Posts
302
Joined
9/14/2012
Location
San Diego, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
8/5/2015 10:22am
About two months ago, I was night riding with a group of buddies, taking up the rear on the pedal out (I was like a quarter-mile behind... slooowww) through a wide meadow in a canyon, with a river running through it and knee-high grass lining the trail. As I pedaled, alone, I thought to myself... this is the perfect area for a mountain lion to just be chilling, and I'd be like the wounded deer that fell behind in the pack that hungry lion would target. Well, I was right, my own thoughts got the best of me and I scanned the tall grass and sure enough, on my left, about 20-feet off the trail, were two greenish // yellow glowing eyes pointed right at me. I locked eyes and started panicking on the inside, but carried on pedaling like normal. As I passed the kitty, the eyes never changed orientation meaning it was looking right at me the entire time I passed. I kept it in sight as long as I could, until I basically couldn't turn my head any further over my left shoulder, then when I had to look away I stood up and started sprinting, hoping to catch up with my buds. After sprinting to the next downhill, about 10 seconds really, I looked back over my shoulder to see if I was being chased there it was, standing in the middle of the trail about 100 or so feet behind me. Completely freaking out at this point, I kept sprinting for what felt like a few minutes, until I finally saw my buddies standing in the middle of the trial..... FIXING A FLAT TIRE. I calmly asked, "how much longer you got until that flat's fixed?" To which my buddy replied, "I don't know, a few minutes, why?" "Well, I just got chased by a mountain lion, about a mile back is the last I saw it." We all stood in a circle around the upside down bike, with our lights pointed out in every direction. Any time something made a noise in the grass or near by bushes, 8 lights would quickly point in the same direction. Thankfully the kitty never made it to the group, as far as we know. Flat fixed and we all stuck together for the remaining 3 or 4 miles out of the canyon.
That was my first and only big cat sighting in over 10 years of riding this spot, Rancho Penasquitos Canyon in San Diego. Pretty crazy considering it's only a couple miles from the coast and surrounded by houses.
What's the gnarliest thing you've run into while riding?
That was my first and only big cat sighting in over 10 years of riding this spot, Rancho Penasquitos Canyon in San Diego. Pretty crazy considering it's only a couple miles from the coast and surrounded by houses.
What's the gnarliest thing you've run into while riding?
I've come across plenty of wild animals that are capable of biting my head off in my off-road adventures, and sure it's scary, but to me it's also a given. I'll take wild animals over humans distracted in cars any day!
To me, the scariest things I've seen are solo riders who are taking dirt naps. I'm all for solo shredding; and do it quite often, even in the middle of the night. Pulling up on a fellow rider who is unconscious on the trail is an extremely scary situation, and I never wish it upon anyone.
Keep it safe guys! Always let someone know which route you are riding, and when you expect to be home.
My girlfriend has my main riding buddies phone numbers incase I don't hit her up after a solo ride, that way if I don't answer my phone she can call them and let them know I'm missing and what trail I said I was going to be on.... so they can deal with it..
other i was stopped on a on a trail bifurcation, and saw my friend riding down a whoop's trail like 40k/h and a dear just passed by him like it was nothing
and the last one , was almost night , was riding home and got fallowed by at least a fox during a few km
Whistler bears under the lift? Doesn't count. Whistler bear on the trail...? Totally counts. I'd need new underwear.
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