Where The Wild Things Are

Today I rode for a couple of hours at Wilder Park, which is just outside Santa Cruz. The trails took me up the hills overlooking the rugged coast. The hills are a mix of parched prairie and lush forest; an interesting combination. The trail itself was a mix of double and single track and was non technical. It was fun to cruise along speedily and get my legs and lungs burning. As I ripped around one corner, I caught a bobcat (and myself) by surprise. He leaped out of the way into the bushes - FAST! I'm scared of chickens, so this almost stopped my heart. It's hard to conceive that its possible, but I suppose that he was more scared of me (or, perhaps, my spanky the monkey jersey) than I was of him.

From then on, I sang as I rode (scary!). I thought it might help avoid future surprises. At the very least, it helped sooth my nerves.

I saw a lot of other wildlife too, which surprised me since this was the least remote of the trails that I rode this trip. There were a wide variety of birds as well as bunnies, squirrels, and other small rodents. In the forest I saw some gargantuan yellow slugs - some of which were as big as a banana. After mistaking roots for snakes enough times, I let down my guard and then almost ran over a big snake. I'm pretty sure it was too big to be a garter snake, but I'm no expert. I eventually finished the ride unscathed and then packed up and drove the scenic route back toward the airport. On the way, I stopped and watched some kite surfers on a small stretch of beach until the wind dreadlocked my hair. And, just like that, another holiday is over.