"Climbing over rocky mountain..."

... on a bike!? I am sure many of you are mountain bikers and think nothing of riding up and down treacherous, narrow, dusty paths with rocks, boulders, and tree roots jumbling up the way. But until Saturday when Jonny took me mountain biking for my first time, I never knew this was what it really entailed! Let me give a little background...

Jonny and I recently purchased a couple of mountain bikes and a trailer for Julia - our way of stimulating the economy, if you know what I mean. Anyway, we have really been enjoying evening rides on the nice, paved paths all throughout the Ranches. Sometimes Julia and I go on our own in the mornings, which is also very fun. Jonny's new bike, however, has seen much dustier paths. For a few weeks now, he and some buddies from work (including my bro Matt, see his blog for an idea of what these guys are up to) have been getting out of bed very early to meet at the rodeo grounds in Alpine for a morning ride - once or twice a week.

So, Jonny was anxious to share his latest awesome recreational activity with me. And I was equally excited to see what is getting these guys out there before the sun. After the Strawberry Days 5k (click the link for those interested to see details on my running blog) on Saturday, we left Julia with my mom and dad (thanks again!) and headed out with our bikes. I have always loved Alpine and think it a gorgeous town. It's even prettier when you get up really close to the mountains, where our ride began. Hmm, this is taking too long. Let's see if I cut to the chase. We started on the trail and it wasn't too long before I realized that I am something of a wuss. ( I have never liked that word; I think it is ugly. But it is prefect for the situation.) I guess I am not as immediately daring as I used to be (motherhood? perhaps.) because I found myself stalled at the top of a winding, somewhat steep decline. And there were rocks in the way! Jonny told me to put the brakes on, go as slow as I liked, keep my pedals level, and not to worry about the protruding rocks and roots - "just go over them!" Well, after a little more hesitation, I did just what he said. It was a thrill! (Yes, even at the speed - or lack of speed - I was going.) When I safely made it to the bottom of this trail, I gained some serious confidence in myself and my bike. I was excited to go down the same trail again, and this time, I let up on the brakes a little and enjoyed the ride.

We biked for about an hour. I was loving the bumps and turns - both downhill and up. It was incredible to be in the mountains, doing something so thrilling and and even a little adventurous with my best friend. Running is nice. But it is hard and not always fun, necessarily. But mountain biking is a challenging work out and it's fun. Jonny thought it was funny that my progressive comments went something like this, "Oh, this is cool. We should do this again this summer." A little later, "Man, we should do this every few weeks." And then, "Should we try to get out here every other week?" And finally, "I love it! Let's ride at least once a week."

Hey, we just might.

P.S. Thanks to Mom for letting be borrow her deluxe biking pants. You know, the awesome padded kind. I don't think I can ever ride without them now.