Home trails

I never tire of rides along our home trails. Summer days, fall afternoons, winter nights and fresh spring mornings are spent in these woods year after year. Sometimes rides are solo and quiet, sometimes they're spent with friends. This unique, wooded trail system is filled with rocks, roots, off camber log overs, spunky climbs and technical downhills. These trails have taught me to be a better rider. They've made me faster, stronger and given me more passion for the sport I love... Laughter, tears, curses, and stories have been shared along these trails. Friendships have been forged that will never be forgotten. I never tire of these trails.

Bud's Memorial spot in HH

For us, West Virginia's Big Bear 2X12 was...

Photo by Solo_Goat

...driving through the mountains as the sun sunk behind
...finding out there was free camping with hot showers right at the start of the course (score!)
...pre riding the course, mostly in the dark with one light (because, why not?)
...eating summer sausage and cheddar for our pre-race meal
...braving the thunderstorm, crazy winds, and torrential downpours in our trusty two-man tent
...finding a diner in the morning with WonderBread french toast (yikes)
...racing as a coed duo on a 13 (not 12, what?) mile lap course (meh, no biggie)
...pushing hard to each do our part
...subsisting on Coke, cookies, and Hammer during the race
...crashing hard twice (me) and getting a mechanical (Ron)
...pushing forward hard to make up the time
...twisting and turning our way through the 3rd best pine tree section I've ever ridden (1st and 2nd include Webs and Old Webs in the Kingdom Trails of course)
...placing 3rd with my incredible teammate
...meeting our awesome competition and making new friends
...considering the Stoopid for a little more fun and a lot more pain
...turning the car to get Mexican instead and call it a weekend
...watching the sun sink again behind the green rolling mountains and fog filled valleys
...a weekend with priceless memories

The first post

...and so it begins. The story of a girl whose parents placed her on her first, banana seated (pink) bike at age 6. Nestled in the countryside in neighborhood between two farms, riding was fun, riding was exciting, riding was vital. As a teenager, my father placed me on my mother's road bike and our 20 mile rides were long and tiresome, yet exhilarating. In college my then boyfriend, now husband gave me a lifetime gift and placed me on my first ever mountain bike. The passion that developed for mountain biking as we wound our way through the Pennsylvania woods, over the Pennnsylvania rocks, and up and over Vermont's Green Mountain range remains unmatched. 25 years after sitting on that first pink bike, I stand on many a start line humbled and thrilled by the professional, elite women competing at my side. This is the story of that girl, who fondly looks back on the many rides past and with great anticipation looks forward to the numerous roads and trails she has yet to discover.