Mud, Sweat, and well, Blood

Actually got some blood today (ROADIE ALERT!)
Just 40 minutes from my front door you can see this from the saddle of your mountain bike (I look like a giant bobble-head with this self portrait!!)

"F" trail looms ahead. Gorgeous, but technical for my crappy skills....

The past couple of weeks I've managed to put a day or two a week on the mountain bike. Yeah, I know - weird! It's been a really long time since I spent any amount of regular time on the knobby-tired machine, and I actually have missed it a bit. It's amazing to see how limited I am by my handling skills. Fitness doesn't seem to be the issue - it's figuring out how to maneuver the bike over, around, and through obstacles. My uncanny knack for managing to have my foot in the worst position was getting me down - literally. I kept hitting my foot on rocks, which in one case actually stopped the forward movement of my pedal and then proceeded to throw my momentum forward and up, raising my butt off the saddle in a surprise lurch forward.

But, it was totally worth it... riding out in the middle of the woods with no one else, with nothing but trees, trail, and the smell of the summer surrounding me. Again, I am blessed.