DATELINE: Chesapeake, Virginia
To the casual observer, it was just another routine Tuesday Group outing. 20-plus intrepids assembled for a 16 mile bike ride up and down the Dismal Swamp Trail. It was a mixed crew. There were the hardcore riders with their carbon fiber frames and dual disk brakes. And there were the rusty bucket riders with their rusty steel bikes and questionable brakes. And there was every type of rider in between. But none of us was prepared for what we were going to see on this cloudless October morning.
Once the laggards had arrived, tires pumped, and waivers signed, the crew headed down the trail, the Carbon Fibers racing on ahead and the Rusty Buckets bringing up the rear. As I said, it started out routinely with innocent conversations, occasional water stops, and a pause to shed some garb as we warmed to the pace. It was about Milepost 9 when it happened. The group was stopped - perhaps to let everyone catch up - when up above the treetops a ghostly ship's mast was seen silently gliding by us with no apparent means of levitation or perambulation! Was this the fabled lost ship of the Dismal Swamp Ghost? Why was it seeking us out?
While most of us stood transfixed, Daredevil Dewey (who else?) hopped on his bike and gave chase! He literally flew down the road, as if his steed was carbon fiber plus plus, and he was soon out of sight. Once we had collected our collective wits, we followed. It seemed like miles when we finally spotted Dewey. He was stopped and, as we drew close, we could see his eyes were big as saucers as if .... well, as if he had just seen a ghost!
His story was mumbled and somewhat incoherent but it seemed that Dewey and the Dismal Swamp Ghost had come face-to-face. And (while I'm a little unclear here), Dewey may have even boarded the ghost schooner - voluntarily or involuntarily. All we know is what he told us. And, just between you and me ..... some of his tale seemed as tall as the ghost schooner's mast.
Well we were shaken, but we managed to get our toe clips back on the pedals and make some real time getting out of there! Sgt. Bruce was a bit worried that we might re-encounter what-ever-it-was, so he led us on a detour (known as the Douglas Drive Detour) which goes via 7-Eleven road. Curiously, there is no 7-Eleven on that road. Perhaps business has been scared off. Anyway, it added another few miles, bringing the round trip circuit to 20 miles. Not bad for a bunch of rusty buckets.
We stopped at Quizno's for lunch. There were a lot of hushed conversations over sub sandwiches and chips. Most of us agreed that it was just too close to Halloween to be venturing into the depths of the Dismal Swamp and not expect some surprises.
Reporting for the TATC Tuesday Group
De Nitram