Fly high or ride faster!

I was planning to do mountain biking for a long long time as I love bikes as much as I love motorcycles and cars which will never ever fade off. The locale I chose is Oak Mountain State park. To my surprise, it is ranked 52nd in the world for mountain biking which is inevitably ranked no 1 in Alabama, EPIC!! I planned today seeing the weather a few weeks back. I visit Cahaba cycles very often in downtown Homewood so I made friends there, they helped and taught me about mountain biking. Rented a bike from them, the Trek X - Caliber 8 made up of lightweight all aluminum frame and wheel with single suspension, not a high-end bike but an impeccable bike for a beginner like me. Loaded the bike back my car with full excitement drove straight to the park. I decided Oak lake trail for biking, 2.6 miles long circumnavigating the lake had the best scenery riding along the rim of the lake which is awe-inspiring seriously!! The trail is mostly single tracked mixed with smooth, fast, tight and twisty, gnarly rooted sections, rocks, sand pits and challenging climbs with fast downhill sections with air inducing dips and rolls. I truly went airborne couple of times with full exuberant, GOSH!! Honestly, words cannot do justice unless you experience the ride. I quickly picked up the control of the trail and the bike did more or less 12 miles stopped in-between, I went fully equipped to hydrate myself, snacked a bit, enjoyed the scenery and the weather. If I am into something I give my full potential possible. I spent 4 full hours biking, at the end I got completely exhausted and became tired. There is no fun without pain, well said!