First Ride at Valmont Bike Park: A little sunburn & an "injury," but a lot of fun

Mountain biking is a good sport for me. It pushes me to get past my fears – for example, it has taken me awhile to let myself fly down a hill, which is one of the most fun parts of riding.

I am far from a great mountain biker. But I pride myself on being past beginner status. That was a big step for me.



There are two factors keeping me back:

1. My fitness level.
2. Above noted fears.

I frequently encounter the first, and there are obvious ways to fix that. I encountered the second today at Valmont Bike Park. I found myself avoiding obstacles – rocks, bridges or logs – rather than just going for it. Oh well. I'll get there with time!

I've made great strides over the past two years, and I love to mountain bike even if I am reminded of my weaknesses every once in awhile. I had a great time today trying out the new Valmont Bike Park in Boulder with the Gurlz Ride, a weekly ride through the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance. The city invited the BMA to help them pack down the trails before the park opens on June 11. It was different than I expected - much larger, and a lot of fun, flowy singletrack, and some fun - but not horribly difficult - obstacles that one day I'll be able to master. Of course there is a section I probably will never tackle, made for people who like doing tricks. In short, I think the park was well-designed, serving both the beginner and the advanced rider.

I also expect it will be packed on a regular basis, given Boulder's mountain biking culture, so I'm glad I got the opportunity to enjoy it now.

Oh, about the headline: I did not come prepared, forgetting sunblock. Hence the sunburn. And I did fall for the first time this season. I slipped coming around a corner on sandy soil (braking incorrectly, locking my back wheel up) and got a nice scratch on my leg, blood and all. It wasn't bad after it was cleaned up, hence the "injury."

You can find better pictures at the BMA website of the Valmont Bike Park. But I attempted to take some with my cell phone after I finished riding today.

It's hard to see, but this is the part of the park with all the tricks.
This is the part of the park I probably won't be using.

Gorgeous view of the Flatirons from the bike park.

One of the areas of the bike park. This one had singletrack with a lot of obstacles you can practice on.
The largest area is also singletrack, but not as many obstacles, so you can get into the flow a little easier.
And the third area that we rode today had a great downhill ride called the "corkscrew."