You got me rockin' now

11.25 Miles
Destination: Riverfront Park

OK, so I know I really shouldn't wear head phones when I'm riding but I love to listen to music as I ride.  To compensate for the loss of ambient noise, I ride much more observantly, scanning the road and area around me for potential dangers and I listen for the sound of vehicles over my music.  I feel like I've done a pretty good job at it too...until today.

I was cruising through Riverfront Park today during lunch and took a wrong turn that put me in some really tall and thick marsh grass.  I couldn't see anything but the trail and I could hardly see that.  I've taken this trail before and it gets really rough further down and then disappears.  I was in no mood to try that again, especially after picking ticks off of me all weekend at a scout camp out and a hike with the Sarah and the girls.  I found a side trail that I thought would get me out of there so I took it but had to stop almost immediately as the trail disappeared into the brush.  I dismounted and started to turn the bike around when all the sudden I hear the tell tale warning sign of a rattlesnake.  My heart leapt out of my chest and I froze while looking all around me, seeing absolutely nothing in the tall grass.  Where is this thing?  The rattle then slowed and turned more rhythmic and eventually blended into the music coming out of my headphones.  Dang maracas!

As I was heading back I found a small gully with a steep incline on the other side or in other words, a launch ramp.  I took off and hit the jump, flew up in the air and landed in the grass next to the trail.  Right then I saw some movement in the corner of my eye.  I briefly glanced over to the side and when I looked back, there was a big bush in front of me.  I hit the rear brake skidding the back wheel to the side until I skidding sideways into the bush.  Then, in some move straight out of the Matrix, I cranked hard on the pedal, leaned away from the bush and flung myself all the way around it and then veered back onto the trail.  Sometimes I wish someone was video recording my life so I could rewind and watch what happened.  This was one of those times.  The imaginary rattle snake incident however would not be. 

FYI.  I was listening to You Got Me Rockin' by the Rolling Stones right before the solo at 1:22.  I listened to it again once I got back to the office my heart skipped a beat again.  I'll have to edit that one out of my playlist.