WATERMELON BASH VI RACE REPORT For the sixth year the Florida Trail Riders schedule brought racers down to the southwest corner of the state. The Watermelon Bash is held at “The Farm� which sits east of Punta Gorda, Florida. This is fourth year we have used the west of State Road 31 side of the property and the club (Old School Dirt Riders) seems to have the course layout dialed in. If you look at this property from a satellite view you may notice there are not much woods to work with. The club did a great job of breaking up the many
field sections with short woods sections, before ultimatley running down the treeline for a long, flowy section. Something new for this year was a creek crossing that brought you to the backside of the property. The club dumped some rocks in the creek to ensure it would not get dug out. Smart move! The backside of the property featured an awesome palm hammock section that featured a plethora of lines to choose from. The ditches in the fields also
FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS
provided a unique challenge as riders were forced to decide to hop over the ditches and save time or slow down and ride through the ditch, losing time but not risking a potential crash. This property might be the best on the schedule as far as spectating goes. The fields run all the way down the entrance road providing an ample amount of spots to catch your favorite rider. In addition to the fields the treeline ran parallel to the parking area allowing spectators to walk into the woods
