A mountain bike is not a road bike.
It turns out.
Today I went for my first mountain bike ride since my high school Outdoor Education trip, um, fifteen years ago. I've really enjoyed the road biking I've been doing, and the cycle-commuting/everyday-biking lifestyle I have in general, so, when my Bassist friend asked if I wanted to go with him to do some Welsh mountain biking, I said, Yeah! Of course.
So, first ride. It's -2 degrees (= icy mud) and we (he/they/the other, real bikers) decide to do "The Wall".
A "red" route.
It turns out the exercise one gets from mountain biking is not, actually, from physical exertion*, but, instead, from the accelerated heartbeat that comes with TERROR.
Oh my gosh.
Four times, on our route, there were little signs kindly placed along the route with a skull and crossbones on them, and the text, in English and Welsh: "DANGER! Are you right for this route? This is an extremely difficult...etc...only for confident and experienced riders...etc. blah blah."
Part of the route was called "the graveyard." It was the one part I walked.
Terrifying. But fun! Like life, right?
*that was fine! That was great! I welcomed the slow, long uphills, oh, yes, please! Anything but down... .
2 comments:
and independent of mountain biking, walking through a graveyard is pretty spooky all on its own... what with the ghosts of cyclists-past and all.
Wow, I am so jealous! I think you have now officially done more mountain biking since high school than me...
Post a Comment