bike adventure #2: no way out!!

i took my bike out for its maiden mountain-bike-trail voyage tonight. i got lost in the maze of trails!

it was really fun but i went with under an hour of daylight left, luminous skies, and only a small scattering of other riders were even at the trailhead when i started.


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the first part of the ride was totally awesome. i have never been on a mountain bike or a trail before. i was peddling just about as fast as my legs would go, whizzing by trees on both sides of my shoulders, dodging rocks that seemed to pop up out of no where in the middle of the (single track) trail, falling over big logs, zipping up and down hills, cruising over wooden paths, switching gears up and down, and all over the place. basically fun times all around. i had no idea what would be around one corner or the next. pretty exciting!!

i knew i only had about 45 minutes. but i had only planned on trying out the beginners trail anyway, which was less than 1 mile. i figured i would just go around that a couple times and then go back home.

pretty soon it started to get a little darker, a little darker. lightening, some thunder.

hey i've seen that orange fence before. 25 minutes passes. whizz up hill, zoom, hey i almost hit that stupid rock once before, hey two orange fences, yes i totally remember this. hey shouldn't i be back at my car by now?

meanwhile i'm looping in and out and around who knows where. i have no sense of direction to begin with. now i'm looping up and around and back, i feel like i'm under water i don't know which way is up.

cue thunder in the distance.

cue dusk.

*smack* i hit a tree square with my left shoulder and come to near complete stop. oh well, keep cruising, this stupid path must end at some point.

cue more landmarks i think i've seen before. ahhh!!! get me out of this stupid maze!!!!!

soon i ride up to a map. i take a picture thinking somehow that might help me later when i'm (most likely) even more lost.
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i realize i have no idea how i got to where i am (red dot) from where i parked in upper right, and i really have no idea how to get back. some trails are closed, some trails are new and aren't on the stupid map.

i ride for another 10 minutes with the fear that for all i know, i could be riding in the opposite direction. there are so many loops and trails, i figure i could ride and ride never get out.

i'm gasping for breath, i've been riding hard, i'm losing steam. i contemplate what it might be like to sleep on this dirt path until morning. what will i tell the guys at work? i got lost riding my bike? they wouldn't even buy it. what if a deer eats me? heh.

well somehow i make it back to the black dot on the map (the one with the big arrow pointing to it up top.

i make an executive decision to follow the path that looks to be the dotted line on the map. this trail is blocked off and marked "CLOSED". it's also the hiking path and not the mountain biking path.

good decision, it takes me to the parking area.

wow i was pretty releaved to make it back. not even 5 minutes to spare before dark.

last car in the lot!! whew. i almost slept on a dirt path for the night.
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ominous woods that i somehow escaped from:
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bike adventure #1 was conducted on paved paths this past weekend which you would think might be safer than trails but someone in my party crashed and got hurt. no too bad though, we should be back in action in a week or two.