The main purpose of this trip was to relax and I did the opposite of relax by riding my mountain bike up some mountains. It was monumental. It wiped me out. I may have to cut this post short so I can go drive myself to dinner because I really really want a steak.
I rode on the Flume Trail. Only, to ride the Flume Trail you have to ride about five miles to get to it and they're all up hill in sand. Not pleasant. Beautiful, breathtaking and completely peaceful, but a very strenuous ride, for me at least, in sand. The sand makes it feel like you're riding over glue and your bike is struggling to go. Then there's the altitude. And I didn't have coffee this morning. All I know is that it was a struggle and I nearly turned around a few times.
You see, my mind and my body were in collusion. They were telling this cheerful little optimist cheerleader side of me that they couldn't do it. That perky self just kept saying that they can do it! They told her they didn't HAVE to do it, so why bother? This was supposed to be fun and it wasn't fun. The cheerleader can be a real bitch, though, and she won.
When I finally got to the Flume Trail, I wasn't so sure about this either. I used to ride single-track all the time, but since I only ride fire roads any more, I'm not as confident. After rounding a switchback through boulders, I got to the flat part that I had heard about. You know what else I heard about? That the Flume is right on the edge of a cliff. It is.
I was a lot more scared than I would have thought I'd be. Eventually, though, I got used to it and it was the most beautiful ride I've ever done.
The whole ride, start to finish took me four-hours. I drank my entire camelback of water and even fell towards the end. I haven't fallen off my bike in so long I can't remember. But it hurts to go up and down stairs. And I bled but didn't have any bandages. (That skin tear in my knee might look small, but it's deep.)
6 comments:
The trail looks terrifying! But the view was definitely worth it.
I don't even think I captured the "edge of cliff" reality with my pics, either. But yes, totally worth it. At least I can say that now after recovery. ;)
Great pictures! Four hours - I'm guessing you biked approx. 25-35 miles? You're lucky you didn't run out of water. Isn't a camelbak only like 2 quarts? Is that area known for mountain lion attacks? Since I'm on a roll asking inane questions, I'm going to adress the 800 lb. gorilla in the room - is your bike O.K.?
Bike's fine. I didn't go that far, but it felt farther. Did I mention the altitude? Riding on glue? Up hill? No coffee?
I don't know about mountain lion attacks, but I didn't see one.
But if I had seen a mountain lion, it would have made for a great blog post! Unless...
Way to amazon it up! Warrior, not bookseller. ;)
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