How I got involved in mountain biking

It was a humid Saturday morning as I had one foot clipped into my mountain bike while there should have been 30 of us lined up on to starting line of this 15 mile mountain bike race. I glanced at the other competitors, some of whom what looked like a ball of fire in their eyes while others have ripped leg muscles.

They all sat onto their bikes, some of which were carbon fiber bikes, full suspension and hard tail bikes and even a few 29 ers. Here I am with only a year of experience riding on single track trails. Before the gunshot was heard during Boone Mountain biking, I kept my hands relaxed on the handle bar grips, only letting go to ensure my gloves were on tight, my helmet was modified properly and I took some sips from the Camelbak hydration system that was strapped to me.

I thought about what led me to purchase a mountain bike along with a travel guide to Brevard, how long would it take before I would become confident enough to ride through rugged terrain, switchback trails and steep hills. Can this new sport help me out in other endurance sports that I compete in?

With the background of a distance runner, Boone Mountain biking would surely benefit me. A little more than a year and a half before this race, a friend convinced me to purchase a cheap hard tail mountain bike to participate in group rides in the winter time where we would be doing many hill repeats on a 20 mile loop on pavement. These workouts can keep us in shape through the winter so we would all be better off for the upcoming season. Once springtime rolled around and wanted to get into riding on single track trails that offer switchbacks, steep hills and rugged terrain.