Bridal Veil Falls trail is for pedestrians, families with strollers, little bikers, serious road-bikers, and roller bladers. The shared trail requires travelers to pay attention, especially when the lanes shrink between pond and mountainside. But there are distractions: wildlife, the river, conversations.
Bikers are supposed to ride in the two lanes designated for bikers. People without wheels are supposed to stay to the other side. But not everyone is aware of this, as the trail is poorly marked. For veteran trail riders, it's understood; for first time-users, they are often unaware.
As a biker, traveling at the faster speed, it's my responsibility to pay the most attention. Thus biking requires diligent attention and awareness.
On a most recent ride, I found this to be especially true. Riding down the trail, the pond to my right was filled with a summer blossom. It seemed like an optical illusion. Little white cotton balls sat on green stems stretching through the surface of the water. I watched a lady walking the opposite way whose expression changed when she turned the corner and came upon the scene. She crossed the lane, not even glancing for cross traffic. I braked and waited for her to pass. She apologized, but I knew what was going through her head. She was captivated by the beauty.
Within a short while, I was passing walkers on the right. They veered into my lane without looking. I veered too. A snake had slithered into their lane and they didn't pause to check if someone was behind them.
Slowing down, ready to brake. This is what life requires too. An understanding that people are seeing things differently. Acting differently. By excitement, fear, inexperience, they may step in your path. We must be ready.
Today it was an opossum.
It was found hiding behind the crib in the beach condo. My daughter was instantly frazzled and frightened. She thought it was a rabid, wild, animal. Typically, opossums don't live at the beach. Or do they?
In the end, security came and picked it up in a pink cage with a fur bottom. Someone's pet had wandered off the trail.
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