Adventure Series: Cary State Forest

If you do not have a motorcycle capable of operating off road and in deep water, DO NOT attempt this!

Cary State Forest was one of the first places that I visited after I bought my GS. A quick Google search for areas in Jacksonville that can facilitate off road riding pointed me in it's direction. I was very wet behind the ears when it came to riding a motorcycle on anything besides asphalt, so this seemed like a pretty good place to start based on the reviews I read. Now, two years later, Cary still serves as a place I like to go to get away, practice adventure riding skills, or just listen to the wind blowing through the trees. 

This trek starts on the east entrance to the forest and ends on the west side in Bryceville, but it can be ridden in either direction. If you do happen to try this on a larger adventure bike, be aware that some of the sections are really quite difficult. GSs, Africa Twins, and some of the larger KTMs might struggle due to their weight, but if you are familiar with your adventure riding techniques, one would be able to do everything. Walking next to your bike while throttling it through water and loose, muddy sand immediately comes to mind. We'll call it the "unmounted power-walk." One should also keep in mind that I chose to take this route a few days after it rained for about 16 hours straight. Let it be known that I have learned my lesson.

The unmounted power-walk might be needed for bigger bikes through some areas
Photo credit

In order to start on the east side of the forest, you need to find the very unassuming entrance at a bend off of Garden St. It wasn't until a Trans-Florida rally last year that I realized this even existed, so I figured I'd make use of it again for this track. Should be easy enough for you to find after looking at the .GPX and dropping a pin on whatever navigation app you are using.

It's not a small sign, but if you aren't paying attention you might miss it!

Adventure awaits!

After you find the sign and take your pre-adventure photos, follow the line on your GPS for the first few roads. It seems that the forestry folks are tidying up the road a bit in these parts, which is nice. This should give you some time to get "warmed up" for what's to follow. Following the line through the first two right hand turns will take you to an area that didn't even really feel like Florida to me. There are no trees as it looks like the area is being harvested for who knows what. I would imagine that the sand here would be pretty fine if it was dry. Use caution and good technique here.

The flatness of Florida, accentuated

Keep going until you get to the yellow dot waypoint and where the track turns yellow. I did this for a reason! The small little path here looked easy enough, but it seems as though a creek had flooded its banks and left the area EXTREMELY swampy. If you're on a big bike, you see water, and choose to continue, prepare for that unmounted power-walk. I had to do it myself for about half of this little section. Smaller bikes would have a much easier time I would think, but I could be wrong. Do not fret if you have to turn around and backtrack. There are plenty of other trails to follow to get to the west side.

After you get through the bog (if it's wet) you'll have to pass through a hole in a fence to the right. I did not see any signs that mentioned trespassing or anything so I just went with it. The next few roads/trails seemed much more heavily used and therefore easier to traverse. There were a few hunting blinds and deer feeders here and there, so this was obviously a popular hunting ground. I would hardly call that hunting, though that's just my opinion. As you begin to work your way back west, the road quality diminishes greatly. These are probably primarily used for logging and were basically small flowing rivers at the time. The tannins in the water gave the illusion that it was much deeper than it actually was, which was only a few inches. A little off-putting when you're in an unfamiliar area. Once you get to the power line road things will get a little easier, at least for a little while.

You will encounter many muddy areas like this if you choose to take these trails after it rains. Welcome to Florida!

Power Line road will offer some water holes to pass through as you head south on it. Stay on the main track and don't wander too far off to the side trying to miss the water. The shoulders are VERY soft and you're more likely to get stuck in that than what you see on actual road. Ask me how I know... Resist the urge to drop the hammer down this road too, as there may be a sneaky pothole or slick mud patch that could ruin your day in an instant. Go around the gate you'll eventually come upon and keep following the line to the next caution area.

If I remember correctly, North boundary road, as it's called, had some pretty hellacious water situations going on. First, you'll run into this...

It may not look like much, but this almost came up to my knees.

I stopped to assess the situation and check the depth of the water since the forestry vehicles can be pretty tall. The last thing I needed was for this little pit to drop off into nothingness and I end up sinking my main mode of transportation. Luckily, the entire crossing is gravel and probably didn't exceed a foot and a half. Easy Peezy. Be very careful when going through the water holes as you continue west, though. The right side line I was favoring down the road was working out quite well and I got a little ahead of myself. The track I was on took a nosedive and spooked me quite a bit. It was a "keep the throttle open so water doesn't get into the exhaust" situation. It's never a good sign when you look over your right shoulder and you see a mini-rooster tail of water being ejected from where your exhaust should be. As luck would have it, whatever was on the bottom of that pit was grabby enough for my tires to catch and get me out of what could have otherwise been a disastrous situation. Point to be made: choose your line carefully. I think the left side would have been a little better, but don't quote me on that. I'd like to go and see what this stretch looks like if it ever dries up.

