Picture this, a steep, jagged-rock, muddy, single track path in the middle of a heavily wooded area. That was almost the setting of my death!
Yesterday was the second day for outdoor pursuits, and if you have been following along you knew that we went mountain biking! I was way nervous for this day and in all honesty I'mm not quite sure how I'm still alive. We started the day by getting the bikes all ready at the Conway center and then we loaded them up and headed for the mountains. We drove on these crazy narrow roads that were apparently 2-way roads with the big van and trailer behind us. We finally got to a place where we could pull off and we unloaded the bikes. We played follow the leader with Sally and everything she did, we had to do too! She took us up and down a small embankment and told us to stand up and lean back when we went down. I was quite scared just doing that, how was I going to survive the real stuff?? We took off for the "real" stuff and we were given multiple tips on the first "trail". We were told to feather the breaks with both hands, never just slam on them unless you want to go flying off the bike! We were taught the attack position which involved us practically sitting on the back tire while squeezing the seat with our thighs.
We hit the first single track path and it was ups and down and round and rounds. There were crazy rocks and lots and lots of mud and water! We were instructed to just go through everything and over everything, it is amazing what the bikes can make it through. I made it to the end with out too much trouble. I had to stop a few times to prevent myself from tipping over. I was terrified the whole time and I'm really not sure how I kept going, but somehow I did! All but one made it out of the first single track with out recking. Although, what she did was more amazing than anything else. She was just about out, just one small down-hill section left. We were all watching but I still don't quite know what happened. One moment she was at the top of the path and the next moment she was at the bottom of the embankment standing up and walking away. She pretty much rolled down a 30 foot drop with lots of trees and rocks, and she just walked away with out a scratch. It was pretty amazing! Llion, one of our guides went up to get her bike and checked it out to make sure it was alright. I think her pride was hurt but there was no reason for it, what she did was down right amazing!
Next, we "practiced" on a more difficult track with more obstacles. It was a short path and we could ride it and then come back out to the road, ride back up, and do the path again. It was really intense the first time down, but I stayed in my attack position and I made it through. After practicing the course we practiced some moves. Sally taught us how to do a front tire lift, a back tire lift and the bunny hop, which involved getting both tires off the ground and the same time. It took a lot of practice but I was determined to get it. After a lot of upper body strain and determination, I finally got the bunny hop, once! Once was better than not at all, I was satisfied! We then stopped near a beautiful lake for lunch, and Llion told us about how it is a "dead" lake because of the lead and mercury that are in it. It looked so clear, but poisonous! Oh and the joys of peeing outside... haha!
After that we had to go up a huge hill! And you know what that means, you have to go up to go down. We went really high up and we were so exhausted by the time we got there. I only had to get off once and that was because I started off too fast and then I couldn't get my gears to down-shift fast enough. Oh well, I made it none-the-less. Once at the top we were instructed to take it nice and slow and again use the attack position. We were also instructed that it got very steep at the end so be careful! As I was going down, I could see myself crashing on every rock and ever turn, but I just kept leaning back and somehow I made it though. At the end, especially I could see myself crashing, it was very steep and rocky and twisty. I leaned back and feathered the breaks just right apparently, I was still alive!
After the first huge down hill we all felt a little indestructible and were hungry for more. Sally informed us that the next path was not for everyone. She was not going to sugar coat it, it was going to be rough. She told us we could take the road around or we could venture into the hardest part of the day with her, the choice was ours. Of course I had the need for thrill by this point, but I was still pretty nervous. She wouldn't tell us it was bad unless it was really bad; we wouldn't get the option to not go if it wasn't crazy. Well, of course I chose to do it. I had to prove to myself that I could do it. I was confident I could do it. We had to ride a little higher to get to the right path and when we got there Sally told us it would be the same deal as before; take it easy and she was going to pull off eventually for us to go around her. I went second last, here's nothing! I took it really slow, and she wasn't kidding, it was crazy. So, remember that first line from the blog? Insert here. I'm going down nice and slow, staying low on the back of my bike when I see Sally pulled off to the side. No problem right? Not right, when I'm getting close to her I end up getting a little too far forward on my bike because of a previous hump. I hit the brakes a little too hard but thats ok. I get slowed down enough to where I could put my feet out. So my feet are on the ground but I'm still hitting the breaks and the bike is still going forward. My left leg is now wedged between the turning handle bar and the rest of the bike, I'm still propelling forward when just like that I finally come to a stop. I thought I had stopped myself, but I just happened to be crashing in the right spot. I turned around and Sally was right next to me on the path and she had grabbed my back tired that was now higher than my head. Oh wow! My life had just flashed before my eyes. I thought I was going down, and had I gone down I'm pretty sure I would have snapped my leg in half because of how it was wedged in my bike. I cheated death so I decided I should probably walk the bike down past the really bad stuff.
After that event, the day was pretty uneventful. A few in the group did these crazy camel back rollers and tried to get some air. Most of them found the ground instead. I got some good footage of that part :) I decided after cheating death I probably should try it again, I might not win twice in a row. Overall, it was an amazing day and I'm so proud I pushed myself as hard as I did. I was very nervous going into mountain biking and I came over very confident!
Tomorrow, Liverpool! The Beatles Story is going to be amazing... All you need is love...
Until next time...
~Amy
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