Trail Talk!
Sport: Mountain Bike
Participants: 1
Trail(s): Orange, Purple, White, Blue, Red, Parking Lot
System: Deep Creek Lake State Park
🪨 5,247 Rocks
Today’s ride at Deep Creek State Park was one of those experiences that stuck with me. I went in feeling a little intimidated going into it. I know it’s rocky, technical and steep. I ended up with 11 miles, over 1,300 feet of climbing, and, by my count, somewhere around 5,247 rocks scattered all over the place. The trail looked like a giant puzzle of rocks, roots, and “up”, and at first, I wasn’t sure if I could do it.
At first, the rocks seemed like a massive challenge, and there were a couple of times I thought, What am I doing out here? Especially by myself. My legs were burning, and the climbs felt relentless, but I kept pushing through, telling myself to just keep going, even if it was one step (or pedal) at a time.
Then, something I don’t usually do happened: I caught myself saying “good job” to me.
“Good job for clearing that rock”
“Good job! You gave it that “one more” pedal and that’s all it took”
“Good job for making the climb”
It was such a small thing, but it made me smile to myself. Somewhere along the line, the intimidation turned into empowerment and I was having fun. This trail ride was something I’d been wanting to do for a while, and honestly, it had been too long since I’d challenged myself on something this technical.
If you’re ever hesitating about taking on something tough, just go for it—you might surprise yourself. And who knows, you might even find yourself saying “good job” along the way. If you’ve ever thought about trying to mountain bike, let me know! I love to ride a slow, casual pace.
Find group rides on our event calendar and follow @dcabfun for more!
PS- We don’t always have to mountain bike.. Garrett County has great road biking, hiking, and paddling too..
