Bear Scare

Tonight I headed over to Waway for a pre-Mohican pedal. Yes, it was slippery and sweaty. All those things that Waway is after a rain. I will say that I dislike the Racing Ralph in the front there in these conditions. I have zero confidence that I'm not gonna bust my face open when I slip out on a rocky, rooty section. With that being said, everything else was pretty normal. Except for the fact that I literally hit a bear tonight. Don't worry. The bear is fine. I was on Banker and the rhododendron is really thick there. It will actually rip you off the bike in places if you're not careful. True story. I came around a turn at a pretty good clip and there it was...I rubbed it's rear with my front wheel and it spun around a bit and I knocked into it with my left leg. I felt coarse, creepy bear hair on my leg and it's head smacked into my knee. It screamed and I screamed. Well, I would call more of what I did a squee more than anything. It was like I was a 13 year old girl and I just saw Justin Bieber. I've never had a noise like that emit from my body. I've also never heard that sound from a bear. Neither of us enjoyed the experience. I skidded off the trail and the bear ran into the woods making that blowing/grunting noise they do when they're stressed (or calling mama). It was rottweiler size, so I assumed mom was somewhere near. Mama bear wouldn't be happy with me and I got myself pointed in the right direction and high tailed it out of there. Thanks to an adrenaline rush, I made some really good time on the last two trails and made everything. I even made a horrible root pack climb that can be tricky on the ss when it's wet. I completely forgot to bitch and blame the Racing Ralph. Funny how that works.

Despite what common sense tells me and some really great advice from really reputable people, I have chosen to wear the new shoes this weekend. My old ones make me want to cry in the first two hours of a ride because they're so soft and stretched out that I have to ratchet them down so tight that my feet no longer get the proper circulation and they become really painful. Either way it's a crap shoot.

Another new edition for this one: bar ends. I haven't ridden with them in some time. I did a few rides with them this past week and had a couple of  'Oh, Shit' moments and remembered why I don't ride with them here. I survived, so I think I'll be okay.