It was 9 p.m. and I headed down the hill-of-pain to my usual trails. It's was a bit chilly and seemed really quiet and tranquil. For some reason I was feeling uneasy, like I was a prime target for a mountain lion or sex offender. I turned off the pavement and into the dirt single track and immediately had a black rabbit cross my path, stop in the woods beyond and stare at me as I peddled by. I feared this an omen as I had never seen a black rabbit in the wild.
During the ride I had planned to hit random rogue trails of varied difficulty, some gravel road, paved trail and groomed single track. After the first bit of single track, which was fast and flowy, smooth and blissful, I popped out onto a gravel road section. I noticed the moon, though not full, was producing a grand light. I proceeded to go sans headlamp from here and see what I could do with my night vision; rabbits can see pretty well in the dark so maybe this is what I was supposed to be doing?
The gravel glowed bright under the moon, and I found myself floating down the road. An occasional critter would run across my path and send my nerves jumping for a moment. It was the large Buck that really got my blood pressure to rise. Usually Deer are not alone, and I had visions of another crossing just in time to hit me. I did not want to crash and/or get kicked to death while all alone in the woods. I was still feeling quite nervous.
My riding plan changed as I continued on. With my light off, and depending only on the moon, I could not see trail features; just a vague openness in the woods. I would ride light on the front wheel and just hope for the best. I was feeling good about the riding, but still nervous as a kid about some monster or ghost coming to get me. Totally weird, totally not me. I have done this ride a hundred times and never once felt uneasy.
I decided instead of dirt that I'd hit the pavement and ride fast, like the wind, escaping the evil that I felt was chasing me. I kept hearing "Hey" or other voices as I focused on just staying on the trail. I still had my light off, I was still in the woods, I was still feeling very small and alone.
I'm not really sure where I am going with this story, but I was scared. And that rabbit? WTF?
1 comment:
The first nite ride of the season is always a blair witch freak out with "The Fear". Although this year, last week, it wasn't so bad with more people around. The end of Red felt really remote, in a good way. The moon was nearly full.
Post a Comment