Put the pedal to the... mud......al?

In like a lion eh? Today was my first official mountain bike ride of the year. Now I have been excited about this day since Christmas, when my wife worked out a nice gift for me with a clipless pedal/shoe/cleat setup. I've ridden since I was 13, and never used them til today (for those of you who aren't in the know, basically your shoe snaps in to the pedal so you are essentially attached to your bike). Everyone I rode with had similar setups, so I figured... "time to take the plunge."

Unfortunately for you readers, I didn't have some horrible carnage filled wreck that I could talk about for hours. But this was interesting... After 3 months of snowboarding in 50 degree weather and sun, I put on my riding shorts and bike for a few hours in 20 degree weather and SNOW. Now it was flurries, but still snow. Just isn't right. Thanks a lot Al Gore, you screwed the weather all up. :)

Well a wreck-less (and reckless :) ) day was a good thing, but I must admit; I'm still getting used to having my feet attached. Haven't perfected the little ankle twist release deal yet... So at the end of an hour climb, my legs were ready to give out. Literally 4 feet from the summit of our ride (all downhill from there), my legs quit, and I was too tired to try and release my feet. So I toppled over on the side of the hill into some lovely red mud. :) 

Some of you won't care in the least about mountain biking. But everyone says "blog more, blog more" so here's a little snippet of my day. I went all out too, even have a nice pic here for your enjoyment. My legs look a little tan, but thats only because they are completely covered in mud. The RAZR camera is below average at best. :)  

  

- derek