After this little caution area, the rest of the ride is a cake-walk. There are some minor water crossings here and there, but if you stay on the main track you shouldn't get stuck in the mud. Keep following the line until you get to the main facilities. Depending on what time you choose to undertake this ride, you could park the bikes and eat lunch at the nature pavilion if you've brought it with you. There are also campsites available complete with picnic tables and fire pits for those that are looking to stay a little longer. Restrooms are available and maybe showers, too.

Need some information on camping at Cary? This little area has all the info you need. There is also a campground host to answer your questions as well.

I'm not sure what else is in this building, but the little male and female plaques at least tell me there are restrooms.

If you keep following the line out of the forest you'll end up on 301. Head south and it takes you to I-10 where you should be able to find your way home from there. I wish there were more restaurants in the area, but it seems there are only a few gas stations peppered around. One of them does look like it has a small cafe attached to it, but it never appears to be open.

Another unassuming sign on the west side of the forest.

 All in all, it took me two hours to complete this ride of 17 miles. That includes most of the times I got stuck in the mud and forgot to pause the recording as I tried to reverse my stuck-ness. If it was dry, things probably would have progressed much faster. Please remember that larger bikes may have a harder time in some areas, especially the areas highlighted in yellow. As with anything, try to assess whether or not this ride fits your skill set. If you're just beginning adventure riding, I would say this one isn't for you just because of the amount and unpredictability of the water crossings. If it's been dry for a while, maybe give it a go. There will be a more beginner to intermediate ride of Cary that I'll do in the future. Until then, feel free to explore the area and make your own tracks!

Happy riding!

Follow this link to get to dualsportmaps.com and download the .GPX file for this ride.

For more information on Cary State Forest itself, click here.

Reflections: Going on trips

The first "long" motorcycle trip I ever took was in 2014. It was on a my 2007 SV650 up to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. Roughly seven to eight hours from here if traffic is in your favor. The account was extensively documented in previous posts. Reading through those posts now, it reads as a comedy. Of course, this was my first trip outside of jaunts down to Daytona or Orlando, but I was wound up tight about everything. This post will serve as a reflection piece on how my approach to motorcycle trips has changed.

Weather:

I'm fairly certain that I checked the weather every day for where I was going after I booked my hotel. In hindsight, this added a certain level of stress that I probably did not need. Staying informed is one thing, but it seemed as though the more I checked it, I thought it was less likely it would be that foul weather would roll in. This tactic clearly did not work, as it rained for the better part of my "adventure day" and for the entirety of my return trip home. Seeing as I had already purchased a hotel room for a few nights and taken the time off from work, rescheduling would not have been so easy, so I just rolled with it. While this did not take away from my trip, I'm sure the pressure of knowing it was going to happen weighed heavily on me. It should go without saying, but checking the weather every day isn't going to change anything. Mother nature will do whatever she wants and you just have to adjust accordingly, whether it be a reschedule or just dealing with it.

Nowadays, I rarely check the weather aside from the notifications that pop up on my phone from time to time. Living in Florida, things are quite unpredictable and one must be prepared for whatever comes your way. Sometimes you can get lucky and actually see where the rain is coming down and adjust your route accordingly. For trips, I may check it once or twice just to stay informed, but as mentioned before, continuous checks aren't going to change anything. More often than not, I find that not checking the weather at all and just bringing what you need to handle whatever comes your way works quite well. That obviously expands into making sure that you have the proper gear and whatnot. Perhaps a post dedicated specifically for kit will make its way on to here.

Routes:

Google maps was my best friend before I went on that first trip. There were specific roads that I wanted to ride, but I do think I made a fundamental mistake in over-planning. My to and from route was quite strict as I wanted to get up there and back home as quickly as possible. It was mostly highway anyway. The over-planning occurred during my adventure day. I had actually made a route that I was going to follow. No room was left for much deviation. Some people may like that, but after making multiple trips up there, this was the wrong way to do things, in my opinion. Again, staying informed is one thing, but leave the room for deviation. Areas like the Smoky Mountains have side roads all over the place that hide little hidden gems like great food places, dams, waterfalls, and who knows what else.

If you're an adventure rider, exploring the hard top loosely is still the way to go, but when you do happen to take things off the beaten path, I would recommend following a .GPX file. Just upload it and follow the line and you won't get lost. This may sound obvious, but the first few times I went off into the fire roads, the use of preloaded Google maps was how I tried to get around. More often than not, the maps didn't cover the areas I was travelling in. It wasn't until later on that I discovered the magic of the .GPX file and life became much easier. So do research to be prepared, but not too prepared. Sometimes it's not an adventure until you get lost.

