Florida Trail Riders - December 2021

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NEIL SCHULMAN

SADRA PHOTOS THE IMPOSSIBLE RIDE & MORE Photo by Tyler Miller

DECEMBER 2021

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FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

TABLE OF CONTENTS AREA DIRECTORS & CLUB INFO 4 WHO TO CONTACT 5 EDITOR’S NOTE 7 ON THE COVER 7 PREZ SAYS 9 CHAPLAIN’S CORNER 11 WHAT’S NEW? 12 SADRA SKELETON SCRAMBLE PHOTOS 14 THE IMPOSSIBLE RIDE 18 PIT DOG OF THE MONTH 23 FROM THE BEGINNING 26 2021-2022 EVENT SCHEDULE 30

Photos in this issue provided by: TYLER MILLER

DOROTHY DEKMAR DECEMBER 2021

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AREA DIRECTORS & CLUB INFO

AREA DIRECTORS AREA #1 - Out-of-State, Panhandle Don St. John (912) 674-9786 dirtyfaceracing@tds.net AREA #2 - Hamilton, Suwannee, Columbia, Baker, Union, Bradford, Nassau, Duval, Clay, Putnam, St. Johns James Benton (904) 589 0093 bentonracing116@yahoo.com AREA #3 - Gilchrist, Alachua, Levy, Marion, Citrus, Sumter, Lake Wiliam Toreki (352) 372-1135 stillbill@cox.net AREA #4 - Flagler, Volusia Joe Carrasquillo (386) 295-8428 fdjoec@aol.com AREA #5 - Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, West Hillsborough Shane Hitz (747) 213-4399 shane.hitz@yahoo.com AREA #6 - East Hillsborough, Polk Jerry Curtis (813) 917-9885 jcurtis@4tbs.net

AREA #7 - Seminola, Osceola, Orange

Jason Ennis (321) 615-8227 jason.ennis@mypowersports. net AREA #8 - Brevard, Indian River Sam Boydstun (407) 467-3951 woodsracer@cfl.rr.com AREA #9 - Manatee, Sarasota, Hardee, DeSoto, Highlands Ron Thomas (941) 232-9562 ronthomasftr211@gmail.com AREA #10 - Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Martin Ken Harris (772) 370-4434 khei9862@gmail.com AREA #11 - Charlotte, Lee, Glades, Hendry, Collier Rick Miller (239) 707-5504 groundsforce@gmail.com AREA #12 - Palm Beach Kyle McAfee (561) 722-1318 rkyle914@aol.com AREA #13 - Borward, Dade, Monroe Billy Cone (954) 347-4605 clar123@comcast.net

CLUB CONTACTS

Apollo M/C Mark Bordelon (321) 794-0993 markbord115@gmail.com

Palm Beach Track & Trail Randy Rash (954) 931-5709 motodadfla19@aol.com

Azalea City M/C Gary Wyatt (386) 684-2698 wyattg1@windstream.net

Perry Mountain M/C Brad Belcher (205) 340-4298 perrymountainmotorcycleclub@gmail.com

Big O Trail Riders Derek Tremain (863) 634-8183 derektremain@gmail.com Big Scrub Trail Riders Curtis Bell (386) 679-8201 curtbell@rocketmail.com Central Florida Trail Riders Elesa Berard (407) 376-7115 elesa@embarqmail.com Columbia Enduro Riders Ricky Dennis (803) 786-0051 mastercraft@bellsoth.net Daytona Dirt Riders Joe Carrasquillo (386) 615-0722 secretary4ddr@gmail.com Family Riders, Inc. Johnny Thomas (843) 553-1463 familyriderssc@bellsouth.net Greenville Enduro Riders Chris Poole (864) 617-4342 info@greenvilleenduroriders. com Nature Coast Trail Blazers Rob Swann (813) 731-5552 rswann222@gmail.com Old School Dirt Riders Ben Kelly (941) 650-1473 ftr90racer@yahoo.com

FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

River City Dirt Riders James Benton (904) 589-0093 bentonracing116@yahoo.com Sarasota Area Dirt Riders Randy Faul (863) 244-3709 randt817@gmail.com Southeast Florida Trail Riders Frank Campbell (561) 951-3732 flawoods35@yahoo.com Sumter Enduro Riders Johnny McCoy (803) 481-5169 serma@ftc-i.net Suncoast Trail Blazers Scott Doerr (352) 238-0337 doerr66@gmail.com Sunrunners Dirt Riders Ernest Burkett (863) 712-2600 ewburkettjr@yahoo.com Tallahassee Trail Riders Mikey Rainey (350) 591-5386 trailriderstallahassee@gmail. com Treasure Coast Trail Riders Luis M Rodriguez (772) 801-9777 luisabx@hotmail.com

WHO TO CONTACT OFFICERS

RIDER REPS

PRESIDENT Randy Faul (863) 244-3709 president@floridatrailriders.org VICE PRESIDENT Pete Rose (941) 270-1189 vicepresident@floridatrailriders.org SECRETARY Kelsey Saltar (386) 315-4713 secretary@floridatrailriders.org TREASURER Kayla Vawter (863) 381-2649 treasurer@foridatrailriders.org HARE SCRAMBLE CHAIRMAN Randy Rash (954) 931-5709 hschair@floridatrailriders.org

ENDURO CHAIRMAN George Tolson (863) 698-3837 endurochair@floridatrailriders.org HARE SCRAMBLE REFEREE Dan Aitken (407) 461-8595 hsref@floridatrailriders.org ENDURO REFEREE Glenn Hunt (678) 231-4100 ghunt350xc@gmail.com

BUSINESS MANAGER Darlene Riggs (352) 538-6291 businessmanager@floridatrailriders.org

DECEMBER 2021

AA/A ENDURO Don Chriss (407) 694-5614 decorlando@gmail.com B/C ENDURO Sam Boydstun (407) 467-3951 woodsracercfl@rr.com

SPECIALTY A/B ENDURO Peter Magee (352) 472-6932 cr250@bellsouth.net SPECIALTY C/WOMEN ENDURO Jimmy Pitts (321) 234-5086 AA/A HARE SCRAMBLE Ryan McCarthy (941) 234-5086 ryanmccarthy90@gmail.com

B/C HARE SCRAMBLE Roy Culbertson (407) 446-7993 roy.culbertson337@gmail.com SPECIALTY A/B HARE SCRAMBLE Danny Kittell (727) 244-7299 kittell@verizon.net SPECIALTY C/WOMEN HARE SCRAMBLE Kerri Chambers (863) 956-9140 jekchambers@aol.com SATURDAY CLASSES HARE SCRAMBLE Kurt Lucas (786) 385-7771 kurtlucas101@gmail.com SATURDAY CLASSES HARE SCRAMBLE Pete Rose (941) 270-1189 pwrracingktm@gmail.com PAGE 5

FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

Photo by Tyler Miller

ON THE COVER Neil Schulman takes his first win of the season in Golden Master B at the SADRA Skeleton Scramble in Bartow.

EDITOR’S NOTE How is it Christmas already?

I feel like I was just in South Carolina at the first race of the season, sweating in the hot August heat. The season is moving along very smoothly and although the continued increase in attendance is providing a challenge for the clubs, each race has gone off without a hitch.

In this edition of the magazine you will find an article written by FTR’s very own President, Randy Faul. Randy goes into detail about some of the challenges the clubs go through in finding land, setting up the course, and putting on an event.

In this edition you will also read an article by Jim Reyn-

olds about his friend Mark Ames. Mark tragically lost his arm in a work accident but has not given up on his goals of racing a dirtbike. Jim goes into detail on the experience and how Mark was able to overcome many setbacks to get back on his motorcycle. I hope you guys enjoy it!

I look forward to seeing everyone at Mondon Hill to start 2022!

If you would like to provide some content for this magazine feel free to reach out to me at any of the upcoming races!

