…while riding my bicycle!
I didn’t see him, and apparently, he didn’t see me.
He was crossing the bike trail, starting from under a bush right next to the trail, and I was riding along on that same side near the edge, since we were riding two by two. He darted out and I rode over him. The others I was with said it was a raccoon. He scurried off to the other side of the trail, into the field so I assume he survived. They said he was a big one!
I stopped my bike and took a deep breath. I knew I ran over something, but I didn’t know what. None of us could believe I did not lose my balance and fall over on my bike. I thanked God all was well, and we biked on.
We were on the Central Lakes State Bike Trail, near Alexandria, Minnesota. We planned this bike trip long before we knew how hot and humid it was going to be. But once on the bikes, it wasn’t too bad.
The morning I ran over the raccoon, we started our ride early, leaving our cars at a parking lot along the trail that had an interesting, old threshing machine. The trail was an old railway bed…straight and wide and paved and flat. We passed lakes with beautiful white swans and egrets, saw a few bunnies on the trail, ran over a raccoon, and on the way back stopped at Evansville shelter for a break.
On a side note; the small town of Evansville (pop.603), began about 1858 and was named after Evan Evanson (for real!). He was the first mail carrier to carry mail through this area and he built a shanty there to rest, and it became a stop on a stagecoach line. It’s amazing what you can learn in the most unlikely places.
Anyway, in Evansville, there is a nice shelter alongside the bike trail where we stopped to rest. And right there was a beautiful old bike with a sign saying “Free”. No gears, back-pedal brakes, fenders and all, in very good condition. We all wanted to take it home, but of course couldn’t. Hopefully someone claimed it for their own.
On this early morning ride, the straight and narrow bike trail offered us many diversions.
