Graham Swamp Trail Tour... Is this the toughest trail in Florida?
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2022
- Graham Swamp Trail in Flagler Beach Florida offers some of the most challenging trail in the state. And one of the best rewards after the ride, a mile from Flagler Beach Pier. Great recovery plan is to put your toes in the sand and a drink in your hand!
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Awesome ride, your crash totally caught me by surprise. I really enjoy your running commentary describing the trail. This is the one of the few total trail rides I've seen of Graham Swamp, you've really given me a good idea of the ride. I'm not ready for that trail, it would be a hike and bike for sure. Thanks again and I'm glad your OK and the beach is awesome. I live about 30 minutes from the trail head if I ride my bike from home.
Hey Growell, thanks for reaching out! I'm so glad you enjoyed the video. I have a series of trail rides like that of local (central Florida) trails. That's what makes mine different than others who only show you a few minutes of the highlights. I got the idea for that when looking for trails to ride myself.
You have another great trail close by, Mala Compra, have you been there? Less elevation but very fun, creative trails there. There's a video from there on the channel as well. Have fun out there and be safe!
Give Graham a shot, I bet you'll do better than you think.
@@2SixCyclesports Yeah, I've ridden Mala Compra and really enjoyed it, but I go out to Moses Creek more than anywhere else.
I've got to get my conditioning up before I can tackle Graham Swamp, but looking at Markham Woods that looks like fun.
Ha, that is specifically why I went out today- to start training for FSC. I am still learning it; I did 3 laps. And you are totally right- harder than any FSC course.
My back yard, as I call it. Couldn't be luckier that this gem is 10 minutes from my house. Good job bro, even after that fall. I stay to the left on that drop, especially when I'm riding solo.
Hey Derek, thanks for watching. You sure are lucky to live so close to and amazing trail like this, not to mention Mala Compra near by as well, (shhh.. that’s foreshadowing).
I hit that drop all the time, actually look forward to it. I really think my problem there was just not enough speed. Talking through the whole lap is a little distracting and I missed the approach on a few sections. But that one got me, I dropped and pretty much stuck in that sand, not enough rolling speed.
But you gotta look at the silver lining, hilarious video for the viewer! I don’t mind laughing at myself and that’s exactly what I did when I watched the video back and saw all those leaves packed in my helmet. 🤦🏻♂️
I’m glad you liked the video and if you haven’t already, click around the channel, there are a few other local trail tours, as well as some other content. If you like what you see, and haven’t subscribed yet, subscribe so you can get alerts when new content drops,(more foreshadowing), ride on my friend!
Same! Love being just down the street from swamp 💪
@@2SixCyclesports I rewatched the crash at half speed playback and your commentary was cracking me up. I recommend it.
@@ChadSextoid1 Glad you found some pleasure in my pain Mo! lol, seriously though thanks for watching and stay tuned… who knows what’ll happen next
@@2SixCyclesports Might get extra views if use the leaves in helmet selfie as thumbnail. Did good, managed all the tough climbs. Toughest trail I've ridden in FL, definitely cardio challenging.
That's a nut buster of a trail. I used to ride that in the 90's and the pine needles and sugar sand sucked you down. Looks like more fun than when I rode it now. But, man...!😮
Hey JP, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Yeah the trail has certainly changed especially in the past few years. The trail crew out there is amazing and have been working very hard adding rock sections to minimize erosion and maximize gnar! It is truly a test. Glad you enjoyed the video!
Been riding about 6 months and have completed Graham a handful of times (most climbs anyway!) Great video to take me through at a similar pace to mine. Tough trail!
Hey Ron, thanks for the watch, and kind words on the video! I love Graham, stick to it, it's so empowering when you can feel like you own it! Ride on.
Great video. I love Graham and I agree...toughest continuous 7 miles in FL (at least that's my opinion). My wife and I refer to it as Graham the Impaler.
Ha! Graham the Impaler, fitting. Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it!
Kudos on this one! That is the best video on Graham Swamp that I've ever seen! Way to go!
Wow, thank you so much Chip! Thanks for watching, I love riding these trails and I’m always looking for good videos of places I want to ride to do recon on the trails. So I thought I’d start producing some for others like me looking for the real trail experience, not the highlight film, or my best pass on a feature or the coolest jump line. Majority of us are out there grinding the trails, with these type of videos you know what to expect, and you can make a favorites list of places you may want to hit. Keep watching I’ll be adding more as time goes.. cheers!
Great video man! Keep getting at it, and enjoy.
Thanks Nate! Trying to stay in shape for next years moto trip. Watching those videos back has me feeling my fatigue on Thursday and Friday all over again! Hope you’ve been keeping up with those videos too. Good stuff!
You need to get out with some locals to show you the lines, LOL. That spot where you crashed, the best line is far right, you can gap into it from the roots up top.
You’re right! Thanks for the watch, probably a few other blown lines in there too. Happy trails!
JUST SUBSCRIBED BRO!!!!KEEP IT UP!!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks Trail Hunter! I appreciate the support. Stay tuned, I will definitely be following up with more Central Florida Ride spots and eventually branching out. Glad you liked the video!
