This was going to be called "I think I broke my cooter y'all!" -- But I seem to be OK...

Yesterday it was finally nice out, so I totally skipped man! (Still love skipping) I took Penny (My new awesome bike) over to the trail. I decided to call her Penny because she cost me some, and I've decided she's lucky. The mountain bike trail is supposedly 7.5 miles long, but they seem to modify it all the time so who knows. They just got done adding a bunch of new trail. 7.5 miles is nothing on roads, but this is very hilly and twisty. Most people (guys) I've heard ride the loop in 45 minutes to an hour. It took me an hour and a half!

So we've established that I'm super slow. I will not be showing up any time soon for the Sat morning group rides. I did stop and talk to these guys working on the trail for a few minutes, but the main reason it took me so long is that I'm too afraid, so far, to ride down some of the really giant hills, or super rocky ones. Also, it was my first ride on Penny and I kept getting all messed up on how to change her gears and getting my fingers all tangled-up in the brake and gear levers and handlebars. Plus, my feet kept coming off the pedals.

About the only thing I have going for me so far as a mountain biker is stubbornness. I rode the whole trail, even the "advanced" sections. I got off and walked parts, but did ride out some sections that were too scary the last time. Every ride I'll push myself just a bit further, and I won't give up.

When I started running it was really hard too, even on the flat. Then once I got used to that and started running the trail that felt impossible -- so hilly! But now I've finally got to the point where I can run the hills no problem, even the big ones because I've done it over and over and over.

I think the mountain biking will be like the running, or welding, or writing, art, anything really, that you eventually get good at. You first have to be willing to do the work of doing that thing really badly a whole bunch of times until you build some skills. Me and Penny will just keep at it, and some day I'll be sailing down a big hill over there, following a favorite line and it will all just flow and I'll remember how when I started it seemed so impossible.

Oh-- I suppose you're wondering about my broken cooter. I went over this little rock ledge, not very big, but both my feet came off the pedals. Let's just say that's never going to be good. After my big ride on the trail I had exactly enough time to swap bikes and meet Trusty Pam for a road/trail ride that was, depending on whose odometer you believe, was either 23 or 24.5 miles. Yeah. Kind of sore today.