Thank you for reading, Kurt Lucas

Photo by Tyler Miller DECEMBER 2021

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PREZ SAYS

The Day After As I gather my thoughts after HS #3, a couple things come to mind which I kind of knew already. One was the amount of effort, time and planning it takes to host one of these events and two, the appreciation shown by the membership. I put together another article in this issue that kind of explains “The beginning”.

Moving forward, FTR has reached new heights as our membership has climbed to an all time high and along with our participation numbers we have reached a level where our parking has become a number one concern. Some of our upcoming race locations will require us to use every available sq.ft available. I touched on this last month but it has really become a reality as the Skeleton Scramble was absolutely full in the parking area and was actually parking

down the drive. Members, we cannot circle the wagons like we have in the past as there just isn’t enough room to do so anymore.

It’s a good problem to have as it means that more and more enthusiasts are finding out about FTR and our commitment to the offroad community.

As we continue to grow, we are always looking at ways to improve the weekend experience and to keep our smooth running organization on point. We have made a few changes with one being our sign up scoring. With all new programs comes some snags or curves at the beginning as any of us know when you involve electronic equipment they have a mind of their own sometimes. Tim and Brandon have been working tirelessly on achieving our goal of having one of, if not the best systems available. The issues have been resolved and we will be back 100 percent by the time you read this, no pressure here guys!

FTR is so very fortunate to have so many devoted and caring people involved in our organization that anything is possible. Time and time again we hear from riders that are just amazed how we continue to have the consistency and professionalism practiced at each event. Riders visiting from their northern series and our own riders visiting the races out of our state all say the same thing, Wow how do you guys do it? These comments are many and it goes back to the backbone of FTR, we have dedicated and caring people

DECEMBER 2021

involved in our organization. I have also said this before, it takes a village to make these things happen and the next time you see some club officials, FTR members or any volunteer helping out, tell them Thank You. Yeah we race dirt bikes, but the days of 100-150 riders on a Sunday in a cow pasture with only a small handful of club members are gone. Starting Friday afternoon until Sunday evening with over a thousand entries is a major wakeup call from back when we went to the races in a pickup truck and if you were lucky, 4 or 5 of us loaded up in a van and made the trip.

A thousand entries also means there’s probably that many or more family members and friends showing up at our events. With this being said, there has to be rules, policies and requirements to follow or our weekends would be out of control. There are reasons we ask for certain things, it’s not to be controlling or too restrictive but to prevent issues from becoming a problem or to prevent injuries. Just asking to stay inside the ribbons or behind the marking tape has its reasons. If we can be more considerate and pro-active during our race weekends, we could enjoy our outings even more.

Thanking you in advance, Randy Faul

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Want to advertise with us? Email ftreditor@floridatrailriders.org for more info

HI-PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS

FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

CHAPLAIN’S CORNER only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and everlasting life.

God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

Starting Line to Checkered Flag…

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 Today is Thanksgiving 2021.

What a change from last year!

In exactly one month we will be celebrating Christmas with it’s presents, glitter, parties and, of course, Santa Claus.

How about for just a minute, we combine the two holidays.

On Christmas, we celebrate the greatest gift every given to each of us… the total and complete forgiveness of our sins through God’s only Son, Jesus. This is why we need to give thanks.

John 3:16-18 states, “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and

Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted(forgiven); anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why?

Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

What does that forgiveness of sin really mean? In Hebrews 10:17-18, God Himself states, Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” and where these have been forgiveness, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

Ever tried to forget something?

By doing so, you just remembered it ... again. We are incapable of truly forgetting our past.

It always finds a way of coming back to remind us of the pains, the failures, the wrongs we have

DECEMBER 2021

done.

GOD IS THE ONLY BEING THAT CAN CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSE TO FORGET. TO HIM, YOUR SINS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE NEVER EXISTED AND NEVER WILL. !!!

Jesus paid the price for our sins once and for all and forever.