Accommodations:

Rather straightforward; determining a place to stay. Street riders would most likely stay at the plethora of resorts, hotels, and airbnb options. Nothing wrong with that, but getting yourself tied down with a reservation could be problematic given unpredictable weather at times. Some places may be more flexible than others with rescheduling, so I would inquire when making the original reservation.

Moto-camping in my opinion is the way to go. Ultimate in flexibility and more often than not, you can find spots that are free. Obviously, they won't have the facilities such as showers and toilets, but if you feel like going full mountain man and bathing in the river and pooping in a hole you've dug yourself, by all means, prepare yourself accordingly. Speaking from experience, that always makes things more exciting.

How things have changed:

Moto-trips are now approached much differently than they were before. What used to be weeks of preparation can now be condensed into a day, give or take. The mountains have become a familiar visiting place for us now, so I will admit that familiarity does go a long way in reducing the amount of planning that goes into trips to that general area. New places do get a little more research and route planning done, but as mentioned before, make it loose. Give yourself the ability to make the detour or get lost a little bit. Who knows what you might find or the people you'll meet. Since you're on a motorcycle, people will generally want to try and talk to you more anyway, it seems. While I did make the mistake of trying to cram too much mileage into each day for my Colorado trip, the otherwise "less is more approach" helped me quite a bit. That particular trip was for a total of 9 days. Time spent planning it was less than a week.

Obviously there are different types of people out there, and some would see this kind of shoot-from-the-hip approach for a motorcycle trip irresponsible. These words are just my opinion, so take them with a grain of salt, as one should with all things. All I hope for is that something in here might help make your life a little easier on the road.

With all that being said, how do YOU handle your motorcycle trips?

Happy riding!

Adventure Series: Imeson Park

If you do not have a motorcycle capable of operating in sand, DO NOT attempt this!

I've been down Zoo Parkway many, many times and all those times I've never seen this. A veritable off road playground for the not so faint at heart about 10-15 minutes from downtown Jacksonville. Just a left off of Zoo Parkway onto Imeson Park Blvd and it's literally right there.

It would be wise to pause before rolling down into the box right away. Things may look deceptively simple, but the sand here is quite loose. There are multiple entry points, some much steeper than others, so choose based on the equipment you're bringing. The .GPX file that can be found at the bottom of this post is essentially a perimeter trek around this "park" and the entry point I chose seemed to be the easiest. There are plenty of side trails here and there, but since I was on a heavy adventure bike with worn Karoo 3s, I chose to stick with what appeared to be the simplest route. The term "simplest" is used loosely.

Take the trail to the back of Imeson to gain access to this area.

Heading north along the left side of the route takes you to a massively open area that has clearly been used for extracurricular purposes by others. The trail there is not boring at all as it has some minor whoops along the way. Tread carefully since you'll still be dealing with loose sand. It had rained a few days prior to this visit, so there was a nice little pond in the center of the open bit.

Continuing to follow the line on the map will take you over to the right side of the park. This is more wooded and a little technical. The trails are tight, the loose sand is still present in addition to whoops again, and there might be animals along the way. I did not see any myself, but I did see tracks for deer, foxes, and even rabbits.

The track here looks well packed, but do not be fooled; it is quite loose

The track I took required me to double back a little on a trail that I had already taken so take care when heading back south. Heading back will bring you to another open play area. This spot has some sandy hills that, when I stood back and looked at them, actually scared me a bit. I applaud the adrenaline junkies that put the tracks seen in those paths. I wouldn't dare try some of those with my GS. If I did, a disaster would be sure to follow shortly after launch. I will admit that I tried one of the seemingly smaller hill tracks, but it spit me off the side in, what seemed to me, spectacular fashion. It was time to go home.

These inclines were probably around 45 degrees. Nuckin Futs.

The sand kickstand is the best kickstand. Unless you dig in too deep...

The route I took to get out seemed to be the easiest for me since I was tired by that point. A couple of rounds were made around the park before turning on tracking in order to figure out how it was going to be done. You'll see the multiple exits, so pick your poison as you see fit.

While it may not be a "point A to point B" adventure ride, it still counts as one in my book. Especially given the lack of decent riding in Jacksonville proper. If anything, use it as a training ground for dealing with loose sand. You will be picking your bike up a lot, especially if you bring a heavy like I did. Just make sure you come prepared and bring lots of water to stay hydrated.

Happy riding!

Click this link to access the .GPX file on dualsportmaps.com for this ride.

