K-57

A Bang Up day on the Mountain Bike trails

That was the roughest 12 miles of trail riding I can remember since starting the sport. 5 crashes, 1 face plant, 2 endos (head over heals over the handle bar), a torn jersey, a few scratches and plenty of sore muscles. To say I was out of touch today is an understatement. I love the sport. (Notice I kept riding anyway?)

I don't know if it's been the lack of decent sleep lately or the increase in apneas since my weight has creeped up a bit since the cold. Whatever the reason, it was one heck of a day. We started out on "bridges" trail and watched another rider zip down a fast, steep hill and flip over (Endo) only to land on his face. From above and behind him, it was not easy to see what happened. When he checked inventory he discovered a dislocated middle finger. A group of 5 people helped him back up the hill and out to the parking lot. People get hurt at this place just about every week. I feel lucky that I decided ahead of time I'd take it easy today.

Hmmm...Perhaps THAT is why I had trouble? "The Mind is a Terrible thing" runs through my thoughts. Did I do poorly today because I told myself going into the day I was going to have trouble? Or did I recognize how out of sorts I've been and met expectations by the number of falls? Either way, it feels like it's all in control of the mind.

Someone hit this blog site the search phrase of "How does a Mountain Bike work?". I've thought of that answer a little more today and it turns out that it's not the mountain bike that does the work, it's the rider. A combination of equipment, confidence, experience. Knowledge and practice are all required to achieve a great day on the trails.

Some days it's amazing how smoothly and efficient things work and other days it's not so fun. Anyway...

A Bad day on the trails is better than a good day on the couch.

Tag: mountain biking

posted by Kev @ 5/30/2005 12:41:00 AM