Dirt Girl

Three hours, 6 crashes, no broken bones, log hopping, tree hugging, switchback mastering, hill descending, and I have finally earned the title of "Mountain biker". It has been a long time coming and a long time earned, and while I still have a long way to go, I came come far according to my husband.

If you have not been to Dyer Road Mountain Bike Park http://victormtb.com/ then take off your "road mind" and get over there.

How lucky can I be on a Sunny Thursday in December, just a few days form Christmas, with temps in the 50s? Spending three exhilirating hours with my husband traversing trails I may not have done alone.

At one point I was riding down a steep incline and realized that my front brakes were failing, I looked at a bunch of trees and then before I knew it I was stuck. Front tire down, rear tire up, leaning head first into a bunch of small trees. Midair almost! Thrilling!

Five minutes later my bar end hooked a tree as I flew over the handlebars and landed on my back. Luckily my shoes came unclipped.

The trick for me is to let go of my road mind. The crashes will happen, yet they are not going to happen at 25 mph, along a busy road. They happen at 11mph at most, and the soft roots around cushion your fall. I learned how to jump big logs, I learned how to grab onto a tree if I thought I was not going to make the turn. And gasp, I didn't die, my arm did not get ripped off, and I found myself screaming in joy as I descended hills that at the top...... I could not see the bottom of because it seemed to be concave.

What a wonderful way to spend the morning with your spouse, and a wonderful way to spend a three hour ride. When given the choice between computrainer and sunshine, I will pick sunshine every day. Allowing myself to let go of wattage, cadence and heart rate to breathe fresh air and spend time in the quiet silence of nature...... it helps restore and recharge me in ways I can not describe.

So now I am a bona fide mountain biker, or so they say. Hooray! Here's to new adventures!

:-) Mary Eggers