Nite Riders

 

Mid Mountain to Spiro

It's official - I LOVE mountain biking. Brandon has always loved it. He gets so excited and sometimes it's all he can think about. I got a mountain bike to ride with him thinking I'd probably love it right away...I was wrong. Turns out I'm a roadie. I like obstacle free climbs at a steady pace, speedy smooth descents, water bottles on my bike, and not getting off unless I have to go to the bathroom. Mountain biking was just the opposite. It's been so slow, I couldn't find a pace, I have to carry my water on my back, and I've found myself off the bike more than I'd like. On a road bike I'm pretty comfortable climbing hills, I'm a climber. On a mountain bike I watch my experienced friends disappear on the trail, chatting their way up the mountain while I tell myself I'm just giving them space to keep morale as I suck wind. And on a road bike I don't just fall into trees because I don't have enough momentum to roll over a pebble. BUT, thanks to my patient, persistent husband, I've had an attitude change.




It's taken:
5 day rides
3 night rides
1 12 hour relay race at Sundance
and 9 ornery/nervous car rides to the trail 
 

What sold me:

• breathtaking views (not that I wasn't already out of breath)

 


Sundance



• good friends to ride with




Laura, me, Tara

 

• some smooth flowing single track UP and DOWN

• tips from Kat (who used to race downhill pro)

3rd Place Sundance 12 hour race: Jenny (did P2P), Kat (pro), me (weakest link), B (awesome)



• Quality time with Brandon

and MY FAVORITE: Night Riding!!!!



Wasatch Crest, pre-freezing on the Millcreek side

Night Riding!!!! (yep, it's worth 4 exclamation marks, uh-huh)
Day riding is scary enough, but night riding is even more scary, but in a fun, adrenaline filled, not-so-focused-on-my-lack-of skills way. Senses are heightened and it's a completely different experience. The Nite Rider headlamps are bright and we've gone during a full moon, but it's still dark. The trail is easy (enough) to see, but some of the fine detail and depths are slightly skewed (don't tell my dad). I couldn't see a lot of the smaller things that previously freaked me out so I just went over them...and made it. I learned to relax and trust both the bike and my instincts. Since I couldn't see the line my friends took, I was forced to choose my own on the up and techy down...and I did it. The speed and flow were there all along, I just didn't know how to ride it. Biking became my own. The obstacles became fun. The smooth downhill I enjoyed so much in Whistler isn't the only kind of downhill I like now.  I want to jump and learn how to get through the techy parts (but I'll never do the spine on the Crest). And best of all, my already awesome mnt biker husband is living the dream having his wife ride with him loving it, not just pretending to love it.



me, Jenny, Britt - top of puke hill

My favorite night ride: Corner Canyon
My favorite day ride: The Crest, although Mid Mountain to Spiro in PC is pretty good too.
The ride I'll never do again: Spiro to Mid Mountain (the reverse direction of one of my favorites)

So I could go into a metaphor about how life is like learning to love mountain biking, but that will just prove once again that Brandon really did marry a dork. He gets enough reminders.