I originally posted this on a local website and was suprised at all the feedback I received. Apparently I am not the only one who had a rude awakening on his first ride......Well, I took your advice and took my fully rigid Diamond Back to Anne Springs Close for my first ride. I had my water bottle filled and my ipod on and was ready to tear up the trails. I forgot if anyone had mentioned if there was a difference in difficulty so I just headed out on Sugar Loop. I made my way through the bumpy roots, took the first wrong turn I could, but got back on track and headed through the tunnel. I was having a blast even though the trail was bouncing my bike so much my fillings were rattling out of my teeth. I started getting hot and thirsty, reached down for my water and was very disappointed to realize it had fallen out somewhere on the first mile or so. Fine, I’ll be a man and ride it out. Then I started hitting some of the climbs. Now, these may be mild to the regular rider with a nice bike, but I haven’t done more than ride a bike around the block a few times in the past ten years and I’m riding what I once thought was a decent bike, but has since been reduced to a piece of sh-t, from 1993. Anyway, after a few climbs, I was dying. I was gasping to catch my breath, my mouth felt like it was full of sand and I was sweating so hard my pants looked like I had p-ssed in them. I would ride the downhills and even that wore me out and as soon as I would try to climb a slope, I would almost pass out, get off and barely be able to walk up the hill. When I got to the top I had to stop and pant for a few minutes. Everything seemed to be adding to the problem. I took out my earbuds, then removed my sunglasses. After a few more logs and roots my helmet strap felt like it was constricting on my neck, so I unclipped it.
Eventually, after making it 2.5-3 miles, I just gave up, took my helmet off and began the walk of shame. Luckily there weren’t many people out there (my appreciation does go out to the 65 year old guy that flew past me without audibly laughing his ass off). I started to panic, worried I would take a wrong turn and prolong my trip through hell. If that had happened I would have likely just dried up and blown away in the wind.
I finally made it to the exit where I noticed someone had generously left my water bottle sitting on the concrete at the kiosk. At that point I would have picked it up out of a pile of sh-t and guzzled it down. Luckily I wasn’t forced into that predicament. Though a little warm, it was the best water I had ever tasted in my life. I made it back to my truck, dropped my bike, crashed into the front seat and turned on the air. I sat there for 15 minutes, trying to get myself together, wondering what the hell I was thinking when I planned this trip. Back in the day, I lived on my 20 inch. I could do anything on that thing, never getting tired. How things (or maybe its just me) have changed……..
Anyway, after this terrible experience, I made it home, layed down for awhile. When I got up I immediately got on ebay and made the following purchase……..
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...1/HiFiPlus.jpg I guess I am just a glutton for punishment. It may have been a rough day, but now all I can think about is getting back out there and trying again. I’m hooked.
