Human Age RPG

Crazy Lady on a Bike

After Tropical Storm Noel made everyone’s life completely miserable for 10 days with too much rain and humidity, it was a relief to hear from the weatherman that a “cold front” was on it’s way. A cold front in Florida is a relative thing, with temperatures dropping by a few degrees only to warm up in a day or two. But never mind, cold fronts usually dry out the atmosphere and it’s enough to getmeoutside. The Withlacoochee Bluegrass Jamboree was being held this weekend and when you add music, and the fact that the Withlacoochee State Trail (the longest paved rail-trail in the state) is nearby, I just can’t wait. I packed the big tent this time and decided to make myself as comfortable as possible for this trip.

The day before, I rode the West Orange Trail from Oakland to Apopka. It was amazingly windy still from TS Noel so the ride back was a LOT easier than the ride out. My favorite part was riding around the golf course. There are 20 foot fences with two foot overhangs to protect the riders from stray golf balls. This 1/2 mile of fence has been colonized by hundreds of streamers of Spanish moss and they waved merrily in the wind as I passed. I felt like I was flying!

I stopped at The Chapin Station to see what was up. It’s gotta be beautiful in the Spring when the azaleas are in bloom. I just love outdoor art .

On Friday before the Bluegrass festival started, I rode the Withlacoochee Trail. It is a relatively straight path from Dunnellon Fl. to Trilby Fl. about 46 miles. Since it’s a rail-trail, there’s not much change in elevation. I read a review on the web that said it was boring.

I have to disagree because I saw all sorts of stuff I’ve never seen…like there must have been 8 gopher trotoises out sunning themselves…and there was this spot where it looked like the remains of a railroad trestle had fallen down into a sinkhole. I don’t know what that was.

All along the way, there are benches and covered waysides for biker/hikers to rest. I’d ridden about as far as I was gonna and I stopped near a bench to go pee…(yes…right on the side of the trail) I got off my bike, took off the backpack to get out some more water and TP and walked a short distance off the pavement. I dropped my shorts and squatted and it was about this moment that my damaged neurology kicked in. (I had menengitis in 1994…it caused alot of damage and I basically can’t feel temperature or pain signals from my skin from about my boobs down.) I looked down at my legs and I was COVERED in fire ants! They were all the way up my legs and on my shorts. I screamed and began frantically brushing them off. I had to get out onto the pavement cuz who knows where the mound was! The ants had climbed into and all over my shorts and they were biting me everywhere. I had my shorts around my ankles in the middle of the trail, screaming and dancing around trying to shake them off. It must have been hilarious to see this crazy lady in her tidy whities with her butt up in the air, and because they were inside my shorts, anyone around would have had a good long laugh!

The good news about my damaged neurology is that I still can’t feel the bites. There are no whitehead like welts on my skin and it never itches.