A Cycling Event

When we lived in Albuquerque we really enjoyed riding our bikes. In England recreational cycling is a bit tricky. Riding on the roads is very dangerous, and we've only seen bike paths in Cambridge. Our bikes took a beating in the move, so Jacob worked extensively to get them ready to ride. And Saturday we were excited to ride our bikes in Thetford Forest, Britain's largest lowland pine forest.

Thetford Forest has a big recreational site with 30 miles of bike and walking trails, picnic areas, a high wire suspension course and more. We rode the red trail, which is just below the black trail in difficulty. We were surprised to discover little obstacles and other "sweet jumps" on the trail. I attempted one, fell off and decided to play it safe on the others. Jacob, however, decided to take a few more risks. On one ramp, he took quite a spill and wound up with a few wounds. The bumps bruises from the fall look painful to me, but the worst of it was from the unidentified vegetation that came in contact with the exposed skin. ("Thank goodness for underwear." ~Jacob) He only got a few hours of sleep last night because the itching and burning kept him awake.

Despite the bumps and bruises, we had a great time and hope to bike again soon.

We can't help but be a little inspired by all the cycling medals won by Team GB in the Beijing Olympics, especially in indoor cycling events, which we were previously unaware existed. We've really enjoyed following the Olympics, especially getting some of the British broadcasts and seeing things from a non-American perspective. We're already looking forward to London 2012 (1433 days to go!).