Riding the Vortex at Santos in Ocala (Florida does have tech and terrain)

[@330_Crew]

All those wooden features at Santos were dreamed up and help built by Ray Petro, the master mind behind Ray's Indoor MTB Park in Cleveland, Ohio (my current hometown). After the indoor park took off, he bought a winter house down in FL and got involved in the local trail building down there. He took all the wooden feature building skills he learned at the indoor park and applied them to outdoor trails. Unfortunately Ray got paralyzed after a freak MTB accident in Ohio. He still helps manage the indoor park and sketches new features for others to build.

[@itwasbean]

How funny... I just watched your video about how to check tire pressure (just ordered a bike), and clicked your related videos only to see a trail that is a few miles away from me. Small world o/

[@Synergyfarm]

I stay 2 minutes away from santos and ride all the black trails with my brother and dad all the time. Sometimes we do night runs with headlights out there. If you ever need any others riders we would love to have a good sesh!

[@charliehicks2554]

Looks like the trail builders got the most out of the terrain. Nice trails. Dawson got some awesome air.

[@JamesRobertMTB]

Would not expect to see this type of riding from Florida! Looks like a good riding spot you have to enjoy!

[@PoppoBikes]

Really like seeing the variety of trails. Been there but have not seen all of these cool features. Excellent video!

[@boydcrowder4436]

Thx for the tour Clint. I hope to get up there before it gets to hot.

[@lancelot6011]

Boy there has been a lot of work done there since I last rode it 15 years ago when I lived by the Paddock Mall. But I do remember those two big drop offs. Thanks for sharing

[@ananthkutuva3748]

That's my local! Great vid!!

[@AJMacDonaldJr]

This is why a lot of MTB pros go to Florida during the winter.

[@k2dave1969]

you would like the LI and Hudson Valley trails.....very techy and good elevation gains in Hudson Valley NY

[@tonyb2760]

I like the way those trails liiked.

[@davet4051]

Great job showing off that trail. Really makes me want to make the trip up there to ride. Thanks for sharing.

[@ludicrousbrickstudio]

Very timely video. We will be riding there for the first time, just a couple of days after the fat tire festival. Everyone at Alafia we have met says we have to ride Santos. Croom is on our list as well for the few days we will be in Northern FL.

[@ClintGibbs]

12 hours of Santos is Saturday, FYI

[@ludicrousbrickstudio]

Thanks. I wish I could say we lived down there, but we will merely be escapees from the icy north for a couple of weeks. Hope to hit Balm Boyette, Alafia, Caloosahatchee Regional and Brevard or Cherokee on the way back. My son and I truly appreciate your no nonsense, family friendly videos.

[@AndreLaurentMTB]

Santos reminds me of riding at Markham park & the Don Valley in Toronto.. It's on the list. If you ever venture to Southern Ontario we'll have to get you into the Don Trails for a rip.

[@rashman763]

Nice i think i go red ive been mount dira thanks for advice

[@gregghershberger7968]

I ride Santos every year, problem with mountain biking is there's no consistency with ratings. The first trail you rode in this video was supposedly a black diamond, but where I live in Pennsylvania that would be considered an easy blue because we live in a very rocky area. I've mountain biked all over the US and there is never any consistency in trail ratings. Some areas greens, are actually blues, and visa versa. Thanks for the video, will be in Santos within the month.

[@joeddejohn]

Wish we had something like that around here. Very nice. If my parents would let me I'd consider moving there. Too cold to ride around here in Illinois. Used to have a place around here but was cleared out.

[@gsipp00]

Used to live in Illinois did own a Mountain Bike there but very limited trails was not really able to get into the sport until I moved to Florida. Hope you get down here sometime.

[@k2dave1969]

look up Lippman in Wawarsing and Taconic 909 as well as Stillwell woods... on YT first two are upstate last on LI

[@skinny8019]

stillwell is 5 mins from me....great trail on long island NY...along with meadowlark and glacier ridge. (think more XC)

[@edlorenz1552]

Looks like DTE in Chelsea, Michigan. I would rip that place on a singlespeed.

[@mtb7018]

Looks like a fun trail 🤘🤘

[@shadowofthestarsdespair]

did you see the widow maker now thats knarly

[@ANDRES112581]

Nice. Last November I was there but it seems that I missed some of the trails u did. Do u have the gpx file u can share?

[@mccown12]

Hey Clint, great video! Could you at some point do another video on your current stable of bikes that you own? That would be cool!

[@ClintGibbs]

Thanks to COVID it really hasn't changed since I did my last video. The only difference is I no longer have the JET9 RDO. Had I known it would be so difficult to get another one I would not have sold it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2bIipSthM6lY9k

[@jimparker5949]

Hey Clint at 6:50 in this vid you Segway from the Vortex Loop to Kennz Kornerz, just wondering how you got there as I see it out the Backdoor trail and when I rode there on Saturday I did not see any other way of getting there. Plmk if there is a secret path 😉

[@ClintGibbs]

I guess you just have to keep an eye out for it. It’s just a little trail that immediately drops down a steep hill. Couldn’t really tell you exactly where it’s located. Sorry!

[@jimparker5949]

Understood, I live in SoFla and don’t get up there much but wanted to know the secret. Thanks for the videos and ride safe 🤞🏻

[@ClintGibbs]

@@jimparker5949 Cool. Hopefully had a good ride. Lots of great trails at Santos.

[@jeffbenson7712]

I’d love to get here next time I’m in FL. How does the vortex trail compare to Graham swamp difficulty wise?

[@ClintGibbs]

I would say the vortex is more difficult, especially the last few sections.

[@jennyclairesunshine]

Could I do this ride really slowly on a road bike and then hop off the bike when I don't feel comfortable? It looks like fun, but some parts of it are way too advanced for me. What's the etiquette for new riders on these kinds of trails? Thanks!

[@ClintGibbs]

I would not recommend riding this on a road bike. It’s rougher than it appears in the video. Not only will it be dangerous for you, it could damage the bike. As far as etiquette, this is a one-way trail so you don’t have to worry about direction. If you have someone coming up from behind you just simply pull over and let them pass.