The wonderful thing about our work schedule is that our days off doesn’t have to be on a weekend! We spent a glorious Monday at a local park that was popular for a lot of outdoor activities. The weather was getting warmer and it was time to resume activity for fitness. Our preferred activity for that day was mountain biking.

No, I didn’t start the day jumping off these mounds of dirt! There was never even an attempt to jump because my skill level was way below. My mountain biking activity started and ended with navigating the trails of the park. I may attempt these mounds later but probably just to practice for the dips and the rises of the trail.

An opportunity to take some photographs presented itself when these guys were practicing their jumps. They were impressive with what they were doing. From my vantage point, they were better than most who tried the jumps. I admire these guys for what they do. They ride and practice their skills to the best of their abilities.

Though I wished that I could perform the jumps, I was more interested in just raising the level of my skill in navigating the trails. I rode a bicycle most of my life but most of it were on paved surfaces. The heavy-framed metal bicycle that I rode when I was in my teens took me to a lot of places and I enjoyed it. I tried some mountain biking afterwards but my introduction to the trail was less than ideal.

My first trail riding here was a different level of experience. Navigating through dips, drops, rises, climbs, tree roots, and tree gates certainly will test skill to the limit. It can be fun but it can also be scary. Thanks to DORBA (Dallas off-road bicycle association) for all the work that they do to keep all trails usable and safe to everyone. My bicycle now is better that the first ones that I had. It is capable of doing more maneuvers safely. Now, I can resume one of my favorite activities in the past and carry it on to the future.