Welcome back: A hiatus too long

It's been four years. Four years where this blog, a point of pride for me back in the day, has been stagnant. Now that it has been rediscovered, a lot of catching up needs to be done. Locations have been moved, motorcycles have come and gone, new technologies have been discovered, and much maturity has been gained.

Let us begin.

The last installment for this blog was February 2015 where a trip that was taken with my wife up to the Smokey Mountains was regaled. A trusty SV650 and an old GS500 were our bikes at the time. While these were wonderful motorcycles, needs change and so does the equipment to fit said needs. The GS500 was sold after we became tired of working on it nearly every weekend for some reason or another. Since my wife and I are heavy motorcycle commuters, that just wouldn't cut it. The capital gained from the sale would go towards a brand new Yamaha FZ-07.

My wife loved this bike. A decent upgrade in displacement and horsepower coupled with fuel injection meant easier commutes and more enjoyable rides. A service plan also helped to take the load off of any heavy maintenance. Dubbed "Maxine," this Yamaha was near and dear to my wife's heart for about 40,000 miles. Until CASE came along. An explanation is to follow.

Jarvis the SV650 was ridden to the point of exhaustion. 104,000 miles were put on that bike. Most maintenance was done by yours truly. Wheel bearings that tried to kill me on my birthday were replaced. A burned out rectifier. Notched steering bearings. Fork seals. Dent repairs. A few batteries and many, many chains. Jarvis was my ride during silly Instagram projects like "#motoselfie365" where I would try to take a selfie with him every day during a ride for a year to inspire other riders that it could be done safely and "#journeyto100k," or something to that extent, where I kept track of how things were going with Jarvis as he made his way to 100,000 miles. He ultimately reached that goal during a trip up the east coast to Times Square in New York City.

Jarvis was sold to a new, eager to learn rider who was trying valiantly to contain his excitement but failing miserably to do so at the same time. All I can hope is that both are still doing well.

TARS the Kawasaki ZZR1200 passed through the garage for almost exactly a year. A gift from my dad, I had to fly up to Maryland to pick him up and ride it back down the Florida starting the next day. The return trip lasted 2 days and we became well acquainted as I took Skyline Drive all the way back down as far as I could the first day. The name TARS came from one of the robots in the movie Interstellar. In the movie, TARS was a bit rowdy and rambunctious, with a knack for exceedingly dry humor. A perfect moniker for a loud, heavy, fat tank that was my ZZR1200.

TARS was an excellent commuter with heated grips, a custom Corbin seat, a smooth inline-4 engine, and hard GIVI cases on the back. The Smoky Mountains were obviously visited a few times, but the highlight trip with TARS was across a large portion of the United States over to Colorado with a stint to Moab, Utah, and back. While this trip was awesome in its own right, it also made me realize that I was lacking capability to see the things I really wanted to see. About a year later, that capability was attained.

Enter CASE the 2016 BMW R1200GS. TARS was traded in for a meager sum as a down payment for this motorcycle. He actually just barely made the cut for trade in. The dealership found a wholesaler that would take him for $1,200 and I rode away on my new-to-me dream bike.

CASE is another robot from Interstellar, but the more quiet, reserved, analytical one. Again; absolutely perfect. Since getting the GS, a newfound love of off road adventure riding has blossomed. This led to learning about all new things like detailed GPS units, understanding what a .GPX file is, navigating with roll charts during rallies, body position when riding in sand, how to approach an unknown water crossing, etc., etc. I think all of the stories that I have told my wife about taking the path less traveled led to her getting a bit jealous that she could not partake in such shenanigans. This, in turn, led to her trading in Maxine for the very first  2019 F750GS in north Florida. Her name is Cooper and she is quite the fun motorcycle.

Now that you have been caught up on the garage, an update about the actual blog is in order. When I first started this, it was a project to keep myself busy during a period of unemployment after college. Routes were described quite dryly with attached screenshots from Google maps of the route itself. Not very fun. It then morphed into an actual blog where I would describe trips that were taken. There will be more on that in following posts. I will stick to the "here's a route, what it's like, and where it is" format, but more effort will be put into each post. Photographs, more personal thoughts, along with .GPX files will be included if I can figure out how to add them in, too. Old routes will be re-ridden and updated as necessary. New routes will mostly be adventure oriented rides, so prepare yourself accordingly if you choose to take one. The overall look has been updated a little bit in order to make it easier to read. I've come to learn that there is a balance between form and function; I think form was focused on too much before.

I am very excited to bring this back to life, if it even had any life at all. So please follow along, subscribe, like, and comment to your heart's content. I hope that this can become a useful resource in discovering new, every day adventures, possibly right in your own backyard!