Amazing video. Thank you for talking throughout to explain the trail. I am doing Trailfest in Nov and signed up as an excuse to drive up for a stay and do the double loop of Graham swamp. I have no idea what to expect but I’ve heard this trail was difficult. I’m near Alafia and Balm so I guess I will need to train there on climbs and drops for sure. If you’re familiar with Alafia/balm let me know what trails there would be similar to really train on. I will be riding Graham “blind” for Trailfest. Also what tires are you running? Curious regarding the traction. Thinking of using a Rekon in rear. Current running a Rekon race though but afraid I won’t get the climbing traction.. Cheers!!
Thanks for the watch! Glad you enjoyed it. I have ridden both Balm and Alafia but I don’t know them well enough to tell you trail names . I do know at Alafia there are some sections on the spines that wind around that have a bit of climbing. Nothing that I remember there really resembles Graham though. I would just say work on fitness, climb what’s there, but be conditioned to ride for two hours without a break. If you’re doing two laps at Graham and your in decent shape and have good bike skills it’ll take you 45-55 minutes a lap.
As far as tires go, in the video I’m running Maxxis Ardent’s front and rear, but I’ve also ridden Continental Race Kings in there during racing season. No traction problems with either type. I feel it’s more about psi. I run around 18 pounds in the back and 18-20 in the front. I am tubeless, so no worries about pinch flats at lower pressure, but certainly helps on the rocks and rooty climbs. But the terrain varies so much from hard pack, to sand, to rocks and roots, you need a good all around tire. I think the Rekon race tire will be fine in there.
Good luck at trail fest, (I may be there too), and now you won’t have to ride completely “blind” as you’ve got this great POV to study, you’ll feel like you’ve been there. Partly why I’m doing this series is because when I race, I like to look up trails that I don’t get to ride much and learn what I can from the videos. Trouble is there aren’t a lot of them out there. So I thought I’d do my own series. If you click around the channel you’ll see I posted all of my races from last year as well, lots of good trail systems from all around the state. Enjoy!
@@2SixCyclesports you rock!! Thanks for all the input. I am tubeless as well. I will likely go slightly lower psi for traction’s sake. I’m not doing this for time but rather for motivation to just ride and get better so climbs and descents and everything in between I want to improve. I’m guessing it’ll be at least 2 hours for me - hopefully there will be other casuals there. It looks like an awesome trail which is why I signed up to go check it. I will be rewatching the video as it is so informative. I’m gonna be like Cool runnings bobsled team and know the turns and climbs and features before a pre-ride lol.
I almost got pushed into that tree on the left before as well hitting that drop when it was sandy 😅
She’s a doozy… Thanks for watching!
Graham Swamp is e-bike heaven and I don't own an e-bike so.... Yeah I'd call it the toughest 7 in Florida 😂
Great POV vid! Is foot traffic allowed on this trail? I'm part of an ultra trail community and know about a race out there but not aware of everyday trail running on it. Thanks!!
Hey Red, thanks for the kind words.. the trail is mountain bike specific, though I have seen people hiking it. There is also a hiking trail that leaves from the same trailhead covering the same terrain on its own trail, which would probably be a safer option than competing with the bikes on this trail. A link to the parking lot and trailhead is below.
maps.apple.com/?ll=29.508363,-81.161623&q=Dropped%20Pin&_ext=EiYpeb92t1R/PUAx6lp7nypLVMA5Zd6q61CDPUBBfBQ3Et9JVMBQAw%3D%3D&t=h
Thanks for the watch, glad you enjoyed it!
Y’all mountain bike too?!?!?! HELL YEA. Come to big creek in Roswell Georgia and we can ride together!
Hell yeah Curtis, we do it all!
Scroll around the page a little and check out some of the other MTB vids I have on there. Full race season from last years Florida State Championship Series and a few other trail tours.
Sounds like we're gonna have to make a plan for a GA ride. What are some of the good trails up there? I'll do a little UA-cam research. Thanks for watching!
@@2SixCyclesports I’ll def check out the rest of your videos! My favorite XC trails here are Allatoona creek, blankets creek, Chicopee, and big creek. Big creek also has amazing downhill trails. We also have Jarod’s place which is strictly downhill enduro trails. They have a lift service so they drive you to the top each time you go down. There’s a good bit of fun to be had around here for sure. The one video I posted is my favorite drop at big creek it’s so fast and fun.
@@klxcurtis3925 oh yeah, I’ve ridden Blankets, that’s an amazing trail system! I’ve been wanting to get back there bc I was on a road trip and couldn’t spend as much time as I wanted. I’ll check out the others on the Tube and hopefully I can get up there sometime.. thanks!
@@klxcurtis3925 that’s a sweet drop!
I’d say this looks pretty hard, but honestly I’d say the Fort Pierce Airborne MTB Trail is the Toughest Most Technical Trail in Florida. I think you’d love it check out some vids.
Oh, thanks for the recommendation! I haven’t ridden there. I’ll have to check it out. Glad you enjoyed the video!
What computer are you running?
Hi Amos, it’s an iGPSPORT model 50E. I only really run it for redundancy now because I use a Garmin watch that does all the same stuff and I don’t have to wear a heart rate monitor strapped around my torso.