Oooh, I get to post here today! I have a MTB but I mostly ride on the road with slicks. This weekend, dh and I were off for a weekend away and had a chance to do some serious mountain biking. Well, it was pretty serious for me since I am extremely inexperienced and still overly-cautious even on fairly smooth, wide, off-road riding. Since the "easy" trails were very short, we opted for the 17 km "loop" around the town which was a combination of easy, wide trails, and single-track, intermediate trails. Yikes, did I have a tough time!

Turned out I wasn't feeling too great Saturday morning (suffice to say I had made more than a few trips to the bathroom that morning) and I was feeling pretty fatigued and drained before we even started. The short road climb to the trails had me exhausted before we even got started. However, I hate to look like a whiner so I gave it my all anyway, and within a half hour, I was physically feeling a little better. Good thing too, because after the first 7-8 km of fairly easy trails, we hit some hard climbs. I did ok where there weren't too many roots and rocks, but got to the point where I had to push my bike uphill quite often. I'd manage to get a little way up and then I'd hit a tough spot and slow down enough that I'd have to put my foot down and then I couldn't get going again until I reached a more level area. Walk, ride, fall, walk, ride, fall, argh.

Also, I still have regular pedals and they have these little spiky things sticking out to give you a better grip. Well, I soon learned that if you are trying to walk your bike up a hill, they can do a lovely number on your shins. By the time we got back to the hotel 3 hours later, I was completely exhausted, banged up and bloody. I think I have a better understanding of the word "bonk" now. I felt proud of myself for trying so hard but boy do I ever have a looong way to go in the skill department... I have a huge respect for you ladies who do this on a regular basis!