With Him, we are guaranteed a life with His love, protection and blessings. Without Him, our sins will guarantee an eternity separated from a loving God. So, as we celebrate the holidays, remember Who CHRISTmas is all about and what a wonderful gift has been given, and is available, to all of us. You just need to ask Him for that forgiveness! He will make it your best CHRISTmas ever!

Merry CHRISTmas to our FTR family!

“The Good Race” joy service is every Saturday night from 7:30 to 7:45 pm. We meet at the CMA tent. Bring a chair and come join us!

Blessings on and off the road, Jim and Betty Edleston CMA

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WHAT’S NEW? ENDURO COMMITEE MEETING MINUTES 10/2/21

FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

DECEMBER 2021

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SADRA SKELETON SCRAMBLE PHOTOS

FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

Photos by Dorothy Dekmar

DECEMBER 2021

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FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

Joey Medina seems to have found his old AA speed after grabbing the Vet A win at the SADRA Skeleton Scramble PHOTO: Tyler Miller

DECEMBER 2021

Photo by Tyler Miller PAGE 17

THE IMPOSSIBLE RIDE

by Jim Reynolds

It’s September 18, 2021 in Bartow, Florida. It’s a brilliant sunny day, so hot and muggy you could work up a sweat without thinking about it. On a remote farm outside town, about fifty trail bikes are lined in the sugar sand waiting for the blast of the starting horn. When it blows, riders jump on their bikes, feet slam down on kick starters, engines roar, a cloud of black dirt fills the air as bikes scream away to take on the seven-mile dirt track. But a few have been left behind. Their engines won’t cooperate and they are still back at the starting line.

Mark Ames is on one of them.

In a frenzy he stomps down on the starting lever time and time again. About the sixth try his engine comes to life, he rolls on the throttle, his bike flashes by and he disappears in the first turn. But the engine that had performed flawlessly in the practice run is now giving him fits. As he heads down the trail it stalls when he hits the brakes. It takes about ten kicks to get it going.

Then he roars off, weaving and turning on the narrow trail dodging low branches where it cuts through the trees, going airborne over the jumps and slamming back down on the dirt. After five or six miles and six or seven restarts, he is

drenched in sweat, and his body aches. He waits for a break in traffic and rides off the track.

He looks like just another rider having a really, really bad day.

But you and I would be wrong.

We have just seen something approaching a miracle. Mark has no left arm below the elbow…no left hand. How can he ride like this?

It sounds impossible. A while back Mark would have agreed with that.

NO PEDDLING Mark’s love affair with trail bike riding began long before the accident that would take half of his left arm. He grew up in South Florida. As a youngster he watched races on TV and some of his friends had bikes. “I loved the sound of the engine and the speed…the idea of turning a throttle instead of peddling.”

When he was old enough, he bought a motorbike and raced at tracks close to home. He won a few first and second places.

After high school Mark began working on cars and would become a master mechanic at a Ford dealership. In 1993 he would marry Dawn, his high school sweetheart. They would have two healthy children, Amanda and Jake. Life was good. That brings us to 2012.

LIKE A RUBBER BAND Mark had left Ford to go to work at a private shop because he wanted to work on all types of cars and trucks. He is standing below a car that is on a lift above his head and is about to finish replacing the transmission.

He hears tires peel out but he doesn’t give it much thought. “I worked with a lot of young people so that was kind of a normal sound…I heard somebody yell and I saw an Expedition heading in my direction. I took just two steps to make it out of the way and I just didn’t make it in time.”

The Expedition charging straight towards him has handicapped controls and somehow as another mechanic tries to manipulate them, they have gone to full throttle, in reverse gear.

The Expedition slams into the lift, and the car tumbles onto Mark. He remembers, “It spun me around like a rubber band.”

But the nightmare is still not over.

The accelerator in the Expedition is still jammed and with Mark under the car that had fallen on him, he is pushed with it, through the shop wall part way onto the grass outside the shop. His left arm is gone two inches below the elbow and some of the muscles in the upper arm are gone too. The workers in the shop Photo by Amber Trapnell

FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

give it everything they have got, to lift up the more than 7,000-pound vehicle by hand, just high enough to get a jack underneath it. Then they carefully pull Mark out. Remarkably he is both calm and conscious through the entire incident.

