"Where I Ride"

8 x 10 (plein air)

"Where I Ride" refers to where I ride my mountain bike most of the time. I am very lucky to live in a neighborhood that is next to a state park. That state park had property given to it that is full of singletrack and doubletrack trails. I can leave my house after work and ride through miles and miles of trails without repeating anything. It's great exercise for me because it doesn't beat up my knees like running does. (Although crashing on a mountain bike (which is not an unusual occurrence), can certainly make sore knees look inviting). I have stuck to this form of exercise, at least 5 times a week, for going on two years. I felt in good enough shape earlier this month to enter a mountain bike race over at Tom Brown Park. The race was part of the Florida State Championship Series with racer from all around the state participating. There were numerous categories, and the one I fit in was the 50 plus grand masters in the "base" level. (Three levels: Expert, Sport, Base) I was lucky to win my race against 16 other similarly categorized riders. Yeahhhh!

So this painting is from a field at Phipps Park near the Red Bug trail. I painted it earlier this year standing out in the field on a Sunday afternoon. If you head over this hill and follow this path it spits you into the woods with a nice descent through a couple of rough trails. The key is to get some speed and then get up on the petals for balance and hold on (but don't grip the handlebars too tight or you will be wondering whether its better to have sore knees or numb hands).

Thanks for looking.