Sketchy Section

Mountain biking is like any other type of riding, more time in the saddle typically means better legs, better skills, and a more comfortable feel on the bike. My kids are 2 and 4, and prior to that I was getting a lot more miles in on dirt, and was riding pretty good. Now, I still get my miles in (more in fact), but they are commute miles on asphalt. Don't get me wrong, riding a bike on any surface is good with me, but in the end, I am a dirt head. I love riding trails, I love being outdoors, among the trees, rocks, creekbeds, and anything else that I might encounter while riding. So, with the limited time on dirt, it takes me a bit longer to come around, and get my head straight coming out of the winter season.

I had just 2 rides in prior to last night, one was good, one wasn't. And I was heading to the trail where my last ride was garbage. It's my favorite local trail and one of the best in Ohio and the surrounding area. The trail miles are split by a fireroad, I cleared the lake side cleanly and headed up the fireroad to drop into the upper side. The upper side is rocks, and um, rocks. So, it was time to see what's up, how am I going to be riding. I focused on relaxing, and staying loose. After a short section at the beginning, I hit the first rock garden...one foot dab and I cleared the rest!! FTW!! It was a short sketchy section, kind of tricky with a sharp left hand turn and some bigger rocks to maneuver over. Wow, what a boost that was for my confidence, it was just what I needed to take me through the rest of the ride. I had a few more foot dabs, but all in all, I was hitting the rock sections, balancing over some bigger stuff, and manuevering through like my old self!

This isn't the sketchy section, but is a pic of the trail from last fall.