Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
The HuRaCan is one of the longest-running bikepacking events in Florida, dishing out remote miles, tough climbs, and mandatory swamp crossings. Rockgeist founder Greg Hardy made the trip down from North Carolina to participate in the latest edition. Find a report from his first bikepacking trip in Florida here…
Words and photos by Greg Hardy
New for its 16th year, Karlos, the originator and director of HuRaCan, invited some vendors to come down. We jumped on it not so much to set up the vendor tent (although we did, and it was great), but more as an excuse to ride the course.
This race came at a perfect time for me. With some heavy things happening in 2024 and 2025, I can’t remember going on many bike rides last year. I was looking to reclaim a better balance between work and life. Karlos’s invitation was the push I needed.
Overall, the route was more remote than I expected, but still easy enough to plan resupplies and camp at established campgrounds. This was my first time riding in Florida, and when people tell you it’s flat, they really mean it’s flat. For my route (the OG, version T), it was about 6,300 feet over 360 miles (~17feet/mile). I overpacked, but with so little climbing, I didn’t feel like I paid a major penalty for pushing a heavier bike than I needed.
Despite the lack of elevation, don’t underestimate the difficulty. There are plenty of sand sections that suck the power out of your legs, long sun-exposed gravel segments, a waist-deep natural spring crossing, and over 100 miles of singletrack. But like most bikepacking routes, you can make it as hard as you want. A few of my friends were pushing for a sub-two-day finish, while I was content with four days. About 90 miles a day gave me long days on the bike but allowed plenty of time for resupplies and warm showers at campgrounds.
Some of my favorite parts were the isolation, the singletrack, and the quiet night riding. We spent one of the sunsets on the levee, a narrow gravel section containing Lake Apopka. This area was teeming with wildlife, including alligators, raccoons, possums, and herons. It was a calm roll into the cover of night with a surreal sunset. Given the levees’ isolation and the water reflections, it felt as if we were part of the sunset rather than watching it from afar.
Another highlight was the community that showed up. Given all the route options, there was a great mix of riders. One of the unique elements of HuRaCaN is that the different routes often seemed to intersect. This gave us a chance to connect with riders on similar but different adventures.
HuRaCan can give you what you need, whatever that is—from sleep-deprived racing to party pace with some old and new friends. I really needed this route to help clear my head and just enjoy riding my bike in a new and wonderful landscape. It exceeded all expectations, and I can’t wait to get back for another run next year.
Day-by-Day Recap
Day 1: to mile 83
I rolled out with three co-workers, Clemmer, Josiah, Emmy, and some friends of friends, Jay and Drew. The start/finish was sandwiched right in the middle of Santos’s singletrack, and we quickly separated into two groups moving at different paces.
Jay and I ended up riding with Clemmer and Drew, both of whom have ridden the course before. We were enjoying their guided tour of the route with a few key detours for food. The day progressed with perfect weather, and as the night came, we stopped at a lakeside campground around mile 83.
Day 2: to mile 183
A warm sunrise welcomed us, and we had some steady riding to an amazing food truck inside an RV park. After lunch, we made the push to the infamous water crossing, a waist-deep natural spring separating the trail.
Once we got to the levee at Lake Apopka, it would be the last time I saw Clemmer, and I didn’t catch up with Drew and Jay until camp that night. Clemmer ended up bailing on our OG route in Apopka due to some bike and body issues, but made it back to the start via an alternate route.
Around 11 p.m., I finally rolled into “Samurai” camp, a spot Karlos had rented out for all the riders with lake-side camping, hot showers, and coffee in the morning. Getting there was a bit of a challenge as it required my first 100-mile bikepacking day.
Day 3: to mile 269
I left camp before Drew and Jay, as they were pushing a pace a little too fast for me. This was my favorite day because it was the most isolated riding, through the Green Swamp. With no resupplies inside the swamp, it was a long day of steady riding on hard-packed limestone. Getting out of the swamp was a bit more challenging as the gravel gave way to more sandy sections and hike-a-bike at Graveyard Road.
Just before leaving the swamp, Jay and Drew caught up to me, and we got dinner together at Taco Bell. It was then a quick ride to Silver Lake, a prime camping spot right before 30 miles of singletrack.
Day 4: to mile 360
The benefit of such steady terrain is that my speed was very predictable. My math was telling me that if I wanted to finish around sunset, I had to be rolling at 7 a.m. I woke up around 5:30, brought my stove, oatmeal, and coffee into the spacious, heated bathroom, and prepped for the day in comfort.
It was a chilly morning, but the singletrack at Croom was smooth with a blanket of pine needles. I got the classic local MTB scene here, with old bike parts dotting the trees and a handful of trail-side skull figures looking like they came out of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.
After an amazing Reuben and pickle at Lake Lindsey Mall, it was smooth sailing to the last bit of singletrack back at Santos. I entered here at sunset and covered the last 10 miles with my lights. I was surprised to see some rock here and a little technical riding. A wonderful surprise. With my tired legs and night riding it, made for a spicy finish.
You can learn more about the HuRaCan and all of Karlos’ events at SingletrackSamurai.com.
Further Reading
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