KNYSNA "Where were you all heading after work"

[#RAH#]

Was in your town the last 2 days and only got to ride yesterday evening. Ended up at Reehnendal(think that's how you spell it), homdini reserve???? Thought it was an 8 km ride, FAIL.

 

By the time i got to that last bit of single track it was pitch dark, and the forest monster's, whom were trying to get there filthy goblin like claws on me at every bend. Must have diverted a river down the track a couple days before. HAH they thought it would slow me down, rode most of the track on my front wheel, like a circus clown, bouncing in and out of rut after rut with them breathing down my neck. Fu.......ers never got me though. When I hit the gravel road again they couldn't see me for the dust.

 

Then to top it all, besides the fact that it was now beyond pitch dark, I could swear I spotted the lost Knysna elephant. But as I turned my head to get a better look I road smack bang into a reserve gate.

 

Well at that moment I new I was heading in the right direction, so I decided not to ask the ellie were a cool spot to chill out for the night would be, and road the rest of the dirt road freaking about the next gate that you cant realy see in the dark.

 

So where were you all heading after work? A good couple of you were riding on the mountain side of the N2 heading towards the bridge. Came across 4 of you riding the road towards Reehnendal, but the rest just vanished.

 

Did some of you hit the dirt or do you all just ride the road home?

[#RAH#]

thump

[#RAH#]

bump

[#RAH#]

Lump

[Bos]

The Knysna bunch are active and they have some killer handbuilt singletracks all over the show, you just need to know where to look. Best is to go to one of the bikeshops and ask that they take you for a ride. I grew up there and rode those trails from age 15 (1996) till when I came to Cape town in 2002. My folks still live there and I go back all the time to ride with the locals. Frendly bunch.

 

The trail netwerk is so vast I hardly ever find the trails again after riding them with the crew, Its because half the time you take some sneaky singletrack to get there

 

I have only ridden Homtini once in 15 years, theres that much else going on

[Bos]

Your story reminded me of a ride I did with one of my school mates who now works at Ultimate cycling (morne)

We started riding at 8pm.. and rode up the surrounding hills and out into the plantations..

We I was completely and utterly lost after 25minutes of riding through dongas and shack singletrack..

 

So the suspence starts building as we ride through a quiet stinkwood plantation.. imagine rows of trees fading into the distance as you ride through a narrow avenue of jeeptrack between the trees. The jeeptrack is flooded 6 inches deep and the only sound you can hear is our wheels riding through the water and some branches cracking as the night time animals prowl around in the plantations around us..To make it worse, the jeeptrack is tightly lined with thorney berry bushes.. so much that one would be unable to get off that road if something came from the front.. which was very unlikely, but It had that Nightmare on Elm street feel...

Now put yourself in my shoes, As you were talking about the YETI and the Knysna Elephant.. Its **** scary out there.. Not so much the Yeti and the elies but the people that live deep in that forrest freaks me out most!

 

So the next thing we are going downhill.. the road gets narrower (by now gravel not wet jeeptrack) the bushes and plants on the side of the trail has overgrown the trail somewhat and I have to really concentrate not to get dropped by my mate (Im not even ashamed to say, I was soo scared and wanted my mommy haha)

 

Ok, So flying down this downhill ( I didnt even know we went up a hill ok) getting darker and deeper into this nightmare forrest and SUDDENLY..my nightmare comes allive.. In my peripheral view I notice something is running next to me in the forrest...no bull***t..middle of the blare witch forrest something is rinning next to me and this at 50km/h... think OH my FAAARK!!!!!

Now Im trying not to get dropped screaming down this overgrown twisty path/road so I can not really look around to see what it is but I can see bleddie well enough that these things are not only keeping up they are as tall as humans they are black and there are a few of them..Now my dear friend you have not understood the kind of trauma and plain bekakking myself and "not staying calm" I was going through.. these effing things were chasing us! keeping up, Because ones mind can not Identify or comprehend what this would be.. YETI see pictures below..

 

Now I know you are thinking this can not get worse.. wait for this..

 

As all of this is going through my very small feeling heart the unthinkable.. With a big skid and "OH FARK" 10m in front of me Morne comes to a stop but Im not focussing on Morne, Im focussing on what is standing 2.5m tall on 2 feet in front of him.. Holy Mother Of GOD this is it we are about to become the product of all our sins and going to pay for not beleving in monsters.. This is reality and Its gone bad...

 

I'll give you time to read...

[Bos]

Images like the above drove fear into my mind that night.. but seriously, have you ever came across something that runs that fast through bush.. Is black (no not bushmen ) lives deep in knysna forrest and then stands 2.5m tall on 2 legs?!

I was in disbelief I tell you..

 

So I had to dramatise that last bit but ones mind is incredibly fast and thoughts fly around in split seconds.. So the thing was a horse.. there was a pack of wild horses running next to us in the forrest and then up ahead one of them lay dead, dont know why.. and the other horses standing around the dead horse obviously got the fright of their lives when we came flying down and locking our brakes which also masked the sound of the horses which might have given it away.. further Morne's lights only shone on the body of the horse and the head was kind of out of the beam shot..

 

You get the Idea, but It was by far the scardest I had ever been In my Life..

Edited August 17, 2012 by Bos

[Escapee..]

hahaha awesome story dude Edited August 17, 2012 by Escapee..

[Pieterg]

Glad you're safe!!

[Andro]

Cool story... no go make the movie.....

[Bos]

So Lets go on a night ride!!

[Andro]

I stop believing in the boogieman when I was 3, Wount mind a nice ride there.

[#RAH#]

Images like the above drove fear into my mind that night.. but seriously, have you ever came across something that runs that fast through bush.. Is black (no not bushmen ) lives deep in knysna forrest and then stands 2.5m tall on 2 legs?!

I was in disbelief I tell you..

 

So I had to dramatise that last bit but ones mind is incredibly fast and thoughts fly around in split seconds.. So the thing was a horse.. there was a pack of wild horses running next to us in the forrest and then up ahead one of them lay dead, dont know why.. and the other horses standing around the dead horse obviously got the fright of their lives when we came flying down and locking our brakes which also masked the sound of the horses which might have given it away.. further Morne's lights only shone on the body of the horse and the head was kind of out of the beam shot..

 

You get the Idea, but It was by far the scardest I had ever been In my Life..

 

 

AAAAH classic.

 

That would have spooked the living **** out of me.

 

Gonna head back there and talk to the locals, but I aint going in that forest anywere near sunset unless there is a whole bunch of riders. If those wild horses had have come any were near me I would have been damaged for life. You guys were lucky you got to see what they were or your friends would have admitted the both of you to some form of medical institution, a while back.

 

[Bos]

AAAAH classic.

 

That would have spooked the living **** out of me.

 

Gonna head back there and talk to the locals, but I aint going in that forest anywere near sunset unless there is a whole bunch of riders. If those wild horses had have come any were near me I would have been damaged for life. You guys were lucky you got to see what they were or your friends would have admitted the both of you to some form of medical institution, a while back.

 

 

Haha.. never thought about that!!

 

I would have had ensomnia for a month..