Misadventures of Miriam: July, July, July

So in my normal lackadaisical fashion, I havent been very updative. But I'm back with a vengeance (sort of like Bruce Willis, but with less bad acting and blowing things up).

Its been a whirlwind of activity this last month. Where did it all go? Hiking, camping, mtn biking, and New Mexico.

So I spent many a weekend hiking, biking and camping. The trifecta of ings.

One awesome day, B, Emma, some boys, Teal and I went for a ride. We started at Coal Bank Pass, 10,000+', rode to above treeline, changed into non-spandex and "approach shoes" aka my

running shoes and summited Engineer Mountain (13000+'). We got chased down the mountain by a fast moving thunderstorm, changed and then hightailed it into treeline (who wants to be caught above tree line with 26lbs of metal between their legs?). Then we rode from Engineer Mountain to Cascade Lakes. This is a beautiful trail and I got beaten up by Cow Parsnips that were bigger than me (granted, lots of plants are bigger than me, but usually they are trees and shrubs, not flowers).

So what I forgot to mention: everybody but me is a pro rider of some ilk (downhill or cross country), and I had eggs an hour before I rode. I should never ever ever eat eggs before a bike ride, especially a mountain bike ride. I burped my front tire (let lots of the air out when I crashed), got some help from a couple of dudes who were behind me after spending a lot of time walking, getting rained on, and being pissed at myself/my bike. Needless to say, I was a bruised monkey, and learned several valuable lessons:

1) Riding with fast people can make you faster, it can also make you feel very very slow

2) Know how to use your CO2 airhead/cartridge set up

3) Make sure you have the bar plugs in your handle bars

3.1) I have a pretty 1/2 moon scar on my left knee cap to prove it