Mountain Biking In November!

I just don't know how it can get any better then this - 60 degrees, mostly sunny, trails are dry and I am riding with a friend of 10 years. He lives in another state, Illinois, but is close enough so we can meet at the South Kettle Moraine State Park at La Grange, WI.

I have written about this state park before, but it is so neat to be in the woods on a cool day enjoying a very private adventure. Even when you are with someone else, it is still just you and your bike snaking through the trees, descending through rocky ravens then up to the top of a hill on a winding path covered with leaves and edged with giant oaks. You have the distinct feeling that you are traveling in another world. It' a world that requires you to be strong and alert with a keen desire to master it's challenges.

What a great feeling of satisfaction I get when I attempt a difficult climb and make it. It might have taken many tries and weeks of traveling to the park, but I did it. But now it's on to the next hill.

This may sound corny, but it's a lot like life itself. When a hill is dropped in front of you and the only way to complete your tasks is to master a technique of climbing that hill, and when you do, the feeling of accomplishment is fantastic.

Every time you bike you get better, stronger and more willing to try and climb bigger hills. What a great sport. What a great way to become renewed in spirit, mind and body.