This is Mountain Biking

Starting out on the ride, she feels stong, stronger than she has felt in a long time. Life is looking up; things are good. Twenty people are ready to start the ride. She and the other women lead out. Behind the two stonger women, she starts to draw on their power. They pull her along, with the guys following a safe distance behind. Her legs are beginning warm up; she isn't getting dropped like she normally does. She is still close to the front, but two of the experts pass her. The group is at the first stopping point so that everyone can catch up.

Her legs are on fire; her lungs are open. She is not having an asthma attack for the first time in weeks. The first expert goes off, she follows. The second expert passes, she sticks to his wheel. Finally, he pulls away. Still behind her are all of the sport men, the expert women, and everyone else. Her bike begins to float, barely touching the ground. Suddenly, nothing seperates her and the bike--they truely become one. The new entity weaves in and out of the single track, bouncing off of the bermed corners onto the next one down the first hill and up the next. It eats up the ground at a record breaking pace. No one is in sight; the entity is left alone to float on air. It follows the curves of the roots and rocks, feeling nothing except freedom and the wind. There are no sounds, no stress, no worries. The world is hers to take. The feeling is unlike anything she has felt in a long time, a rush like no other. Suddenly, the trees disappear and the gravel road is beneath it. The spell is broken. The two experts are waiting for her at the road; everyone else trickles in. She smiles at the experts and they smile back. She turns around to see everyone else smiling at her. She can do it!

This is mountain biking!

This was my ride......

I CAN do it....
8-24-98

Me getting a bit of air at Harbison State Forest.