Teton Village

5:00 AM is a very early time to be awake for a lot of people. Dreams are happening and eyes are heavy with the nostalgia of sleep. But on this special day I was waking up, missing out on dreams and beauty sleep to get ready to spend the day on a mountain bike with my man. Dreams and sleep were the last thing I was thinking about as I dressed in a pink shirt and work out Capri's. I was pondering the day that lie ahead and sincerely hoping that I would be impressive on the down hill mountain biking expedition with my handsome man.

Izac had a friend who's dad moves and restores organs and he had one to do at Teton Village Resort North of Jackson Hole. He needed extra help so he asked if Izac could go along to help move the organ and then after moving it they would hit the down hill mountain biking located at Teton Village. Izac thought it would be fun for me to go and asked if that might be possible. When Izac's friend said that would be fine, a date was picked and planning began.

I was slightly nervous to be going down hill mountain biking with three men... and being the only girl. I had been biking and enjoyed biking a lot but I had never rode in the mountains. I wanted so badly to keep up with them to show how I could keep up and how good I was at maneuvering through the trails and berms. I worried that I would slow them down and tried hard not to think about it. I wanted this day to be as fun for Izac as it could and I was determined that I wasn't going to slow them down. I would be riding Izac's mountain bike because I only had a road bike, and he had rented a down hill bike to take for the day. I hoped that all would be okay and that I would keep the bike, that he had cared for so well, in good condition. Meaning, I didn't want to crash or do any damage to the bike, that would be just plain embarrassing.

After moving the organ we got passes to head to the mountain. To describe down hill biking, it is kind of like snowboarding (except with bikes). They have lifts that you put your bikes on and then you sit down on chairs and it takes up the mountain (similar to a ski lift). Once at the top you unload your bike and head down one of the eight or so trails they have to choose from.

Thankfully, (I'm sure for my sake) we started with an easy trail because I had never been. Based on how fast we went down that trail I can't say it was easy. They cruised! I was really going to have a tough time keeping up; I knew that 1/4 of the way down the trail....

I like to think that I am daring, and one to push my physical limits but I am timid when it comes to doing things that could cause bodily harm. I felt like we were going so fast I didn't even have time to enjoy the scenery (I guess I am an 'enjoy the scenery' type of person). Even though to me it felt like we were flying down the mountain, I kept up pretty well and wasn't too disappointed in the first run of the day.

The first trail, called 'Lucky Charm' was relatively flat, lacking jumps and wood bridges. After they seen how well I did on the first trail, we decided to try something a little more aggressive. It had quite a few more jumps, wood bridges and berms to navigate. Izac and his friend were smoothly sailing over every single jump, me on the other hand (the timidness coming out) would just roll over the tops and allow gravity to carry me down the hill. I desperately wanted to get better and be able to jump so I could enjoy it with Izac and show him how good I was, but I had to get a little more comfortable and confident first. That was my first time dirt riding in such conditions and it was going to take me a little bit of time. I secretly just wanted Izac to be proud that I was his girlfriend, like the whole: "Did you see that girl take that jump?!" "Ya, that's my girl!" That is what I wanted to prove to be and I was going to try my hardest all day to get there.

(This proves how timid I was...) :) 

After completing a few more runs without any crash or fails we decided to stop and get a few pictures. I trekked down the trail first along with Izac's friend's dad. We were going to take pictures of Izac and his friend hitting a jump or two. Soon, I found a good jump that would capture a great picture, I pressed the brake and pulled off, parking my bike next to a tree, well off the path. I then planted myself a few feet away from the jump as to get the perfect angle of Izac and his friend hitting the jump, but I was still far off the trail as not to get in the way. The boys were intentionally waiting a little while so we could get set up. Before they came down though, some guy (who I didn't know) came cruising down the trail. He hit the jump and sailed through the air, both tires leaving the dirt. Upon reentry something happened... I don't know whether I was a distraction standing there in the trees on the side of the trail or if his front tire blew when he landed, either way this guy ate dirt. Hard core! and I watched the whole thing happen... He couldn't breathe for a short time having the wind knocked out of him and almost acted as if he were dying. I was immediately scared and started to panic myself, I didn't know what to do. Gratefully, Izac's friend's dad had stopped a ways further down the trail and also came to help. I was given the task to make sure Izac and his friend would slow down and help people slow down so they didn't hit this guy who had crashed on the dirt trail. I was a little shaky as I jogged up the trail and caught them before they got too far. By the time we got to where the injured man was someone had called the 'dirt police' and they were in the process of loading him to get medical help. Someone told us they thought he broke his collar bone.

Based on the color of my face, I think the boys all agreed that it was time to take a break and get some lunch. I was very much okay with this, as after witnessing that crash I probably would have gone .05 miles per hour down the next trail just so I didn't break my collar bone... After some nourishment, I felt a little better and we all decided to hit the trails again.

There was one trail that I called the 'human jump trail', it was an 'advanced' trail for 'advanced' riders. The jumps on that trail were taller than a normal sized human and a bit intimidating to say the least. We had gone on the trail a few times before lunch and I had done just fine rolling my bike over the 'human jumps' while everyone else caught air lifting them and their bikes off the earth. Sometime after lunch and having hit a few trails, we decided to go on the 'human jump trail'.

About half way down this trail there were three 'taller than human jumps' right in a row. I was second to last in our bike line with Izac trailing behind me. I had been having a lot of fun and was confident to have him behind me, feeling like I wouldn't slow him down too bad. The first two 'taller than human jumps' I navigated with poise and ease, and felt very proud, my tires even left the dirt for a half second. I had some pretty good momentum going by the time I reached the third 'taller than human jump' and I got more air than I anticipated and began to lose control.

I partially landed, without much, if any control, and I was heading for a really BIG tree. The tree stepped right in my way and my bike and body both collided with that BIG tree. It wasn't a very soft tree either because I couldn't breath when it decided it was through with me. I felt like the guy that I saw crash earlier... 

I felt like I was dying. I couldn't breathe and that made me panic which only constricted my breathing further.

I was scared.

Scared for my life.







Here is Our Love Story Index if you are just tuning in or want to re-read anything :)