Weird situation last night

[noelmg]

So I'm riding home last night, and part of my journey goes through a disused railway cutting. It's only around a mile, but it is the worst part of my journey as it is pitch black, underneath a thick canopy of trees, and to sum it up, the footpath is around 2ft wide, with around 30ft of shrubs either side going up to the cliffs at the side of the cutting. It's usually deserted and I hardly ever see anyone down there in daylight, let alone at night. I usually try to bomb through that bit as fast as I can as it is a little freaky at night time

So I'm bombing down there last night, and way up ahead I see some orange reflectors way off to one side. I get a little closer and recognise them as pedal reflectors. Close still, and I see it's a woman, on a bike, with absolutely no lights or reflection other than those on her pedals, and she is up against the cliff 30ft off the footpath, feeling her way along the side of the cutting. I toy with asking her to "follow my lights", but decide that given the area and the fact that around those parts stopping could open you up to any sort of problem, I would just slow down and let her follow me. So I slowed right down, thinking she would follow me. As I emerged at the other end at the road, I looked up the path behind me and there was no sign of anyone.

The funniest part is, you can go through an estate at the top of the cutting, that is lit all the way through, and brings you out 50 yards up the road at either end. This means going up quite a steep hill, but is lit all the way through and would surely have made more sense, especially for someone who clearly knew where this cutting was and where it bought you out.

 

[mr_cellophane]

Phantom cyclist

 

[noelmg]

Phantom cyclist

Lol don't - it's freaky enough down there as it is, everytime I just get comfortable something else happens, last time it was an owl flying out of nowhere at me and making me jump out of my skin

 

[jay clock]

Have you googled for deaths of female cyclists round there? SHe is clearly a ghost!

 

[summerdays]

I mostly avoid the lit paths after dark let alone somewhere that sounds like that.... and will take a longer route along roads instead.

 

[Jezston]

Yeah I'd definitely go with the ghost explaination too.

 

[Riding in Circles]

Definite ghost.

 

[magnatom]

Could be aliens?

 

[downfader]

Could be aliens?

Have you been reading the Daily Mail?

 

[Tynan]

Lorelei?

was she singing?

 

[Cheule]

+1 on the ghosty.

 

[chillyuk]

She was probably either:

taken short and was squatting down in a bush having blessed relief. or:

having a laugh reading this this morning.

 

[Cush]

Had you been drinking?, other wise I go along with Chillyuk's second line. I know these cold nights I stop at more trees than our dog.

 

[magnatom]

Have you been reading the Daily Mail?

Aliens in Bike fumble shocker!

 

[Ste T.]

Hi Noel,

Let's see if I have got this right.

You saw a lone female cyclists with no lights. In the pitch black 30ft off the path struggling to feel her way through shrubs along the edge/base of the cutting. In an area where you, a grown man, didn't feel safe and you didn't even shout to her to see if she was ok or needed help?
In the pitch black with no lights' do you think she may have had a tumble and be confused trying to find her way out. Or worse, maybe she had met your " any sort of problem" and been assaulted or robbed and was concussed or lost.
You know it's the camaraderie in cycling that I love the most. The way we all stick together. Last week my Mrs had a puncture a couple of miles from home and was walking beside a bypass in the pouring rain ( no pump I'm fed up telling her ) when an old chap in his seventies cycling past stopped and helped her. He could see she was shivering and insisted on doing it for her despite her protestations.

I'm glad it wasn't you. You probably would have kicked her wheel as you rode past :¬)