If you ask mountain bikers where the best trails are in the St. Louis area, nine of out ten of them will tell you to check out Castlewood State Park near Valley Park, just off of Interstate 44 and Highway 141. Castlewood is made up of more than 1,800 acre of land and straddles the Meramec River.
Castlewood State Park has more than fifteen miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails broken down into seven trails. Because some of those trails run alongside the Meramec, they were made inaccessible this weekend by high water levels. This was unfortunate for me, since I’m a novice mountain biker and the trails along the river are the flattest and easiest trails for beginners.
Though I ride my mountain bike regularly on ten- to fifteen-mile rides on asphalt, Saturday was my first day out on real mountain biking trails in six or seven years. I’ve gotten older, and apparently I’ve become a big chicken, because instead of welcoming the challenge of riding on intermediate trails on Saturday, I completely froze up on most of the bigger downhill runs (and even some of the smaller ones).
The trails were very muddy, and therefore very slick, which only added to the excitement (read: I was terrified I was going to break bones). It was like a gazillion degrees outside on Saturday, and I’m fairly certain that the humidity was in the quadruple digits. I’m in pretty good shape, but I was pouring sweat before we even got to our trailhead, and I was exhausted by the time we finished our 1.5-hour-long ride.
Despite my fear factor, I’m ready to get back out on the trails. There was something really exhilarating when I succeeded in pushing my fear to the back of my mind and focusing instead on trusting myself and my bike. Besides, I felt like a really tough cookie when I left the trails covered in mud from the hips down, hosing myself and my bike off in the first car wash I passed leaving the park.
Here’s to getting the daylights scared out of ourselves and bucking up to try again!
***
For more information on Castlewood State Park, visit the Missouri State Parks website.
More From MilliGFunk
Related posts:
Sounds like fun Melissa! I love Castlewood — but I stick to the flat trails on the river bottom. The only thing that kicks your butt on that trail is the stairway that takes you up the cliff side. Those stairs will get you huffing and puffing.
I find there’s a delicate balance between fear and cockiness while on a bike (mountain bikes, in particular). Too fearful and you end up going too slow, lacking the momentum to execute bunny-hops, climb hills, etc. Too cocky and you, well, end. Neither option is satisfactory. As my father advised on my first interview: Confident, but not cocky.
“Too cocky and you, well, end.”
This line made me smile, thanks for the advice, Ron!
lol…After seeing the photo, I’m pretty sure that’s where your big bruise came from!
Wow! Any time I hear the words “mountain biking” I visualize breaking bones, usually mine, and usually my neck. Way to be brave and get out there! Good onya!