EPOCH6

I basically got hazed by a group of dirt riders on Saturday.

Usually a couple of times a week I send out public invites to dirt riding groups on Facebook to join me on the trails, a couple of weeks ago I was joined by a paramedic, probably a year or 2 older than me. Last week he invited me and another new rider to join him and his riding crew on the Vedder Mountain trails, one of the most famous technical enduro riding areas in British Columbia, offering to show us around the easier trails so we can start getting familiar with the trail system. I show up, we gear up, and without any warning they proceeded to lead me on a grueling 4 hour ride through the intermediate level singletrack trail system, far above my current skill level, expecting me to give up and pack it in halfway through. It was probably the most physically challenging thing I've ever done in my life, I was so exhausted by the end of it that I could barely reach up to take my helmet off without wincing in pain. But it was still, without a doubt, the most fun I've ever had trail riding, and I'm glad they pushed me into doing it because I wouldn't have done it without having been tricked into it, and it gave me an opportunity to prove myself that I have reached that level in my riding. After the ride they were all laughing and said "Well, you passed initiation."

This video isn't from our ride, but it's the same trails:



I am incredibly sore, even 3 days later.

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