Bruised bum weekend

This weekend was filled with aching legs, leech bites and bruises.

For the first time in about 3 months we went mountain biking again. We were all pretty happy before setting off on the trails as seen in the picture below. We were going to have a go at "Dream" (the name of the trail) at FRIM.



After pedalling in past the gates and towards the trail proper, we stopped for another pic. Still looking very gung-ho and ready forthe challenge.



15 minutes into the trail, Jason turns back and looks at me and says: "You hyper-ventilating?"

"Uh...*breathe* breathe* ... no, not really... *breathe* *breathe*"

"Okay, if you're hyper-ventilating, better stop, take off your helmet and catch your breath for a bit okay?"

"Uh... *breathe* *breathe* okay."

About 5 minutes after that I fell of my bike. Heh... guess I'm just not as fit as I thought I am.



Got back up and continued down the trail again. This is me, still looking cheerful. I *attempted* some basic Mountain Biking maneuvres - Jason and Yuke Bin - were teaching me since they were basically the gurus of the group, but fell down a couple of times. Can't take a bend yet or do a switch-back. Can't even pedal off a ramp and land properly (resulting in me getting stuck half-way up the ramp and falling off my bike again).

But we persevered through the entire course (about 2 hours of biking) and the reward was a high-speed chase down tar roads to get back out ot the main entrance. There's nothing like having the wind in your hair, going at top speed and knowing that you're not likely to get knocked down by a car. It's just simply joy.

The rest of the day actually deserves a part two in itself so I'll setup a second post later when I get around to it.