I haven't been sure where to start. I love to write, but I am so type-A that I have trouble just beginning without a plan. It seems strange to start blogging in the middle of my experiences with mountain biking, but maybe it really isn't the middle, maybe it really is only the beginning...
I've been riding since I was a little girl. I don't remember when I first got on a bike, but I pretty much always rode it off pavement (mostly on a long gravel driveway with pretty gnarly gravel). Never wore a helmet or gloves, although some gloves and knee pads definitely would have been a boon on that gravel. I remember my best friend's brother used to come by and put up a plywood ramp in the driveway and jump off of it--I think he rode BMX. I always thought it looked a little bit terrifying.
So I rode horses.
And rode my bike to the barn because I didn't have a car until I was 21.
And then I got a job training horses, but I still loved exploring on my bike.
And then my bike got stolen so I didn't ride for a few years. And then the day came when I missed riding a bike so I went on a Kmart shopping spree and bought myself a nice 24 speed MENS Huffy mountain bike which was the bomb! The ladies bikes were too girly--I didn't want girly! No suspension (this was 1998, before the days of cheap run of the mill suspension bikes). It was all black (seems to be a trend for me). I loved that bike. I rode about 12 miles on the canal path in Easton PA the first day I had it and wrecked my knee for a few weeks. (The geometry and fit were a bit sub-par, but hey it was $100). I rode on some trail rides with some guy friends now and then and then a few years later I met my (now ex) husband who was a mountain biker. I rode a StumpJumper that belonged to a friend of his and had a blast! I was hooked, but unfortunately I wasn't invited along on many of the rides after the first few dating months because they were always a bit above my level. My Huffy ended up donated to my ex-husband's school because it "wasn't a very good bike" and I ended up with a comfort bike. And so ended my mountain bike days for a few years.
Then miraculously my ex bought me a mountain bike for Christmas-a little Novara hardtail from REI. And it was a bit too small, but I loved it anyway although it took me some time to get back into biking. He still never took me riding, so that summer I started riding on my own--in the park. I taught myself to bunnyhop and then started connecting with women riders in the area. I went on a night ride on one of the more difficult trails in town without really ever having ridden many trails and I had a blast despite numerous tumbles. Those ladies were so cool! (turns out while I was on that night ride my ex was probably with his mistress, but that's a whole other story, I probably was having more fun with my bike anyway!)
The next year was chaos (cue, mistress) and I found my biking zen that summer in the dirt jumps and the trails around Greensboro on my little Novara (which I dubbed "sweet pickle" because it was green). I met some really awesome people (including an awesome mountain biking guy who actually takes me riding and helps me find cool bikes in the right size), and so the real journey as a Dirt Vixen began.
Next up: George and the concussion.
