FL: Tallahassee - Munson Hills

 We made it to Tallahassee, our road trip destination. I had plans to meet some friends for rides in Alabama and Georgia, but weather was really looking like an issue this week. The guys I know in the Tally area said the trails here would be fine if wet. So, when it appeared my travel plans would be washed away - as they were, I made arrangements to ride most mornings while my wife slept in. I had been to a couple of the trail systems here in the past and wanted to revisit them, plus check out some other areas I heard about.

I let the locals know I'd be free during the week if any of them were able to join. The first ride I opted to do was over at the Munson Hills area, but it was super last minute, so I went solo on this one. It's one of the areas I had ridden a couple of times, so I didn't really need a guide and it's only 10 minutes away.

Florida Wildlife Corridor means gators to me. Would I see any??

These are fast, open trails, just pay attention to the occasional tight squeeze through the trees!!

Some thicker areas of vegetation.

Clouds began to roll in as I was really feeling the humidity. I'm not in the desert any more.

With the recent rains here, the sugar sand was packed down pretty good and rolled well over hard pack.

No horsies here.

Some cool trail routing through the thick vegetation.

Shroom!!

Skirting by some powerlines.

Can you spot it??

This fella was right in the middle of the trail, I missed it by 2"!! Check the previous photo again...

Really nice trail signage at every junction. I ended up riding all the main trails here.

The clouds grew dark, rain began to dump, but I was already soaked in sweat. No need to break out the rain jacket now.

Again, good signage here.

I think this sums up southern riding.

Soaked!!

Sign at the trailhead. This multi-use path runs from town all the way down to the coast.

The Munson Hills trails are really fun, fast, flowy and enough turns to keep you engaged. I had a blast here, but I did forget to bring a post ride shirt to change into, so I had to drive home completely drenched in sweat. Yuck!!

Route:

TX: Austin - Brushy Creek

 The forecast wasn't looking too good, showers were expected most of the day while in Austin. I had reached out to my buddy, Derek, who used to live in the Phoenix area, but had been relocated to Austion five years ago due to work. He was free for a ride, but it was looking more like an urban paved route would be on tap.

However, the entire day driving towards Austin, there was no foul weather in sight. We opted to meet up north of town at the Brushy Creek Regional Park. Derek did note that it had rained the other day, but he thought the trails would be ok to ride.

We met early, just after daybreak, as I only had a couple hours to ride before getting back on the road. The first trail we came to was roped off, but Derek noted it was the one trail that was often closed when rain came through. We continued along the paved path for a while, then hopped on some singletrack. Almost immediately, I smacked my head on a low crossing branch!! Whoa. It was a bit of a stunner, since I didn't see it coming, but it got me to really pay attention to the surroundings the rest of the ride.

Cruising along a paved section of our route.

Hero dirt!! The trails were either packed fast dirt through the trees or...

...rubbly crushed limestone. Both were fun, but the rocks added a good challenge.

Taking a short break under a freeway construction project.

We rode to the opposite end of the park, then on our way back we mostly took singletrack trails. While the park was long, it wasn't very wide and the trail routing looked like a bowl of spaghetti. I love when trails are routed to maximize the terrain given. These trails were a load of fun, yet demanded attention. Soft dirt, slick roots, rocks, short drops, low branches and a few water crossings.

Using the paved path as a connector and a focus reset.

There could be trails on both sides of this photo, but you wouldn't know it.

As we made our way back to the parking lot, there was a running race going on. We never saw anyone out on the singletrack, only the multi-use path which was nice. It was a great introduction to the Austin ride scene and my first ever ride in Texas!! Thanks for the fantastic tour, Derek.

So cool to ride with a friend on new terrain.

It sounds like the Austin area has a bunch a great places to ride, maybe someday I'll be back to sample some more.

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