Darn right I overdid it!
...and if we ever get another weekend like this last one... I'll do it again!
Yes, I'm sore.
Yes, I'm tired.
No. Not one regret.
After Saturday's euphoria settled in I just had to see if it would last one more day. I packed up the bike and headed back to Rock Bridge for round two. I decided to stop at another trailhead because the map made it look like there was a bigger loop I could hit that would join up with the ones I did yesterday. But since I had never done this loop I decided to run it first. What I found was another spectacular (albeit leaf obscured) trail that wound through the woods in Rock Bridge. After several missed turns I managed to find my way back to the car. I was tired, but satisfied that I could ride the vast majority of this trail. The run was about 3 miles and although I was glad I did it to scout the trail, it took a lot out of me and I was tired when I got on the bike.
Nevertheless, on a day so spectacular for November, they were going to have to drag me off the trail kicking and screaming... I was here to play and I brought all my toys with me. The ride was surreal. I saw 5 people on the trail in an hour of riding. I knew 4 of them. I rode roughly 8 miles (no GPS so I'm not sure) of which, about 100 yards was hike-a-bike (less if I was a better rider!). Really the essence of mountain biking. Lots of ups, downs, bumps, mud, water, leaves, rocks, critters, even a couple of downed trees to navigate. I went back down the trail I had run until it split and went off toward some of the trails I ran/rode yesterday. Then I crawled back over those for a while, just exploring and trying to remember what mountain biking was supposed to feel like. I would have bursts of getting it all right and climbing stuff I didn't think I could. Followed immediately by nearly crashing due to lack of control or inattention to technique. This will be the way of things for a while, which is cool. It's all fun and exciting and new again.
I got back to the car completely exhausted, but happy. Then I went home and made the first batch of beer I have attempted in 12 years. Finished up the day with friends, Guinness and a game of Munchkin. Next weekend is going to have to really be something special to beat this one.
