Gooseberry Gander: No training wheels

The first bike I ever owned was cute and pink with little tassels on the handlebars. Seven-year-old me thought it was beautiful, but totally scared of really fully riding it because the big girl bike was quite different from the tricycle I rode years before as a toddler. I had it for a while and peddled around, but the training wheels never came off.

When I was thirteen, I received a dark blue Schwinn as a gift, and I guess I figured it was a little ridiculous that I still hadn't actually learned to ride a bike. So one day I took the bike into our back yard and forced myself to ride figure eights over and over again until I just didn't fall off. At some point I remember falling and scraping up my leg, but it wasn't all too bad, so eventually I got the hang of it. Occasionally I'd ride the same bike every once in a while, but the town in which I grew up isn't super bike friendly and I just didn't have a reason to ride, so the habit didn't really keep up.

Then I went to UC Davis for college, and things changed. Bikes are pretty much like the main mode of transportation in Davis, so I got used to riding pretty quickly. But even though I moved on to a lovely vintage Schwinn Le Tour II road bike, picked up speed, and got cozy maneuvering my way through the crowded bike traffic circles, all of my biking experience still remained on flat, paved roads.

But a few days ago, that changed! Brian and I have spent the past few days with his friend and her boyfriend. They have all done at least a fair bit of mountain biking and wanted to go out for a ride, and I've been interested for a while, so this seemed like a great opportunity to give it a try. They picked out a fairly mellow trail for all of us, and I rented a bike from Over the Edge Sports in Hurricane, UT. The guys at the shop were super friendly and stoked for me to be going out for my first ride, and they properly outfitted me with a great bike for the day.

We headed out to Gooseberry Mesa (BLM land) to ride a fairly new trail called Gooseberry Gander. Given my previously outlined experience with biking, the ride over uneven terrain and rocky sections was definitely shaky for me. I always feel bad whenever I harm a plant due to my adventuring, but I don't think I had ever apologized to so many plants in one day (possibly in my entire life) as I did from just one ride. I figure that's mostly just because I need more practice with my balance and directing the bike to stay on trail, though.

I rode the bike more than I walked it, which is a good sign, and I got more and more accustomed with relatively subtle riding techniques as I went along. On the last leg of the trail, I started getting more confident, and of course, that's when I finally took a full on tumble. I hit a rock at the wrong angle and the bike slid out from under me. Really it wasn't all too bad of a crash and the bike was ok, but I got some decent scrapes and a bruise the size of my fist on my thigh. It's all purple and green and yellow and lumpy right now. Yum!

I don't know if I'm entirely sold on mountain biking as a proper way to explore an area, because I felt more focused on the activity itself than the landscape that surrounded me. But it's good exercise, a great way to challenge myself, allows me to cover more terrain in a day, and is honestly just an awesome thrill, so I would absolutely love to go out for more rides and check out some different trails. Seven-year-old me would probably be totally impressed and throwing out those training wheels right about now.