 25th Street that dissects Santos almost in half. I just didn't have the time to explore them on this day. We will return again, that's a given.
What impresses me most about Santos is the fact that it's relatively easy to create an enjoyable ride for all levels of biking ability. Also, remember to bring a good map and a compass until you are familiar with the trail system, they are a must!
1/11/03 - Exploring the western side of SW 25th Ave.
My wife Kelli and I returned to primarily check out the trails that are on the western side of 25th Ave. - the side we had not explored previously. We parked at the same trailhead, but instead of taking the intermediate trail Dr. Ruth as we previously had, we decided on Cow Bone. It's also a intermediate trail, but did prove to be much more challenging, rooted and technical than Dr. Ruth. I liked it a lot! After that, we went around the first pit (where there are advanced trails, I'm dying to ride) and continued on via an intermediate trail that wound through the woods to a short section of a beginner trail that took us to 25th Ave. From there we had to wing it a little. I say this because my map didn't show the short road that goes to the trailhead on the other side of 25th. It looks to be indicated on the map as a trail. At any rate, we asked a local for directions and he was glad to help. The trailhead here I believe is the original trailhead for Santos. It is located just beyond a steel gate that is found at the end of the road that is indicated on the trail map with a start (the directions listed above are for the new trailhead). We were directed to a series of wonderful, fast hardpacked single track loops of intermediate difficulty. They all spun off and looped back to a central trail that linked all of them. This meant that we could ride along until we saw a blue (intermediate) trail marker, enter the trail, ride and exit a short distance down the original trail we were on. A short ride down that same trail yields another loop and then another. This area has been planned very well. You can ride any and all loops you want and end up back on the same main access trail - very nice! There are several very nice red trails in this area too. After our third short loop, we headed back towards the start. We had an absolutely great ride today. We found technical rocky descents, rooted trail, smooth winding trail, a nice dirt jump or two (one of which I busted my butt on) and at least one decent climb. We only ventured onto one red (advanced) level trail - Sink Hole, and that was on the way out. It was technical and rocky but not too terribly difficult, think "a more technical intermediate trail". All in all, Santos is proving to be one of my favorite riding locations. I'm going to get to ride more of the advanced sections in the future and perhaps camp there and ride for two days as soon as the new campground is open. I'll keep you posted!
4/18/03 - Exploring the great beginner trails at Santos
Kelli and I rode several trails including some really pretty yellow trails (beginner) that were on the Eastern side of SW 25th. If you crave excitement of the vertical kind, you won't like these trails. But if you like a change of pace on a pretty trail that winds through a beautiful wooden forest then you'll really like the yellow trails at Santos. We also explored several blue trails (intermediate) that we had been on before. I also ventured onto a small sampling of the red trails (expert) on the fringe of the pit that is on the Eastern side of SW 25th. The trail was tight, rocky and very technical, which is, I believe, very typical of Santo's red trails. All in all the trails were in very good shape. Of note, the new parking lot looked to be complete. It's very nice. It's complet with picnic shelters and bathrooms.
08/03/03 Finally! I get to explore the Red (advanced) trails at Santos!
A long wait - well worth it! It has been a while since I have visited Santos. My friend Larry had never been to Santos before. So, it was about time to load up the car (Larry's truck actually) and make the 2-hour pilgrimage to Santos. My wife Kelli was along for the ride too. We explored some of the intermediate trails together before Larry and I headed out to ride a few advanced trails.
As I mentioned before, the majority of the advanced trails at Santos are in close proximity to the two large pits. The trails proved to be a very unique experience. Short of a couple of trails that have very large, long and fast drops, the overall personality of the advanced trails at Santos could be described as tight, rocky and rooted with short climbs and descents that put a premium on maneuvering your bike through a labyrinth of tight turns and rock obstacles. In contrast, the other leading technical bike rides in Florida offer flowing climbs and descents that mix free riding with cross country (Alafia State Park); fast winding tight track punctuated with a few nice technical sections and a large drop or two (Reddick - Razorback); and short loops with well planned descents and tough transitions (Carter Road).
The overall impression that I got from Santos technical trails was that they are pretty similar to northeastern trails. Since Santos is at a slightly higher elevation than some of the other Florida rides, the flora even looks a little northeastern. Larry really enjoyed the riding at Santos, as did I.
The only downside of Santos that I can see is that it's up to you to string trails together to create a longer riding loop. It's a little hard to explain, but the majority of Santos' trails are short in nature (there are A LOT of trails there) and are marked for degree of difficulty, but not with names. When you exit a short trail, it's up to you to try to figure out what trail to ride next that would keep you in a good flow and provide an extended ride. People with a lot of knowledge of Santos' trail system can do this easily. However, for those with less knowledge of the system it would be nice to see a series of trails strung together with one trail name and then be well marked.
