Look before you leap

"Just look where you want to go, and the rest will follow"... the rental shop girl said to a couple of girls who had never ridden downhill before.  She was giving them some advice about riding the berms around corners, and I spared it little thought, other than a half smile in anticipation.

To be honest I was a little nervous, and a lot excited... This would be my third time riding downhill, and I was doing it without my best sports friend. Although I swear: she will be the death of me yet, she's the best confidence booster I know.

Little did I know when I heard it that morning, that the phrase would drift and weave through my thoughts all day. Bouncing and echoing around until it ended up in some dark crevice up there, where it turned around three times, curled up and sank in. Such a deceivingly simple phrase, that can be applied in much broader strokes... to life.

Look where you want to go, and the rest will follow.

Where was I... The day of riding? Well with a little skill, my enduring disturbing lack of fear, some blind faith and a whole lot of luck... I survived ;) It was absolutely fantastic! I ripped up the trail, I totally nailed some features I never would have been able to do last year and it was SO TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!!! I flew down the mountain, *whispers* and only over the handlebars twice... and once was on account of a mud pit that tried to eat my bike, I wrestled it back of course ;)

I even did a beam that was longer-than-I-realized-when-I-started *and* three guys were watching! I only let one tentative curse escape near the end when I didn't think I was going to make it... but I totally did *smug smile*... If I had been walking away, it would have been some strut let me tell you ;)

The weather was pretty much perfect, a sprinkling of rain to keep the dust down, and enough mud puddles to make it interesting and get me and The Fury sufficiently dirty. I got to go play outside, and I loved every second of it *smiles*

Today, I have hurty bits on top of hurty bits, but I know I earned every single one of them along with the bruises in the strangest place from my handlebars. I'm not really sure when they got close enough to my legs to bruise them... but they managed.

I also listened to that little inner voice when it said "Dude... we're done, and if you try to pull that *just* one more run down, I'm going to throw you off and beat you within an inch of your life." I couldn't hear it until it yelled at me, with the pain and stiffness cutting through the cusp of the wave awesomeness I was riding down, but after that I surrendered gracefully.