The good thing about staying in a motel is that it’s easy to wheel your bike in and out, even on the second floor. Although I’m over 4 hours away from my house, I’m only 10 minutes away from Santos Mountain bike park. I was invited here by professional mountain biker and fellow YouTuber, Phil Kmetz. We’re going to do some riding and get some video clips. Phil has ridden in all four corners of the planet, but chose to drive 10 hours to ride in Ocala FL on spring break. Now I must admit, when I moved down here I didn’t even expect to see mountain bike trails, let alone good ones, but I was thrown for a loop. Through sheer ingenuity and perseverance, Floridians have created some top notch singletrack. A prime example of this is Santos.
Today is the Fat Tire Festival. Thousands of riders have come here from out of town to ride demo bikes, hit the freeride section, and enjoy miles and miles of singletrack in the main part of the park.
At Santos, there’s a particular section that’s somewhat isolated from all the other trails—a playground for advanced riders, called Vortex. This sign implies a high possibility of destroying your bike or leaving in an ambulance so I think we’re in the right place. When you get into the trailhead, the first thing you see is a small set of dirt jumps with wooden lips. I could ride these all day.
Venture a few more yards into the park, and you’ll see—banana hammock. It’s a good time.
Phil and I warmed up around the front of the park and even played a short lived game of BIKE, which I lost. I got one letter on him with a tree ride, but that was it. Time to ride some singletrack.
Pretty much everything here at Santos is double black diamond. The sign at the front of the trailhead warns you about checking out the trails before you blast through them, but that’s just for newbs right? Yeah I’ve got this under control. Phil tried to warn me, but I found myself face to face with an unexpected hairpin turn after this hump. I was warned, by both Phil and the sign, but luckily I bailed just in time.
After the big crowds left the “Vortex Pit” I got to watch Phil session this double. He’s got exquisite taste in old school BMX tricks.
It’s been years since I rode dirt jumps, so next time I’ll be spending a lot more in this pit. Before the sun set I did manage to do a real sloppy 360 over this tabletop.
I ended this trip limping, and with scrapes down my torso. Although I did get to ride for an hour the following morning, this trip was just too short. After seeing what Santos had to offer I’m really pumped to check out more mountain bike parks, even if it means traveling a few hours. The locals here in Ocala are some of the coolest, friendliest, and skilled riders I’ve met. What they’ve built here is incredible, and I can’t wait to come back real soon.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.
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