ode to fallin' and gettin back up

A few weeks ago I experienced my first night ride. I never thought I'd be able to careen through the woods with a light attached to the top of my head. It's amazing how I just rolled down sections and didn't think twice. This weekend was a a different story. We rode up to Mt.Snow on saturday, got a room at the Mountaineer Inn (B&B near the base of the mountain), and set out to ride the trails. We did some semi-downhilling. Semi meaning we climbing about halfway up on fireroad (rather than taking the chairlift to the top), and road the trails down from there. I did pretty well, but then I tried riding with my seat lower... and I crashed, BAD. Not broken bones bad, but confidence-killing, couldn't get up, black and blue bad. The rest of the day I was pretty skiddish and when we woke up the next morning I totally freaked at the thought of taking the chairlift up and riding down 1500ft. Down, Down, Down. I had been pretty psyched for trying out a bike with more travel, putting some pads on, and just going for it. Maybe next time. The good thing is, we drove back to New Haven Sunday afternoon and rode a more familiar trail...and I feel soo much better. My bike and I are friends again after I made a few nice rollovers without impaling myself on the handlebars or kissing the ground. Maybe I'm just not a downhiller. Or maybe I just need more practice.