If only my knees could talk...

...oh the stories they would tell.

Or maybe they would just moan in agony.

Finally got some photos from mountain biking! Wojtek and I went to Castlewood State Park and hit the Chubb trail - 1st time for me. It was really easy for the first half. Mostly gently rolling next to the river and then through fields.

Then -- oh then -- we get to the actual technical part. Which was basically nothing but climbing up the rest of the way. With lots of rocks and roots. Definitely got my heart pumping! The part that is the most difficult is when I hit a big rock and it basically stops me, and then I can't get going again because it's so steep and I can't get both feet back on the pedals.

But after a short stop off at the top to rehydrate and rest the ol' legs, the fun part was coming back down! Probably for the first time, I was able to just let go and let the bike do it's thing, whipping around corners and jumping off the rocks. I actually had a smile on my face instead of a full-on grimace. Of course, the way back down took maybe 1/10th the time it took to get up, but it was fun!

I managed to only fall twice, which is great because it was pretty muddy and I'm known to slide around when it's been wet. I slid twice on the same section - once going out and once coming back. It was a little stream but one side of it was super steep and pure mud. You would think I learned my lesson going down but noooo, I thought I'd try going back up... That's how I got the lovely bruises on my knees this time around. So I decided that I probably shouldn't go mountain biking between now and graduation so that I can wear a dress and not have people stare at my black and blue legs!