Biking boys or chicken mama?

March 17th, 2012 (Saturday)

At the end of the Desert Classic Trail

Another boot camp killer day. We (the two oldest boys and me) went riding on the Desert Classic Trail in South Mountain Preserve. The guidebook described it as a "challenging ride" both "easy and moderate." So what is it? Challenging? Easy? Moderate? Can't the writer make up his mind? Seven minutes into the ride and I'm heaving. Forty minutes in and both boys want to turn back. It is hazy with a warm breeze but when you are biking--it is hot. We are riding over the lunch hour. We have water and raisins. I won't let them turn back. No. We are riding one hour out and then back. A two hour workout in the heat. Mom decides. It is just that way in our family. The trail has level parts but roller coasters up and down. That part is actually fun. It is the steep boulder-strewn washes that are grim. They give advice again. "Mom, you need to pedal down the hill faster so you can get up the other side." "Mom, you need to change your gears on the way up." "Mom, move your butt behind the seat on the way down." "Mom, you need to stand up more." And then loose gravel and rocks. I watch two bikers seriously wipe out. Not encouraging. "Mom, you need to keep your pedals even over the rocks."  Who brought these children along? So much to remember. The last 15 minutes are grim. Quads are whining. Butt is feeling delicate (this is a family blog). Hands tired from gripping desperately on handle bars as I reverberate over endless jutting rocks. Face emanating heat. Red and burned from the hazy sun. "Are you having fun, mom?" Someone tell that child to be quiet. We arrive back at the parking lot and water is quickly inhaled. I stretch out horizontally on the shaded picnic bench. There are parts of my body that seriously ache. My abs hurt from lifting weights. I want to rest. "Mom, can we go now." "Mom, what are we doing next." "Come on, mom, let's go." I love my children. I'm sure of it.
P.S. If you are a chicken and ride down the steep washes with your brakes on, it means you have lost momentum and you are going to have to work really, really hard to get up the other side. Who has had the tougher workout? The chicken mama or the biking boys?