Mountain Biking...

- Is my new love.

- Involves things like "bunny hopping" over logs and riding through streams.

- Is more thrilling when done in the near dark.

This summer I discovered how much I love this aspect of biking. Tim and I and often several of our children have tried out some nearby trails. I've found how thrilling it is so ride through creeks and try to jump over logs, though I haven't come close to being able to "bunny hop" even though my eldest son has tried to instruct me. At the beginning I screamed a fair bit, but now I rarely do.

Because we typically try to squeeze in a ride after more important work, it is usually getting dark while we are on the trail. Saturday Andrew was home, having come back to B-ton to purchase a replacement bike for the one that had been stolen last week on his campus. Well, of course he wanted to try out his new bike, so after dinner we headed to the local mountain bike park, known for its "technical features." (Read - logs across paths, roots, tight switchbacks, etc.) Talk about dark! Wow - we could barely see a few feet in front of us in the woods. On our last loop I hit a log and did an awesome catapult. How glad I was to be riding with most of my favorite men, who quickly returned to pull my bike off of me!

Check out this link for reviews of mountain bike sites in Indiana: http://www.hmba.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index

Comments

Kim said…
I am trying to picture:
you all mountain biking
in the dark
you flipping and
you screaming

All seems surreal to me! Hope it was fun and worth the "ouch factor" .
Anonymous said…
It's not surreal. More like a crazy family romp. I'm just not into the whole 'dark' part so much as the rest of my favorite people :)
Kim said…
No Kara, you are more into the "let's get injured" type of romp. Hmm, sounds like your mom as well.

I hope helmets are in order for your family's "romps."
Anonymous said…
They have to be at Wapehani. They check, since it's a private park. It's a cool little place, at least it would be in the daytime. You should bring your bike sometime and come with us :)
Anne said…
I always wear a helmet when mtn. biking, though I can't say the same for my eldest. :(
And - funny thing - the flip that time came so fast (and w/ no warning since I couldn't see anything) that I don't even remember screaming. I used to scream or get bug-eyed just seeing what was coming ahead, but I'm more used to it now. Als- landing in the dirt beats landing on asphalt, except I kept tasting grit for hours.
Kara's right - we were at Wapehani, which is located off Weimer Road between Tapp and Second. If you want a very gentle introduction to mtn. biking, try the old horse trails at Spring Mill which they've changed to bike trails. Brown Cty. park now has some real mtn. bike trails which Tim and I are eager to try.

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