I used to ride my bike pretty regularly (back in the
late eighties and
early nineties) in a place called Tyler State Park, a park
in Pennsylvania
with some excellent bike paths and panoramic vistas. Not
the least of the
attractions was the number of attractive women who would
also go there for
excercise and a breath of fresh air.
One time back I was cresting one of the hills which
made the park such a
great place to work out when I decided to stop at one of
the water fountains
placed conveniently along the path for the visitors
benefit. As I started
back up the path I distincltly heard the sound of a female
voice which put me
in mind of a book I had read years earlier, "Aztec" by
P.Jennings. He
described the sister of the main character as being named
"The sound of small
bells ringing." I don't remember what the actual Aztec
translation was but I
was curious as to the kind of woman who could make such a
charming sound out
in the middle of the splendour of natural beauty of
Pennsylvania in the
spring. As I continued on my way I was a little
crestfallen to hear the
sound of a man's voice answering her, hoping that she
would have been alone.
As I turned the corner I saw a couple approach me.
The man appeared to
be quite tall and the woman to the side of him (not very
close I was happy to
see) was wearing what would not have been expected in a
jogger or nature
lover. She looked more like she was ready for some kind
of rock concert, but
then again there were plenty of rocks around the paths.
She had what I would
describe as an unusual hair style with some kind of
barrett pushing her hair
at odd angles from the top of her head and what appeared
at first to be some
kind of green frosting to one side. I decided to not
speak to her as she was
with someone but that issue was decided for me when she
spoke to me first. I
said hello back and continued on my way.
I couldn't help but notice that this encounter was
not very well
recieved by the young man she was walking with. He
appeared to be
questioning her about speaking to me, a stranger, and
another man. I
dismissed it as being none of my business at first but
then I began to wonder
about her even more, hoping I hadn't started any friction
between the two of
them. After stopping to think about it for a moment I
decided to turn back
the way I had come just to make sure. I passed them
quickly and stopped at
the same water fountain I had just drank from, trying to
make it look like I
was not following them. As I was mimmicking taking
another drink her tall
friend approached the fountain in a bit of a brusque
manner, as if ready for
some kind of confrontation. I said hello and stepped
aside to let him drink,
getting my bike ready and trying not to stare at his
girlfriend.
He mentioned my bike in an unflattering manner and I
brushed it off with
the comment "Boy, Is my face red.", looking at his friend
at the same time
just to make sure she was not insulted by our macho
behaviour. (Over her, of
course, that could not have been a secret to anyone at
this point) She gave
me a look as if this were somehow a meaningful comment to
her but I decided I
had caused a young couple enough trouble for one day and
took off on my bike
again.
I had almost forgotten this as I continued around the
park with my
excersize. Circling the park brought me back to where the
couple had
advanced to, a parking lot where kids were playing with
their parents and
demanding ice cream from a truck parked strategically at
an intersection of
paths. I had to get off my bike to cross a part of the
path blocked with a
gate to prevent cars from driving on the bike paths which
were just wide
enough for an auto to drive onto. There was a lock on the
gate and I heard
the same young woman describe it's "rust" color to her
friend. She turned to
look a me but I continued on my way deciding that she was
probably happy with
her companion and I had already interrupted their day
enough.
A little while later I was approaching them again
when suddenly she
stepped out right in front of my bike. I used the front
brakes to stop
quickly or I certainly would have run into her. The
momemtum I had caused
the back of my bike to rise off the ground and I jumped
over the handlebars
to land on my feet beside her while still holding onto the
handlebars. I
offered a quick apology for not looking where I was going
and she more
accurately described herself at fault. I glanced quickly
at her friend who
was not looking too pleased but was not looking in our
direction. As I took
off again I could have swore I heard her saying something
else which sounded
like my name. This was unusual as I had not yet
introduced myself to them.