Even when he looks at his arm, “I didn’t freak out, I just realized this is more serious than I thought.” A quick-thinking coworker wraps a tourniquet on his arm, saving Mark’s life.

Ambulance and helicopter rides rush him to the hospital. And it wasn’t just his arm. His pelvis and scapula are broken, but he has survived. It will take a long time to heal. In the first week he remembers, “Well I won’t be riding dirt bikes…ever again…

and I was okay with that because I was still alive and I had my family.”

YOU’RE RIGHT…YOU WON’T But it wasn’t long before the loss started to sink and, in his words, he, “started, getting sad.” He told me that Dawn surprised him when he told her he thought his bike-riding days were over. “My wife said with that attitude you’re right about it; you’re never going to ride a bike or work on cars again.” He remembers that at first the conversation made him mad but it also made him think about the chances of riding again. How could he manage a left-handed clutch control with no left hand?

Would he have the strength to

DECEMBER 2021

stay on the bike as he raced down a dirt trail? He would have to learn to ride all over again and teach himself how to use his tools again so he could modify his bike to fit his new situation. It was a tall order. Could he do it? There was plenty of time to think.

In the next year there were nine surgeries and a series of prosthetic arms were fitted and discarded as the shape of his remaining upper arm changed. When his arm stabilized, he convinced his doctor that he needed an adapter for his prosthetic lower arm so he could ride a stationary exercise bicycle. But that wasn’t the real reason. “Needless to say, it found its way to my dirt (mo-

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torbike) handlebars first, before anything else.” Opening his toolbox, he would do the installation. One part of the adapter is a small cup that he attached to the handlebar. The other is attached to his prosthetist arm, with a ball on the end. It snaps into the cup on the handlebars.

It has to be tight enough to lock on so he can ride, but loose enough to release his arm in a crash so he can tumble free of the bike. And he would use his tools again to yank his transmission and put in an automatic. Only his family and a few close friends knew what he was doing.

Finally, the day came to see if he could ride again. He chose a time when there wouldn’t be anyone else on a track near his home. His goal was to just putt around but even that was a challenge. As he rolled in a little throttle and pulled away, he was uneasy. “I didn’t trust what the bike was doing; what I was doing.” One of the things that surprised him was getting used to the automatic transmission.

He said it was easier in some ways, but it felt strange riding without a clutch and shifter. “I just kept going and going until I was more comfortable with it.”

His persistence paid off. “Slowly I got a little bit faster and faster…(it) just took a lot of track time.” As he gained more confidence, he tried some jumps but that didn’t go well. “I would do a jump and my arm would fall out (of the socket) and I would

be landing with just one arm and two legs balancing the bike.” Getting the tension on the unit dialed in, would take months and numerous practice jumps. With the bike ready, he began riding the track time and time again and then he started racing again. He would do it for seven years.

Only one practice lap is allowed before the race and it’s nearly impossible to memorize all of the jumps, tree cuts and hair pin turns on several miles of trail. So, in a sense, every race is an all-new event.

And Mark loves this different freestyle form of racing even though he says it’s more difficult than track racing.

HARE SCRAMBLING

Florida Trail Riders (FTR) is the group that organizes the races. After each event, it changes the location to a new trail somewhere else in the State.

Getting there can mean more than a 200-mile drive. So, it’s not unusual for Mark and Dawn and their son Jake (who is also an accomplished rider) to be on the road early in the morning, towing a cargo trailer with the bikes inside, as the head for the race. (Dawn has been at every one of his FTR races.)

After those years of track racing, Mark was ready for a new challenge. Longtime friend, and motorbike racer Jason Miller was now doing what is called, “hare scramble”. Three years ago, Jason told Mark about it and he decided to give it a try.

