The Pisgah Surprise

That's what I call this photograph, The Pisgah Surprise. If you are new here at the circus, you may not know about the events that occurred in the Pisgah National Forest a few years back. My frenemy Mystery, the once untameable stallion, and I spent a cold night without food, drink, shelter, nor the comforting words of a good friend. We let the rivalry get a little out of hand with the, "I'm not done riding if you're not done riding" gambit. We ran out of day and hunkered like animals in the dark, burning spare inner-tubes and green rhododendrons to stay warm.

The short version is that we survived, as evidenced by the 1,048 blog posts I have written since that day. The picture you see above documents the single act of unchecked aggression during our 24 hour survival epic.

In a ruse only a true sociopath could muster, he asked me to pose for a photo to record our endurance, our courage, and our steadfast loyalty. Asleep on my feet I stood tall and waited for him to hit the button and race the timer to get in the photo.

The next thing I remember is waking up in the dirt, for the second time that twilit morning.

If you will focus closely on the details in this photo you can see the blur of white- his Jamis Dakar in motion after connecting the rear wheel with the point of my chin. You will see the little roll of jiggly fat of my exposed midriff rippling with the shockwave of impact. You will see my hands thrown up in a lazy defense, and you will see my beloved red Jamis Dragon rattling to the ground at my feet.

We are returning to Pisgah this weekend, to finish what he started.


-Juancho