Go Mountain Biking

#103

When I was in sixth grade, I used to love riding my bike with no hands, while zipping around the blocks with my neighbors. Yet, one time, I let my bike get too close to the curb, the bike awkwardly twisted, and I fell off onto the pavement. I had to get twelve stitches, and, of course, that night was the night of the dance recital I had been preparing for, for months. With the doctor’s okay, I still danced, since the skit was only two minutes, and the ACE bandage matched my tights pretty well.

I still remember how kind the neighbor was who helped me clean my cut, after watching me fall, from her stoop, along with the friends who were there at the time and made me get well cards after I got back from the hospital.

After this experience, I stayed off bikes for quite a while, though eventually got back on one. I remember the moment specifically because, although I teetered a little at first out of nerves, my friends and neighbors all started clapping as I began peddling down the block. After this moment, which was around seventh or eighth grade, I again became comfortable on a bike and brought a bike to school during my sophomore and junior year. However, I had never been mountain biking.

When I received the email from outing club that there would be a mountain biking trip, I was psyched and texted a bunch of friends asking if anyone wanted to go. The first response I got back was, “Dear, I have a deathly fear of mountain bikes? Are you trying to kill me?” and the second was, “I don’t know how to ride a bike, so probably not haha.” Eventually, I received a yes after my friend Steph said she’d go.

The mountain biking trip took about four hours. We lucked out with how beautiful the weather was; it was warm enough, but still had a nice breeze resembling fall weather. Renting bikes was only $25.

Before we left bike rental store, the manager who worked there said to one of the guys hosting the trip, in reference to my friend and I, “Keep an eye on these two.”

Despite his trepidations, the trip was a blast and one of the most rewarding aspects was discovering how many neat locations are right near my campus that I had absolutely no idea about. And I’m a senior.

I have to admit that toward the end of the trip there was one instance where my bike went over a particularly large rock, causing my bike to jump up fairly high, and the edge of the seat jammed into my butt, which was pretty painful. For a few days, my friends laughed at me as I winced whenever I sat down.

At another point, when part of the group branched off, I called the group leader and said, “Wait, I think I went the wrong way, I’m at a sign called the ‘skills trail” and thought his “Do NOT go down the skills trail!” response, or something of the sort, was hilarious.

If you have never tried mountain biking, I would definitely recommend it. I really had no idea what to expect, but it’s an adrenaline rush that’s a lot of fun, especially during beautiful fall weather. I’m really considering renting a bike again (it’s $30 when not doing it through a school organization) and going back on my own with people, or even walking around the areas we biked through.

I realize it’s been some time since I’ve written about crossing items off my bucket list and apologize for the delay! Things have just gotten a bit hectic with being back to school. Plus, I’ve really been enjoying hearing and publishing others’  However, I’ve still been crossing items off the list and hope to post about more items I’ve recently crossed off soon.

So has anyone crossed this item or a similar one off his or her bucket lists? I’d love to hear about your experiences!

Oh, and even though I’m wearing my favorite Penn State tie dye shirt, I don’t go there!