Fear Inducing Fun?

I’ve always loved to go bike riding. As a kid I would bike all over my hometown. The Gunflint Trail isn’t great for bike riding because there isn’t a shoulder and it’s very narrow and curvy. Needless to say I haven’t done much bike riding since I have lived up here and I was much younger.

This year I have spent some time riding.  There are a number of side roads on the Gunflint Trail that are hilly and fun to ride like Lima Mountain, Pine Mountain and the old Gunflint Trail.  Josh doesn’t think riding these roads is very exciting so the other day he decided we should bike the Pincushion Singletrack Mountain Bike Trails.

I haven’t been that scared in a very long time. The first section of trail we went on was almost all downhill and I have a fear of going fast and being out of control. I quickly learned that going too slowly was just as tricky as going too fast. Bridges made out of wooden planks made me cringe as I fretted that I would not be able to stay on the narrow plank. Boulders of all sizes found their way on the trail and made my tires hop to and fro. In one place a tree was on each side of the path and I’m pretty sure both of my knuckles scraped each tree as I pedaled by. Roots and logs created other challenges as did the portions of the trail that were bedrock.

I did get less fearful as time went by and a couple of times I actually felt like I was having fun. Fear inducing yet fun.

You can enjoy the Pincushion Trails during the annual Sawtooth Mountain Challenge in September or plan a vacation on the Gunflint Trail and bring your bikes along, I’ll tell you where to pedal or paddle.