MTB 101

We're back in school! Katherine and I are taking a class at UT. (It's OK Aggies....so far, Katherine has not spontaneously erupted into a ball of flames while on UT's campus. I was actually a little worried about that!)

Ok...back to the class...so we signed up for a Mountain Biking class offered through the "informal classes" at said school. We had our first outing last Saturday and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. We weren't sure what to expect with this. The class compliment is a total of 4 people, 1 other girl and 1 other guy. Our instructor, Debbie is a very experienced MTB Girl....she makes it look easy! She took us through some basic riding techniques in the parking lot, assessed our riding positions and bike setup and we were off to the trails of Walnut Creek. We've been to Walnut Creek before and had a pretty good time, but we also knew from our previous experience that these trails could pose a few challenges. Ok, I have a bone to pick here. According to all the maps and info I've seen online, Walnut Creek is supposed to be an "easy to mid-level" ride. I'm not so sure about all that; there's some tough trails out there! Actually, this time was easier than the last and I'm sure it's just going to get better. We had fun with our first lesson. I crashed this time. I was going down a steep rocky hill and just didn't negotiate the crevices with the finesse they demanded.
This picture just doesn't illustrate the degree of dirt, muck, and blood...hehe...


I think we are going back to Walnut Creek to ride the 11 mile loop next Saturday and then some tougher trails await in a few weeks! Stay tuned for more gnarly action...