This is the time of year when the sun disappears sooner and sooner, and bikers get caught without lights. I got to Salztman Road in Forest Park around 6pm, expecting an hour and a half ride. 2 1/2 hours I made it back to the car: I have never been happier to see the Subby in all my days.
I headed down Salztman to Firelane 5, followed the awesome loop-d-loos down to Leif Erikson. I kept up a solid pace to Germantown Road, and jumped onto Firelane 10, which dives down, then up up up, and on to Newton Road. By the time I flew down to the creek area, it was getting hard to see, and I was worried because I hadn’t even started my return trip. I brought a strong headlamp with me, but I hadn’t charged it since i last used it, so I was unsure how long it would last.
I jumped onto Hwy 30 and rode it to Germantown Road; by then it was pitch black, and I didn’t have a rear light. So I turned on my headlamp and started up the very steep, twisty climb to Leif. It was scary because there’s no shoulder, the road is narrow, and cars can’t see you until you’re on their windshield. Didn’t help I had no rear light (as I was expecting to be on Leif by dark). Thankfully only about 5 cars passed me, and I just went onto the 1-2 foot gravel shoulder when they came by. I was super happy when I got to Leif, and I started making my way back.
It’s about 5 miles to the intersection of Salzman; after about a mile on Leif, my precious headlamp went dead. I stood in the pitch blackness, wondering how the hell I was going to get back. After my eyes adjusted for a moment, I could see a faint outline of something hinting at the trail. So I decided to keep riding and trust my night vision and instincts. Thankfully it was a full moon and clear, unfortunately I was in the trees and much of the trail was in the dark. But parts I could see fairly well, so I managed to keep my speed up pretty well, hoping there wasn’t any roots or rocks I didn’t notice coming down. I just wanted to make sure not to fall off one of the 30 foot drops into a ravine on the inside of the corners, so I took the outside edge of the turns; there were points when I couldn’t see anything and went on instinct alone. It was pretty freaky. When I got to Saltzman I had another 2.5 miles up to the car; but at that point when I realized I was going to make it back in not too much longer then I would’ve ridden with the light, I was pretty damn happy.
In looking at a map now, it looks like the best way would be up the other direction on HWY30 to Harborton Drive, which takes you do Firelane 12, to BPA, effectively cutting off the 1-mile hell of BPA. I shall do this next time. And bring an extra light.
