Ridecamp: Re: [RC] What a ride!

In a message dated 5/18/02 5:11:41 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
amber.apple@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:

> So that was my great day. How was yours?
>  amber

Today was the day I was going to do my long, medium ride in preparation for 
our first 50.  On Thursday, we did a fast 10 mile loop, so today I was aiming 
for 20 with about 1/4 of it hills.  When I got to the parking area, there 
were two rigs with bike racks parked there.  Started out great.  Went to one 
of my favorite conditioning trails, and started out on a new trail I had 
found that adds about 3-4 miles.  Horse felt great, trotting and wanting to 
go faster.  But today was a MEDIUM day I kept telling her.  After we did the 
extra part, I turned on to our regular  trail, and kept going at a nice trot. 
 About a 1/2 mile into this part of the trail, which has some small hills, I 
could see two objects on the trail about a 1/4 mile away.  One was black, 
dog-sized and moved.  The other one didn't.  When I got a about hundred yards 
away, the dog came at us and spooked my horse, who decided it was time to go 
HOME NOW.  I got her turned around and with the dog trying really hard to 
chase us away, approached, what by this time I could see was a man lying on 
the ground next to a bike.  The dog kept harassing us, so I got off, led my 
horse up, and finally ended up tying her by her rein to a fence post of a 
barbed wire fence.  This may tell you how concerned I was, but it should also 
tell you what a good girl I have, because she just put her head down and 
started grazing and never fussed at all with the raging beast barking.  Long 
story short, the guy had died, probably a heart attack.  When I saw there was 
nothing I could do, all alone out in the middle of nowhere with no cell 
phone, I decided to take the guy's keys, hoping he had a cell phone in his 
rig, and high tail it back down to the parking area.  We long trotted and 
galloped all the way back, about 10-15 minutes.  As we got close to  the 
parking area, I could see about 3 people near the vehicles.  My mare spooked 
bigtime, and I all but went off, but somehow recovered my balance.Feeling 
REAL graceful.  I got in and someone had a cell phone, and they took the 
guy's rig (really grateful that I had brought the keys down) to get him.  
Pretty soon there were cops everywhere and I had to give a statement.  

I'm just wishing now that I had gone straight up the hill instead of taking 
the new section of trail. As near as I can figure from talking to his 
friends, I would have probably run into him before or shortly after he went 
down, and maybe there would have been something I could do.  The guy had a 
wife and five kids, and was about my age--50.  I have always hated cell 
phones.  Found them intrusive when others use them, distracting, not to say 
expensive.  But I am considering getting one now.  The area we ride in is 
pretty isolated, and the trails go all over.  Someone could easily be missed 
for days if they weren't on the main trail.  Kiss your husbands, wives, kids, 
dogs and horses and say a prayer for Scott, if you don't mind.  jeri

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