This is not the first time I have moved and needed to find other members of my tribe in the new area. Today I am headed out to a large area in Northwest Florida which appears to be prime for deserted roads and gravel grinders.
This looks intresting….. I may need to do a backpack adventure. I met a guy in the Frank Church Wilderness this year who specialized in cross country hiking trails of which he had done many. He had stated that the route across Florida was one of his favorites and here it is!
I arrived a little early for this group ride so took a few shots of Juniper Creek. Hard to detect in this image is the air temperature…. It was about 32 degrees down in this holler.
After a few minutes, here they come, The Blackwater Gravel Grinders. Derek is the guy in red on the right and appears to be The Godfather of Northwest Florida Gravel. I would need to kiss his ring!
I started this ride with fairly low expectations. After a half hour or so of not seeing a car, my tail began to wag.
Turns out that this area is a maze of dirt and paved roads in the rolling hills of Northwest Florida and Southern Alabama.
Wow, Wow, Wow. Amazing riding and good hearted people. This is really some top notch gravel riding in the forest and on roads that feels a lot like Europe!
We stoped about three quarters of the way through and had a sandwich. These guys are civilized!! It was as much about the experience as it was about the hard riding!
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