miles an hour around Clermont's
"Lake Loop" where the Strava
leaderboard looks like the lap-
time sheets at a pro national.
You better come prepared, too,
because once the ride is over,
it's protein smoothie, breakfast,
and time to head for the track.
The gates at the Baker's
Factory opened to reveal moto-
cross heaven. Five perfectly
manicured tracks rise out of the
flat Florida landscape and one
giant steel building serves as the
home base. Inside, there's well-
organized work bays that would
make someone with OCD smile.
And you better take your boots
off before coming in. Aldon runs
a tight ship, and let's just say you
don't want to track any dirt inside
his shop. If you do, it means
you're sweeping out every
square foot of the building.
A fleet of brand-new Husqvar-
na FC350s were waiting outside
the shop. The media gang would
ride the sandy outdoor track
while the real pros put the final
touches on their A1 prep over at
the Supercross track. A warmup,
some starts, and two 20-min-
ute mains highlighted the day's
agenda—for the pros, that is. For
the desk jockeys, well, we spent
most of the afternoon adjusting
to the foreign Florida conditions.
The sand and humidity are noth-
ing like back home in California.
The sand is finer and doesn't
pack in like what you'd expect.
Lines just get deeper and suck
the bike for every last horse-
power. It's a whole different
kind of riding. The high-revving
FC350 was a great weapon for
the given conditions but by the
time I got fully acclimated, it was
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