Riding with my Wife, and about socializing while riding

This past Sunday, I was blessed with the opportunity to ride with my wife at Victoria Bryant State Park.  We knocked out a solid 5 miles in the beautiful weather, and it was just an awesome time!  I'd forgotten how hilly Franklin County can really be.  There are no flat spots in the trails there at Vicky B: they built them straight up and down those hills.  It's all climbable, but can add up to a pretty intense workout if you've been off the bike for 3 or 4 months. 

Fitness level aside, I always enjoy riding with my wife!  It isn't at all about getting in an intense workout.  I just enjoy spending quality time with my wife, enjoying the beautiful outdoors, doing something fun! Mountain biking is definitely a whole lot of fun, and Sunday was a beautiful day for it!  Highs in the mid 60's in February?  Heck yes!

As a general rule, whenever I ride with people (really anyone, because I guess I usually ride by myself), if I find myself in the position of being the fittest person in the group, whoever I'm riding with automatically thinks that I want to mash the pedals and run my heart through the roof.  This isn't the case. Whenever I get the opportunity to ride with others, I prefer to just hang out, ride at a decent pace that fits the whole group, and chat and have a good time.  The memories that I hold up as examples of great group rides are invariably ones that, yes, were a good distance and speed, but more importantly ones where I got to have good conversations with my riding partners.

The community that mountain biking provides is a very important aspect of the sport. I love it!