The Urge to Blog

Well, here it is. I have begun a blog. I figured now would be a good time, seeing how I have something interesting to write about. Today, I will discuss my first attempt at mountain biking. Needless to say, it was quite an adventure. My bike was too tall, my stamina too short, and my skin far too fair for the blazing Dixie sun. My good friend Trevor (an avid mountain biker) and I took a short drive out to the Prospector Trail in St. George and, with some slight hesitation on my part, embarked on our journey. The first part of the trail was fairly easy aside from a few baseball-sized obstructions, and I was starting to feel pretty confident about my meager bike-on-paved-trail riding skills... That is, until I realized that we weren't even halfway finished with our intended adventure. I am submitting, regardless of what Trevor thinks, that this trail is NOT for the novice rider such as myself. By the time we made it to the end of the Prospector Trail and were headed to the next leg of our adventure, Church Rocks, I was ready to turn in the bike helmet. But, drooping smile on my dirty face, ignoring the less than mild protest of every muscle in my legs, I took a quick swig from the Camelback and gave Trevor the best "Lets do this shiz" I could muster and we were, once again, on our way. The trail became a ride over flat, slanting slabs of rock and I got just a little more nervous than I already was... You see, falling off a bike into the dirt and weeds (which I did, twice) was nowhere near as intimidating as falling onto straight up solid rock. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure the dirt and weeds are a bit more forgiving. I will say, however, that the last part of the ride was by far my favorite. It was just the same flat stretch we had come over at the beginning, but now it was almost entirely at a slight decline! YAY! We started off onto this last portion and all was going well until I realized that this constant decline could really get your bike moving... You see, I am not great with speed... I used to cry when mom got going over 25 mph in the family van and honestly almost died when I went on my first roller coaster... But, since I was out doing new things anyways, I threw caution to the wind and let off my handbrakes so I could really experience the speed. I was cruising!!!!! It was so incredibly exhilarating! I got a little too brave for my own good at one point and almost launched myself off a rock pile into the desert landscape, but once I found my happy speed medium I was rockin' the terrain! By far the most rewarding part of the whole thing was arriving back at the car and turning my dirty brow back over my shoulder to view the vast expanse of rocky, deserty goodness I had conquered. Mountain biking really is something I could see myself getting into... I just think it would be a wise decision to start slowly and work my way into it from now on. All in all, despite the wicked sunburn I received on my shoulders, arms, back, and top of my hands, the battle wound scrapes and bruises I am still nursing on my legs, and the fact that I walked a little like a duck for a couple days after, mountain biking was a total blast. Thank you to Trevor for being so incredibly patient with me, I know I was more than just a minor irritation at times :)