spidey senses tingling...

the body has five senses
some of these senses are not so helpful to the needs of a person on the bike
smell may help to heighten the experience of the ride but unlikely it can make things more safe
unless it smells a forrest fire or a skunk


and taste?

well... most dirt, dust, and mud taste like poop


so the body can possess a sixth sense
an unexplainable awareness
that knowing that something is right around the corner

for some it is the tingling of the spidey senses

today my spidey senses were tingling


after work I dipped into the woods for a few turns on my cross town post work ride

it was a beautiful day to be on the bike
did not have much time
just needed to get home

early onto the trail I did a little maintenance

a few logs to fill a mud puddle
a few rides up and back to test things out then back on the bike

LOUD BIKES SAVE LIVES

okay... that is an old motorcycle slogan LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES


my Karate Monkey Single is creaking enough so that I would not doubt that the cars around me can hear me as I approach

well... it they were not on their cell phones or if they were listening to their basic senses.
on this day I did not feel like playing superman racing the train

the rush hour traffic was already thick
the rush hour madness was in full form

everyone was trying to fill the gap fast and tight

just did not want to be part of that madness

so cross town through the woods I went


slowly I rolled

a runner

a dog walker

not much more human interaction
pretty much the day to myself

just doing my thing

stealth

across a street than across another

the cars are flying

that usual gotta get the work week behind me sort of speed

MacArthur , Resivoir, New Mexico, and Mass were all running like the Auto Bon

every other car driven by some self important fuck on their cell phone

in a section of woods around glover park I saw some bodies ahead

it was not quite late enough after work for people to start their work outs and their dog walks

things were pretty vacant

things tend to be pretty sparse people wise


in the distance maybe a hundred or two hundred yards ahead I saw three forms

scanned to estimate their speed
trying to measure our point of intersection

looked for variables... leashes imply dogs

not much futher into my analysis I felt that the garb did not look like hiker, runner, dog walker, or even footstep commuter finishing the last steps after the bus ride from downtown

it looked like a woman and two men

the men were large

not heavy
but large

they were both wearing light blue shirts and dark blue pants
or maybe my imagination filled in the gaps that distance created
rather than HAVE THAT CONVERSATION I turned it around

always trying to avoid that conversation

so I turned it around and took a trail that took me into the neighborhood
rode a few city blocks down the road then dipped back in back on course
I continued home

not overly concerned with the people that I avoided the conversation with

I rode onward

a few streets and a few miles later I was approaching the trailhead which opens into a field where a group of people meet almost daily for a friendly game of soccer

as I made the last turn I passed two fit looking men... again large men.... muscular men.... not looking like hikers

I rode through the field watching for leashless dogs and flying soccer balls

as I exited the field onto the street I looked at the cars parked at the entrance

a man in head to toe black gear.... looked like SWAT gear... bullet proof jacket and all... all this and some oversized black binoculars

he watched me as I passed

but not concerned

for a second I feared that my beard and my camera would put me on his radar

but they are looking for something
t
hat something is not me

yet I still like to avoid the coversation