wrobertdavis

There is a multi-use asphalt trail on the west side of Houston which goes through what is known as George Bush Park (named for the elder George Bush). Its a smooth trail that is almost exclusively used by cyclists. Its about 10 miles long, with parts of it passing through a wooded area and ranch land. Drainage ditches and a small bayou run parallel to part of the trail. Though suburban building is getting closer and closer to the trail, it still might be considered to be a country locale. During the wet summer last year, I saw two large wild boars running on the side of the trail at dusk. I had not seen any since then.

We had a lot of rain in our area spawned by hurricane Dolly last week. Apparently the wild boars are moving in again. I was riding at dusk and saw one on the side of the trail. It saw me coming, jumped up and ran off. That should have been a warning sign to me. I have a good headlight and pressed on. Its nice to ride after sunset this time of the year because its so much cooler than the scorching hot days we have. I was entering the denser part of the woods and it was now completely dark except for my headlight. I was traveling between 16 and 18 mph.

Without any warning or noise, the broad hairy side of a wild boar appeared in my headlight, running from left to right. I would guess it was about 4-5 feet in front of me. I could not see the top of its back but estimate it was between the top of my handlebars and the top of my wheel. I also saw the head of a second boar coming into my headlight from the left. It must have been about 2 feet in front of my wheel. That's the last thing I remember seeing.

I hit one or both of them broadside. My front wheel jerked to the right and my bike was apparently knocked up in the air. I landed on my left side hard, whacking my head and butt into the asphalt. When the world stopped spinning, my left leg was beneath the bike and I was just laying there, not knowing what to do. I was sure the bike must be in pieces and I was shaken up pretty badly.

Finally, I decided to try to stand up and see what was left. The boars were gone. The headlight was still shining. My head felt like my brain had been knocked loose and shaken and I staggered around in a circle like a drunk. The front wheel was pointing to the right about 30 degrees when I held the handlebars straight. I dismounted the headlight and shined it on the bike to see that it was still intact. I did not think to look for missing pieces. Later I would discover that I had lost one water bottle and my eyeglass mounted rear view mirror.

I mounted the bike and slowly rode back home. Along the way, I stopped to straighten the handlebars. As I rode, I knew the saddle was whacked but I was thinking how it wasn't too uncomfortable, all things considered. When I arrived home, I noted that somehow both elbows had gotten skinned up. The bike was in amazing shape - no scratches anywhere. It looks like it must have flipped up in the air upside down and come down on the saddle hard. My left shoe had one small scratch on the outside of the buckle. From the pictures, you can see my head took quite a blow and I was feeling it. Today all my neck muscles hurt. My premium bike shorts did their job of protecting my butt from severe road rash.

Bob