Mountain Bike is the funnest thing ever.     And I am fortunate enough to live close to some really great mountain bike trails.     My favorite riding grounds are Carolina North Forest and Lake Crabtree County Park.

When I am riding trails I feel like a little kid playing in the woods.    Part of the fun is that I am learning new skills – trying to figure out how to navigate obstacles on trails.   It’s a great family activity, too.

The downside is that I am having so much fun that I forget that I am 51 years old, and perhaps take too many risks.   I don’t take huge risks like doing jumps that put me airborne.  No way.   But I do take small risks like trying to hop over a log, or descending tricky or steep section of trail.    Taking risks means that I sometimes wipe out and get injured.

Here are some photos of some recent mountain bike adventures.

All packed up to go

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Ouchie: Here is what happened when I got lost in the woods for two hours. I was tired, running out of daylight hours and so was trying to ride fast.   It takes a great deal of mental energy to navigate trails and physical stamina to ride fast.   And when that all begins to wane, the risk of taking a spill increases.     This wipe-out happened when my front tire hit a rock, which knocked my steering wheel into a small tree.   That was just enough to knock me off my bike.  I’m not even sure what my leg hit – my chainring perhaps??    While this was just a flesh wound,  it still hurt alot, and I still had to ride 45 minutes to find my way back out!    I had a big knot in the muscle of my shin that lasted a few weeks.     I had to stop running to let it heal.

Lessons:  don’t push daylight hours, and get a big bright head light.

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Rock Garden mishap:  Here’s another little spill I took when trying to navigate a tricky rock garden on the Crow Branch Overlook trail at Carolina North Forest.    This one bruised up my elbow for a few weeks.    I get a little better each time I ride this tricky trail, so these little spills are worth it because I learn from my mistakes.

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Super funsies:   Here was a fun outing with my daughter, Mary Beth.   We rode at Carolina North Forest which is really close to her apartment and my house.    yay bike!

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She spotted this curvey bridge on the Neverland Inner Loop that I had never seen.   Super dooper funsies.     I’ll never grow up!

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Big Ouchie: My latest ride was going really great.  I was nailing all the obstacles like a pro.  Until  I tried to bunny hop over a log – instead of my usual log roll move – and failed miserably.   I landed hard on my tailbone and got the wind knocked out of me.   I lay in the leaves for a few minutes, then I had to ride back out – yikes!    My lower back hurt alot on the climbs, so I ended up getting off alot and walking.   When I got back to my car, I noticed my nose hurt.   I guess when my head smacked the dirt, it caused my helmet to push my glasses into my nose.   I had a nasty bruise on my nose all week as if someone had punched me.  And my tailbone still hurts.

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This was the worst fall I’ve had so far.  I think my mistake was hitting my brakes when I realized that my chainring was smacking into the log.  I probably should have tried to go with the flow and grind over it.    But hitting the brakes made me stop suddenly and I tipped over.

Lesson:  don’t freak out and hit breaks.

Also,  29r tires would help me get over those logs easier 🙁

This sport has a definite negative impact on my triathlon training.   But it’s so fun.  But I don’t like being injured…

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