Breathless Mountain Biking on Santa Monica Mountains

We leave the house early on that Sunday morning, drive down Pacific Coast Highway and turn right to Tobago Canyon. Since weeks I am waiting for this day. It will be a great challenge for me. My first mountain bike ride ever. Since weeks I trained for this day, now I’m ready to go. We meet our friends at their house in the mountains, they are ready. We fix our water bottles, put on the helmets and cross the street. The mountain bike I’m riding is a perfect partner, it’s a Santa Cruz. We start climbing the path up to the top of one of the mountains. Craig, a professional trainer, is giving me some last hints, showing me how to brake in curves. As we climb up I find out the hard way that it takes lots of experience to chance the gears when the path is really steep. We go up further and after about one hour my legs feel like they are burning. I’ m breathing hard, closed to give up- than- there we are! We made it, we are on the very top. The view is amazing, all the peaks around us, the canyons. We just enjoy the moment, the sensational look around, inhaling the nature. After a little break and refreshing we start our way back. Down we go, faster and faster. I’m feeling the wind in my face, it’s hard to steer on the stony path with this speed but at the same time it’s just thrilling, exciting. Breathless I do the last brake when we reach the street , knowing that I will put this adventure on my list to do it again. Soon. That’s for sure.