Sunday I went up to ride at South Mountains State Park. I haven’t been here since I was a little girl. My dad ran these trails a while back and told me how hilly it was. Of course, a mention of a hill, and I’m instantly intrigued. Dad said he had to walk some of the hills because they were so steep. Well, stubborn me, I had to figure it out for myself.

When I mentioned to Deb that I was thinking about going to do this ride, her comment was, <chuckle> “That’s a hard ride!” I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to go over there and ride until I woke up on Sunday morning.

I was so excited as soon as I pulled in the parking lot. There are so many hiking and running trails… and there’s separate mountain bike and bridle trails on top of that! Needless to say, an off-roader’s dream.

The mountain bike loop was 17 miles. And boy did it live up to the hilliness! There were times I literally thought I would eat my stem because of how much I was having to crouch to keep my bike from toppling backwards.

Here’s a picture of the trail… this was NOT a steep hill section either….

And one of the many hiking trails off the side of the mtn bike trail…

I can’t wait to go back here.

Later that afternoon, Dad and I went up to visit my mom at Lake James. We hung out and grilled out with a couple of their friends. The weather was nice, so I went for an open water swim before we ate. Lake James is so clean and clear, unlike most lakes, you could see everything while you swam. It was like I was swimming in a clear pool… very blue and green.

The only eerie thing was seeing the downed trees underneath the water. That kind of freaked me out. And the fact that I was alone too… my dad about had a heart attack because, of course, I was way far away from the dock that I started from. I was completely out of sight, which is not the best idea with boats and all that, and, well, you’re in the middle of a huge lake all by yourself which can lead to any sort of bad things.

But ya know, I’m stubborn, as mentioned before, and I had a really nice swim in one of the most beautiful lakes in the world… then I got to spend time with people that mean a whole lot to me. What could have made a better Sunday?