i'm alive

A couple weekends back Parker decided I needed a small dose of adrenaline.

So he took me mountain biking.

downhill mountain biking.

I'll be honest...

I'm not great.

I'm not even good.

And I'm pretty reckless.

Which makes for a lethal combination.

Luckily my biker's beginner's luck is still in effect.

Or at least I think it is, considering I'm alive and able to tell you all about it.

Parker gave me the big helmet.

And even let me ride the best bike.

I looked legit...

'til I started to pedal.

But you can't see that in the pictures.

My lungs burned on the uphill.

My tummy did too.

I definitely regretted my morning orange juice.

I had a little outburst when Parker promised me

(for the third time)

that the downhill stretch lay "just around the next turn."

But my bitterness subsided when I saw the view.

It was breathtaking (quite literally).

The perfect picture of fall.

Even with the dark clouds lingering in the distance.

(my dinky point-and-shoot camera and this angle don't do it justice...but believe me, it was BEAUTIFUL!)

And as we cruised down Bobsled I finally figured out why my husband so loves this sport.

It's a rush.

I flew through hues of yellow, red, orange,

and even a few green stragglers,

rounding each corner by riding the walls of the trail.

Parker looked nearly parallel to the ground as he made each turn.

I'm guessing I might have too.

The physics of it is still beyond me.

It started to rain on the home stretch.

Mud splashed clear up to my waist as I pedaled through puddles alongside my husband.

But I couldn't have cared less.

I was so happy.

And I could tell he was too.

It's still amazing to me that I've only mingled with the other love in my husband's life a total 4 times in our 20-months together.

Every time we ride I wish I'd been raised around biking like he was.

Wish I had the skills and coordination to keep up and even challenge him.

But as happy as he'd be to have a pro-biker for a wife, I think, sometimes, it's good to have these student/sensei moments.

It teaches me to be teachable.

And teaches him patience.

And we both come out of it even more in love.

It makes me happy.

Thanks for the biking day baby cakes!

Oh and MiKell, I even made his Pinkbike profile. BIG day for us.

It was sweet to see him so proud of me.

He probably spent 2 hours-plus photo-shopping all our pictures.

wonder if he'll get any comments :)

Hope you and Chris have an amazing time in Moab.

Really wishing we could be there...