You don’t really chase a rabbit in a hare scramble but you are racing down trails in open country that any rabbit would feel at home on. And it’s bigtime demanding for the racers, both physically and mentally, because a three-lap race can be more than twenty miles long.

FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

When they arrive, they look for a group of four or five racing buddies. They set up chairs

under a shade tent and catch up on what has been going on in their lives. The conversation is punctuated with jokes, often aimed at each other. Mark is just one of the guys and they call him the one arm bandit. For his buddies, the nick-name is just a hint of the respect they have for him.

Pete Reynolds, a police sergeant, is one of the group. He rates Mark as, “…a skilled rider.

He pushes himself. He’s not afraid of the jumps. He likes to get dirty, just like anyone else.”

Waiting for the race a youngster may come by and ask Mark about his arm and he is comfortable with that; happy to answer questions. But if someone stares or acts uneasy around him, Mark admits he is uncomfortable too.

FALLS Danger is a fact of life in motorbike racing and the paramedics truck is a familiar site at the events. Mark says he races as carefully as he can to minimize

the risks. He is particularly wary when the trail cuts between trees and multiple riders are trying to squeeze through. In that situation, he stays on the left side of the trail so he will be passed on the right, to avoid getting his prosthetic arm from being clipped by another rider.

Despite the precautions, he has taken his share of tumbles.

“I’ve wrecked quite a few times and two of them hurt pretty good. I haven’t broken anything.

Sometimes it happens; you just can’t control it.” His wife, Dawn acknowledges the risks, but says, “I’m comfortable with his judgement and as long as he stays off the streets, I’ll support him. I’ve never been a big fan of street bikes.”

TOO MUCH FUN At his next race after Bartow, Mark’s bike performed well in the practice run but let him down again in the actual race.

So, he says he will tear the engine down on his Suzuki RMZ 250 to see what the problem is.

DECEMBER 2021

And he will do that in style. He will work in a well-lit, auto and truck repair shop, he has just finished behind his new home in Georgia.

He already has a waiting list of customers to fix cars, trucks and lawn mowers. He tells them it will take him longer to finish because of his arm, but people who have seen his completed work say it is top notch; he is still a master mechanic.

Mark says he isn’t trying to prove anything to himself by racing but he hopes that what he is doing will encourage others to think about overcoming the seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their own lives. He is now in his fifties, which raises the question of how much longer he will continue to race.

Despite the now much longer distances to travel to the races in Florida, he says he will make those trips. He has no plans to quit anytime soon. He is having way too much fun doing what he once thought was impossible.

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MILES BOYER

FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

Photo by Tyler Miller

PIT DOG OF THE MONTH Griffin

Owner: Robbie & Meghan Matthews Age: 2 Breed: German Wirehaired Pointer First Race: CFTR Bartow 2021 Hobbies: Griffin loves dock diving, scent work, hanging at Dade City MX and spending time with his four brothers and sisters.

DECEMBER 2021

LANDON LYNN

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FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! THIS IS YOUR MAGAZINE, WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR STORIES! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT CONTENT TO THE FTR MAGAZINE PLEASE EMAIL FTREDITOR@FLORIDATRAILRIDERS.ORG

YOUR AD HERE!

DECEMBER 2021

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FROM THE BEGINNING

by Randy Faul

Many of us attended the first HS of the season back on Sept 18/19, but a few of the SADRA members couldn’t help but think about the Oct 30/31 event that was coming up fast.

Those members had a huge task to fill as we were given the news that our Skeleton Scramble location was being moved to the Cox road Clear Springs Ranch location. The deal was our Homeland location was being mined again which would take all of our south end property and the parking area. The timing couldn’t be determined as to when this would start, but sometime at the end of October.

Along with the fact that Bill and I had already found and marked some really nice Sunday thick woods sections the weekend before, the bad news came that week just as we were gearing up to start the following weekend with the entire club coming out to cut a new trail.

The decision brought some worries as that meant we had to move all our equipment, trailers, supplies and regroup.

