When I got home from work tonight I decided to do something I haven’t done for quite a long time. I decided to go for a ride on my mountain bike.

Once I got on all my riding gear (special pants with cushy rear, bike shoes, helmet), I went to grab my bike. I quickly found that since I hadn’t ridden my bike basically all year, both tires were flat.

photo credit: Arria Belli

I got out my little pump to put some air in the tires. Little did I know when I decided to go biking that I was going to get an entire workout before I even got on the bike! I started pumping, and pumping and pumping. About 10-15 minutes later the tires were full of air - finally! My arms were quite tired.

After the tires were fully inflated i threw the bike in the car and headed down to the mountain bike trails on the Minnesota River a couple miles from where I live.

I jumped on the bike, and headed down the trail. And then I noticed it. My back wheel was wobbling. Not good. I decided to continue riding anyway. I made it to the dirt trail, and headed down it at full speed. There’s nothing quite like heading down a dirt trail with trees on either side of you, inches from stopping you dead in your tracks. It’s quite a thrill, and I never get tired of it. Actually I do remember one time when I caught my handlebars on a tree branch and went flying. That wasn’t fun - so actually - its a thrill when you don’t crash.

I continued on down the trail weaving in and out of the trees, through tall grasses and over little wooden bridges. It’s been a while since I’ve been biking, but since I’ve been running so much lately I wasn’t as out of breath as I expected to be.

photo credit: andy_c

The sun was nearing the horizon at this point, so I started heading back. I made it back to my car just as the sun set in front of me. Not a bad ride - and a good workout. I probably biked about 10 miles in all, going hard the whole time.  Now I just have to get that back wheel checked out.

I have got to ride my bike more!

Shop for Cycling Gear at Eastern Mountain Sports

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