Yesterday, as I prepared to leave for my first day of mountain biking this season, Chris helped ready my bike, then loaded it into my car. As I pulled away, he stood there waving incessantly. “It’s like the first day of school,” he said. Indeed, it felt like the first day of school—the excitement, the slight tinge of butterfly in the stomach, the “do I have everything” anxiety.

First days are often the best and worst of days… everything is new, or new again. You’re fresh, you’re pumped, you’re ready. Yet you’re also perhaps naive, undertrained or ill-prepared. Lucky for me, my first mountain biking day was on the positive side. I didn’t crash or ruin my bike; I didn’t have an asthma attack or feel too out of shape. And despite being a little rusty (or just plain “not good” in the first place), I managed to learn a few things and have fun. Now that’s a first day to remember (rock climbing is another story).