First Fall!

So, we've been riding on the trails in earnest for two class periods. We've been on the green trails-that is, the easiest trails in the park- and it's been a lot of fun. Sure, experienced mountain bikers would call it boring, since it's not super technical and obstacles tend to come at you one at a time instead of one after another. But for rank novices like us, the experience has been a lot of fun, and for a few of us, a little scary. I've loved every second of it, including my first fall this morning.

The class so far has gone without a hitch, really. I've been really pleased to find that I still retain a fair amount of cycling fitness, despite having curtailed my riding significantly. The course itself is relatively flat, with the only real climb being what I would call moderate, if not easy. That climb's right at the start, being on the path from our instructors house in town to the mountain course. Needless to say, it's been really nice being able to sing at the top of my lungs while almost everyone else in the class is gasping for breath. And yeah, I still sing all the time on the bike, which my new riding partners have noticed and commented on. But anyway, onto the fall.

Probably the most intimidating feature of the ride so far is, like the only significant hill, at the beginning. It's a bit of stepdown, something like three or four feet down a rocky outcrop. Admitedly it's nothing too difficult, but for those people in the class who have minimal experience cycling at all, let alone mountain biking, I understand why it's a bit scary. At the moment it's one of my favorite features to tackle, and the one I figured would cause my first wreck in the class. As it turns out, the culprit was taking too sharp a turn on a gravely patch, losing my nerve and braking, and taking a spill because of that. It was a lot of fun, and the only reprimand I got for the mistep was some dirt on my jeans and a little adrenaline in my blood. I can't wait to show up to the Russian History class I have right after a little bloody. I'm pretty sure I already get a few stares from being sweaty and dirty.

The semester's only starting to go full swing, and I can't wait to get out into the more advanced trails and tear 'em up. As for the other biking developments, I'll leave that for another post in the future, as more developments occur. But I'm pretty excited about all of 'em.
Peace out, Hombres!