This past Friday I met a few people over at Mianus River Park in Stamford, CT. We had a really good ride and Peter, one of the guys leading the ride, was very helpful, even if I didn’t attempt half of the things he prepped us for. On the way back out of the park one of the rider’s tires popped so we spent some time attempting to patch it while getting eaten alive my mosquitos. I really need to invest in some bug spray! We ended up being unable to fix the flat so while the person with the flat and and somebody else walked back, Peter took me on a few side treks alongside the walkers.
On Saturday I finally had my first real spill while mountain biking. I went to Graham Hill Park by myself to try and learn the trails there a bit better. On my way out of the park I was trying get over a tricky (for me) little area of rocks and ended falling backwards off my bike and onto some rocks and a log, landing on my butt, back and arm. I tried my best to stay loose and “roll” with it a bit rather than tighten up like I normally would. I bruised my butt and scratched up my right arm a little bit but it was really nothing terrible. I got up slowly and made sure nothing was broken or painful, then got back on my back and continued to the parking lot.
The next day I had planned to go for another ride on the Bronx River Pathway but upon arriving was greeted with traffic and full parking lots due to an Italian/Irish festival at the Kensico Dam. I decided to go for a ride on the North County Trailway instead. I got up to Route 117 and decided to ride over to Graham Hill Park again for a little ride. By the time I got there I was pretty tired from the riding I had done already that I just did a quick 10-15 minute ride around the park. I’m starting to figure out a route I like to ride in Graham now and just have a few intimidating areas that I need to work up the courage to get over – mostly some downhill sections with chunky rocks and/or drops. On the way out I managed to get over the set of rocks that kicked my butt the previous day, so I was proud of that.
I wanted to go to Graham again tonight (Wednesday) but I was not feeling well all day. I called in sick for work but due to some problems with the project I’m heading up I ended up working all day long anyways. By the end of the day I still wasn’t feel so hot so I just decided to take it easy and watch some Eureka, my new favorite show, via Netflix.
I went out to move my car in the late afternoon today and was expecting to find a parking ticket as I forgot to move my car in the morning. Instead I discovered a pink post-it note with “i Love you!” written on it with a little heart. I honestly have no idea who would’ve left that on my car and can only assume it’s either 1) a prank or 2) some random act of kindness. Either way, it was nice to find.
There’s a mountain biking trip next weekend that I’m debating going to up. It’s up to Vermont and sounds pretty funny, but I am a pretty shy person so I don’t want to end up hanging out by myself the whole time, especially if people are bombing huge downhills. Though I suppose I could also may a quick (2 hour) stop at the Fun Spot in New Hampshire on the way back and check out the Classic Arcade Museum which is something I’ve wanted to do since I saw King Of Kong: Fistful of Quarters. Plus I took the following week off for vacation. Hrmmm…
