Over the past year I’ve had the opportunity to talk with people who are uber-enthusiastic about mountain biking. Their passion for it made me want to try for myself, so one sunny day after a very rainy week I headed out to La Mesa Dam to ride with the boys from Dan’s Bike Shop. They lent me a bike, helmet, and gloves, and after a preliminary spin in the parking lot, we were good to go for my first ever trail ride.

 

my bike and gear

It was amazing. Propelled by the power of my own legs magnified by the gears and wheels, we barreled through the first few kilometers. The adrenaline rush left me giddy and flushed. To be traveling at that kind of speed going downhill and uphill without a windshield or a car chassis to protect me was as hard-rock as I was going to get. (This is possibly the only extreme sport I would want to do over and over again.)

zoom!

Our trail wound through the forest, past a brook, and over gravel and mud before finally leading to our ultimate destination: the waters of La Mesa Dam. This was pre-Ondoy but it had been raining that week, so the lake above the dam was pretty high.

We chilled out for a while at a view deck, and I savored the silence around us. All we could hear aside from our voices was the rustle of leaves in the wind and the occasional plop! of fish in the water breaking through the surface.

It was then I was able to take stock of my appearance. I was bedraggled with sweat and spattered with mud. It was a good thing I was dressed in dark colors and was too hyped to care how I looked. But I took a photo for posterity anyway.

my pants were muddier.

I wrote about my bike ride in detail for the December issue of Action&Fitness Magazine, so watch out for that.:) Mmm I can’t wait to ride again…