Adventure in Spades

Wow-had a great weekend full of adventure...conquered a little fear AND went exploring.

Saturday, I attended a FREE mountain bike clinic for women at Noggins Corner (did I mention it was FREE). The opportunity popped into my mailbox at work and I signed up before I had a moment to think (I chickened out last year). Right up until Friday night I was humming and hawing, but I did get up and go Saturday. Macy was NONE TOO PLEASED about going into her crate, but I didn't let those eyes keep me from going. Sue and Carolyn headed it up and let me tell you: they were wonderful. Absolutely down to earth and VERY supportive. I was so worried everyone would show up with the latest gear whilst I had my Sears Special vintage Tempest circa 1992....there were some REALLY nice bikes, but my worries had no consequence because all the participants were lovely. Really lovely. We started right from point A and learned technical stuff like how to distribute your weight, how to shift gears, etc. Basic maintenance and safety, and how to tackle hills and obstacles. This pic was taken by Sue Earle and shows the determination it took for me to get the knack of hills! We had lunch and at the end of the day we went for a TRAIL RIDE. The clinic had been too much for the Tempest (kept slipping gears) and I was not going to go because I didn't trust it, but Sue Bless Her Heart Earle lent me her wonderbike with suspensions and everything! What a freaking difference good gear makes! At he beginning I was like "uh...OK....going down a hill now...help me God" and by the end I was "A downhill with roots on it and trees at the end! Whahooooooo!" I felt a great deal of accomplishment and pride at the end of the day and proudly bore my bruises and cuts....let's just say I conquered my fear of falling.

Sunday morning I got out of bed slowly as I was not sure how I was going to feel. I was OK. I had iced my shin the night before so I was ready to go on a quest with Dawn to find the French Cross. What a nice hike we had to the Deportation Site! We had gotten a map from the visitor's centre at Grand Pre, parked at Just Us (you can imagine how it ended) and headed off. It wasn't a long walk, maybe 20 minutes to get there, but it was nice.

This pic is a little skewed as we put the camera on a fence post to take the shot. It didn't seem that grey out and the temps were good for walking, but the picture seems to say otherwise! Macy Mae got tired of us trying to figure out the timer on the camera and she CHEWED HER LEAD RIGHT OFF. I had to McGivor it to make it usable to get us back to the truck.

So yes, coffee and something to eat was in order and we enjoyed the little park they have there. All in all, a worthy exploration to do on a Sunday and it was right in our own backyard!

What an awesome weekend :)