Our First Trail Ride!

We took our first trail ride today, Linzee and I. We went here: to Harris Lake...close to the Sharon Harris Nuclear Facility, if any of you are familiar with that.

We went on the (beginner trail)...and holy crapola - if that was beginner, I don't want to see intermediate!

I'm a chicken shit...that's what I discovered on this ride. Though I'm less chicken then I thought I was. Doing something like this is usually WAY out of my comfort zone. But I decided I wanted to do it, so I did...at least I tried.

(Keep in mind, I am not completely comfortable on my bike yet). So I get on the trail and immediately think to myself "what have I gotten myself into?" The bit of trail leading to the fork between beginner and intermediate is full of roots and at a slight downhill angle and the turn to the beginner trail is a sharp right...I'm still not good with sharp turns, so I stopped, hopped off and got myself situated on the trail. Next thing I see is a bunch of big sharp looking rocks outlining the trail...at a curve and slight uphill. I think I walked up that too. Then I rode for a bit...until the next thing that got me off the bike. It was like that on and off for the first 1/2 of the trail. I sound like such a pussy, but this is all new to me and like I said, not my normal thing.

Anyway, I continue on the trail and almost fell of my bike when I saw this "rock" in the middle of the trail. Only it wasn't a rock. It was a creature! My favorite kind of creature! And he has been dubbed "trail turtle."

I got through the last half of the trail better than the first half, though some parts of it were still a tad scary for me and I did walk a couple more. I got to the parking lot slick with sweat and dirty (yay!)...and proud of myself for pushing to do as much of the trail as I did even as uncomfortable as I was with parts of it.

Linzee had fun too: