Mountain Biking in the Forest of Dean!

Today is a day dedicated to fun! Jared is taking me out for the day, as it was my birthday earlier this week. We got up early, packed the kids bags, dropped them off at Peter and Pauline's before heading out to the Forest of Dean. Pauline took a shot of us just before we headed out;

It was a little stressful getting there as the route wasn't as easy to find. We did get there in the end! It was £20 for three hours, per bike. I'd never, ever done mountain biking before, so i did feel quite nervous, especially as i'd watched some of the videos on youtube. We were all ready to head out on our bikes;

We did a trail called the 'blue trail' that was meant to be the easiest one. It was so much fun. It took about an hour and a half to do the trail, with ups and downs all the way. I struggled to get up on some of the hills towards the end, and my bum was killing me! I'd forgotten how hard it is to ride a bike! The gears were a little confusing too, but i think i got there in the end. I didn't take the down hill parts as fast of Jared and the brakes weren't always so kind to me either, making my back tyres snake all over the place. On the first major down hill part, Jared confused the easier and harder track, telling me they were the other way round! I started snaking all over the place on the way down, and i am sure i was about to come off the bike just as i was able to get off it! I had to drag it down one of the dips as i just couldn't do it. Overall, it was class and i seriously hope we can do it again. Jared wanted to do the family trail, but i just wasn't up for it. My butt was killing, my legs were like jelly and i had no energy! I took my bike back and got the camera to get some shots of Jared;

 He loves it!;
 

 The mud goes right up your back and bum. It was so much fun!;

 

We had some dinner at the cute little cafe before heading back home;

We stopped back in at Peter and Pauline's to pick up the kids. Jared didn't reserve anything for dinner, even though we planned to go out for food that night, so me calling around to see if there was any room for dinner was in vain. Boo! I had a sleep too as i was exhausted! I shouldn't have slept so long as getting ready for dinner was a massive rush. We put the kids to bed, Peter and Pauline came over to babysit and Jared and I went to Cafe Rouge for dinner. It has to be on the top ten lists of eating out. They do a dish of Crispy duck, plum sauce and dauphinoise potatoes. Delicious!! It was such a nice night out!

It was a class day out, and when my head hit the pillow at the end of it, i was out like a light.