Kim and I were out on a ride yesterday – we climbed Springridge Road to enter Gazzam Lake park on the north side, and as we approached the entrance, noticed a hand-printed sign on the post. “Warning, a black bear was seen on this trail last night at 5 pm. Be carefull!” (sic)
We dismounted and stood there, wondering what to do… in the meantime, a strong young man on a Redline cyclocross bike came down the trail, out of the park. We pointed to the sign and he burst into haughty snorts about people “exaggerating and imagining things” – then whipped out a pen from his messenger bag and wrote “This is silly!” on the sign. He took off in a flurry of great disgust. Kim and I shook our heads and decided to go ahead. As we rode down the narrow trail, I rang my little courtesy bell, feeling foolish.
Needless to say, we made it just fine, although when we arrived at the crossroad of the main trails, we opted to leave the park and do the rest of our ride on the road.
I’ve been bummed ever since. Riding alone through the park has been the highlight of my regular weekly routine for a long time – now what? Wait for hibernation season?
Wah.