The only thing going for us at the time was we knew the Cox road property pretty well and it had good parking, but that also meant that we were using a section of land that

has been shared by many other organizations.

the Sunday riders a full 9 plus miles of virgin course.

After we accepted the fact that this was our home for the next month or so, work began with mapping all the new fence lines and gates which turned into a real challenge, more on that later. The basics of positioning the start and scoring came first, and then the outgoing and return trails were added. Our starting grid took a completely different approach this time with our size increasing to 300x150 and it headed south over the ridge. We had some concerns at first but with our ace equipment operator, the end result was a success.

Lots of weekends from Friday to Sunday night went into this event along with some of us arriving Tuesday and Wednesday of race week to finish preparing for the weekend event. The weather was perfect with rain on Thursday and Friday giving the dust a rest from prior weekends. This event took a tremendous amount of work, dedication, sacrifice and planning. We have some excellent passionate members of SADRA that worked their tails off, but also members of the Sunrunners club who stepped up and helped us out as they have before. I hope the membership can appreciate the amount of work that goes into these events and every club’s efforts to provide a safe, fun riding/ racing course for you and your family as these events just don’t happen overnight.

As everyone knows, this is old mining land and is very unique being that we could have sand and loose dirt in one section and hard pack terrain in the next section. That first 1.5 miles required a mowing, skid steer work, a dozer and a cultivator behind a huge tractor to get it even ride-able, and this is just a small example of how much work this property takes to lay out a trail. As the numbers turned out, the only trail used by both the Saturday and Sunday riders was the first 1.5 miles and the last 1.5 miles as it gave

FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

I used our event as an example of just a taste of the work that goes into these weekends. The other end of it requires securing the land, equipment rental, insurance, port a johns, dumpsters, supplies, fuel, equipment repairs, trophies, commitments from membersw, gate person-

nel, security, food vendors, trash control and a host of other items I probably forgot that just comes natural to handle. The simplest things like having trash cans available can have such an impact on the weekend results along with having an organized sign up.

As our events continue to grow and our membership reaches new heights, being a responsible member and showing appreciation for the opportunity to come out for the weekend means a lot to the hosting clubs. Things like not roaming around outside the camping/pit area on your vehicles, cleaning up after yourselves and maintaining a safe camp area makes

our club’s job so much easier. This is just a small part of the process of putting on a quality event. Oh, and those fence lines and gates, they all had to be manned as this is a working cattle ranch and the separation of the cattle is part of their process. With 8 gates having to be watched, that was a task all in itself as we needed them manned all day Sunday. All in all, it was a great weekend and we appreciate all that came and especially showing the respect of being a responsible member.

THANK YOU Thanks for listening, Randy Faul

DECEMBER 2021

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FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

THANK YOU ROCKY MOUNTAIN ATV M/C FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS OVER $150,000 IN RACE GAS GIFT CARDS EACH YEAR!

DECEMBER 2021

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2021-2022 EVENT SCHEDULE DATE RACE # CLUB LOCATION

NOVEMBER 11-07 Enduro #3 Perry Mtn Maplesville, AL 11-21 Enduro #4 River City Macclenny, FL4 DECEMBER 12-11/12 HS #4 Old School Punta Gorda, FL JANUARY 1-08/09 HS #5 Suncoast Brooksville, FL 1-22/23 HS #6 PBT&TR Okeechobee, FL FEBRUARY 2-05/06 HS #7 TCTR Indiantown, FL 2-19/20 HS #8 DDR Ormond Beach, FL 2-27 Enduro #5 CFTR Richloam, FL MARCH 3-10 Enduro #6 DDR Ormond Beach, FL 3-19/20 HS #9 Nature Coast Dade City, FL APRIL 04-02/03 HS #10 Apollo M/C TBD 04-16/17 HS #11 Big Scrub TBD 04-30/05-01 HS #12 RIver City TBD MAY 05-14/15 HS #13 Sunrunners Bartow, FL JUNE 06-05 Enduro #7 Cherokee Greensboro, GA

FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS

DECEMBER 2021

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FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS