I credit that they have done a superb job making the trails what they are now. They used their natural resources to their full advantage and it shows. I do, however, have my dislikes. The trail gets really muddy after rains, and in drought the sand gets worse then Quiet Waters. The average terrain is roots, pine needles, and sand/dirt.

Climbing is good at the beginning, but then it thins out onto single track and fire roads. You get some more climbs in the back and flat twisty trail to the end.

I rated it based on the fact that they used the trail to full potiental.

Majority of the trail is not so technical and wide open. A powerful rider will love this trail and those who crave technicality might find it a little under par.

WUZUP RORO

What this park gives you is a great workout and lots of fun. Those that work on the trails have done a superb job. Most of the trails are much smoother due to the mulch that has been placed over some of the rockier trails. There is a new trail that has plenty of tight turns and some roots for the technical riders. The trails are very clean and getting better. The first and middle section of the park have grown into nice speed trails. The last few trails have some nice little drops and climbs. I was surprised that with all the new mulch that was laid over the trails, none went to the muddy trail. That might have helped absorb some of the water. When dry, the muddy trail is one of the best trails.

Overall, this is a wonderful park and alot of credit should be given to those that work on it. Enjoy, I highly recommend it.

See ya outthere,

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Markham (Broward): Very technical and challenging, with a few honest hills. Can be a blast, but know what you're getting into--not for the novice.

Amelia is really two different trails: the muddy, stunt-laden first half, and the rolling, speedly second half. The first half, depending on you mood, is either a challenge or a nuisance. The word here is mud, black as coal, thick as tar. While it is somewhat hellish, it's also generally rideable (for now anyway--wait for summer) and carves through one of the most dense paper tree groves I've ever seen, which is pretty cool.

This section is also where most of the ramps and stunts live, and they are very well executed indeed. The most unique is the Car Ramp, which--surprise--is built over what appears to be a burned-out Cavalier. It starts out wide, but rises quickly, narrows quite a bit and requires a dicey right-hander to finish it out--ride with caution. Ditto for the largest ramp in the park, a twisty number through a stand of trees. It's not particularly long or high, but at about 50 feet long, two feet wide and four feet tall in places, it's not a gimme and more than enough to put the big hurt on you if you don't make it. There are also a number of smaller ramps and jumps, including a pair or see-saws.

Again caution, as there are apparently some novice riders unfamilar with the laws of physics. I learned this the hard way as, on my second lap, I zipped up on of the see-saws, waiting to be gently lowered to the earth below. Didn't happen. Instead, I plunged three feet--straight on my head--as the rider behind me decided to ride onto the "see" just as I reached the end of the "saw." So, a broken helmet, four-day migraine and several dozen hematomas later, I can assure you THIS DOES NOT WORK. Now you know.

Once you clear this, though, you arrive at what is, IMHO, the real fun--speed. The trail winds, climbs and dips through a variey of terrains--jungle, open field and pine forest--and over a few surfaces, soil, mud, sand, gravel--but never bogs down. If you hang on and rail your turns, you can ride pretty much flat out for two or three miles. As much as I love the technical stuff, I have to admit that was the most fun I've had in quite a while.

THE NEW "D ANACONDA" BRIDGE OVER THE CAR, ROCKS!!!, BUT THEY SHOULD CALL IT THE TURN-OR-ENDO BRIDGE, BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T, YOU WILL!!!

RIDE ON BROS,

The trail volunteers have done a great job. They are doing their best to relive the K Mart experience.

Please join us on October 5 2002 for a great ride.

Don't forget to bring your family and friends to this much anticipated event. The trails are set up for all level riders.
P.S. Pass the word!

Type of riding: I like to ride the trails with my son David, who is going to be 12 years old. Riding off-road is dangerous to some extent, but with proper guidance and keeping things in check, the danger is reduced significantly. I like trails that are challenging enough for him to get a workout without putting him in those "dangerous" situations. In this respect, Oleta has its moments and Markham much more so.

The trail: Overall the trail is quick, well planned and supportive of beginner and semi-intermediate riders. The trail provides smooth transitions for novice riders throughout and "fun" obstacles along the way.

The trail is marked with "Novice", "Intermediate" and the typical "Helmets must be worn" signs and the route is quite distinguishable and smooth flowing.
There are low clearance areas where tall riders could have problems, and some muddy areas that you will probably get stuck in if you've never attempted it before. The intermediate areas are quite good and the transition between novice and intermediate is smooth. The technical scenarios will not fit the bill of the hardcore intermediate riders, but then again, this is not that type of trail.

This trail is fun, muddy when it rains, and has lots of potential for getting you into tricky situations. It is a fast trail, so for those riders looking to hone their skills in speed, this is an excellent site. The climbs are, for those not too technical, better than Oleta or Markhams’. They're smooth (again, remember this is for beginners and semi-intermediates) and grades go upwards of 50 to 100 feet. The top of the hill in the Northwest sector is fun and there are various off-shoots that will get the blood pumping both going upwards and downwards.

As far as cleanliness is concerned, there were a couple of sections where I found a plastic bottle of Gatorade and candy wrapper, but it was not as bad as what I've read elsewhere here. By the way, I've seen the same in Oleta and Markham.

I met with some cyclists working on the site while I was there, and it seems that they are putting in a lot of effort in making these good riding grounds. They care for the site and they are genuinely trying to make this a site riders would want to ride in.

The bad: I did notice that the park could have its problems during the weekdays, when there are not too many people there. I’ve read about gangs, etc. that could be lurking back there. Unfortunately, the riding grounds are at the back of the park (North side of the lake) and no park attendant is back there. I did not get a feeling that there could be any danger per-se due to the rider types that were there. The people we met were friendly, knowledgeable of riding, and seemed to be “in” with riding performance, bike handling and overall riding skills. Again, this was the weekend when there were lots of people at the park. The park has a main gate for normal visitor traffic, but anyone can enter the park from just about any side of 122nd street. They can enter by walking or cycling in. This may be addressable at some point, but for now just be alert.

Nice climbs over chupa cabra, ladders, bridges, seesaws, carpet, burms, whoop-de-doos and more galore.
(did I mention mud, sugar sand and roots?) ;)

Kudos to "In Da House Crew" and Volunteers! They've done a great job representing local area mountain bikers in keeping, maintaining, marking/setting up signs and expanding the trails. Excellent job on adding mulch and chainlink fences in sugar sand areas. Nice cleaning up the old "paper trail", think that added another 2 miles to the trail total (now if we can get the rain to go away). Woot, picnic tables and an actual trailhead sign. Can't wait to see whats next!

Memo: Don't forget to show you support and stop by on October 5th for the inauguration of the trails.

Other recommended trails in the same area:

-CONS
- The park has sandy areas (remember this is South Fla.) that are being worked on with carpets and fill ins.
- In the summer small ants can be very obnoxious (to say the least) when you brush up against the vegetation. Widening the trails should limit this problem until the park allows pesticides to be used. Also in the summer the rainy season creates a lot of mud but bridges and fill ins should have it under control before the season approaches.

-PROS
- So far about six miles of fast, winding trails. Many rolling hills. One big hill providing a small gimps of some down hill action. Bridges and obstacles are being built every week. They are trying to create more
technical extensions of existing trails.(including a free ride area, HOPEFULLY)
- Mega potential here.

The only reason I give this trail a low rating is because it is not marked.

However, the word I get from some locals is that it's only trespassing if you get caught, and that the odds of that aren't very good. And, judging by the condition of the trail, it's ridden fairly often. Chances are, it's like anything else; some of the park rangers take the rules seriously, some don't -- you roll the dice.

Still, I cannot suggest that anyone ride this trail illegally. However, since races are held here often, and practice time is extremely limited, I'll review the trail to give provide some idea what one might expect.

The most recent race set-up (2/7/99) was a loop that offered a little of everything -- hills, mud, roots, rocks, switchbacks, log obstacles -- and lot of some things, namely sand. The distance was supposed to be about four miles; a couple of guys in my division swore they clocked 6.2 miles on practice laps. I suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

The trail started out as a huge sandbox. For about a half-mile, racers were "treated" to pure sugar, about two inches deep, that even found its way up and down some decent-sized hills. Given the complete lack of tree cover and the steamy moisture from the recently cut ground cover, this was NOT a favorite section.

Once the trail firmed up, you faced the two largest climbs of the course, each about 20'-25'. They offered a quick, fast downhill, but since hitting the next hill required a 180-degree turn, the speed was all but useless.

From here, a small section of exposed switchbacks led to the next hill, a short but rocky climb. The descent led to the base of another hill. This one was too steep and loose for most to ride up, so a short hike was in order.

The next section gave racers a bit of a break, some easy, gently curving, partially shaded singletrack. However, this soon led to a tricky descent into a muddy, very technical pit. The pit fed into a short mud trail, slow, but nicely shaded.

A short climb led to a faily non-descript section of about a mile, save a few tall log obstacles. Once through this, it was through a large sand pit (thank God for that chainlink fence) and onto the last half of the trail.

This section featured some rooty, sandy technical singletrack with a few tricky rocks. Mostly, though, it was hills, five or six short but steep climbs. Many were covered in either loose coral and/or sand, which made this perhaps the most physically taxing part of the course.

From here, a short straightaway led to a somewhat tricky, muddy, very rootbound section of quick bumps and sharp turns. This, in turn, fed back into the sandbox.