Should have had a cheeseburger for lunch, damn it! We were sitting there, at the pub in Banff after biking "Rundle Trail" from Canmore, checking out the menu. It had been a pretty fun ride, lots of roots, a few difficult spots, and mostly downhill. Marty and I were feeling pretty proud of ourselves that it had taken us less time than we had anticipated to make it into Banff and we were ready to celebrate with some lunch! Marty ordered a pint, a BLT and some fries. I agonized over the menu. Normally, after vigorous exercise, we like to share a giant plate of nachos. We have convinced ourselves that one healthy act (vigorous exercise) deserves one unhealthy act (nacho eating), you know, to keep things balanced. However, I knew that we still had to bike back to Canmore, so I decided to have something "lighter." I didn't want to feel all bloated and gross all the way back up the trail.
When I say back UP the trail, that is exactly what I mean! (Keep in mind, this is all relative, for Aim and Shane, biking maniacs this "up" would be nothing...) Anyway, we had decided to take the easier, less technical trail back to the Nordic Center in Canmore, where the van was parked. By easier, I mean that it was more like a dirt wagon road, than a single track, root covered trail, like the one we had taken to get to Banff. On this "Goat Creek Trail," there were no roots and no loose gravel. There were only hills! One hill after another. I couldn't even get excited about the few "donwhills" as I knew they only meant another uphill was on the horizon! I tried to keep a smile on my face. I tried to yell Nic and Troy's mantra "Is that all you got hills???" But, the balance on my love/hate relationship with biking had swung towards the "hate" end and all I could think about was how stupid biking was! Why had I chosen this stupid sport? What the hell made me think it would be a good idea to bike UPHILL for 19km after biking 19km downhill, the day after a half marathon? Why? Oh because Marty wanted to. Marty thought it would be fun! Stupid Marty! Fun? This, this whole "let's bike uphills" thing, was not fun! It was hard work! The lactic acid was burning my quads and tearing at my knees. I was sweating profusely, my heart was pounding and exhaustion was creeping over me. My camel back seemed to weigh 50 pounds and so did my helmet. My back and shoulders ached. I felt....alive! Oh yeah, that's what I love about biking, same thing I love about running, how hard it is! I love that it is a t-shirt drenching workout! I love it...and I love Marty. He was right, this was a good idea!!
Love biking though or hate it, the fact remains that, had I known I was gonna be biking up hill so damn much, doing so much healthy exercise, I would have ordered a cheeseburger at lunch, hell, I would have ordered two...with fries!!!
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