Riding Two-Up (Maybe)

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Last Saturday, I went out for a ride in the cool but sunny winter weather here in South Carolina.  The temperature was only about 31F when I started out, but climbed into the mid-50s by the time I returned.  It was only 129 miles on familiar roads, but it was good to get out on a beautiful day.  Amongst the routes was SC-130 between SC-11 and Whitewater Falls.  You can post some brisk speeds though the sweepers that populate this ten-mile stretch of road, so it can be quite enjoyable, and there is the nice waterfall and the Bad Creek overlook near Pushpin B. 

Click here for an interactive map.

I also rode two-up for the first time ever.  

At least I think I did.  Well, maybe it is possible that I could have. 

[Bucky, what are you getting at, here?  What’s with the obfuscation?  Did you ride two-up or not?] 

Let me explain. 

[Now, we’re getting somewhere….  Maybe….] 

I generally take along a bottle of water or Gatorade, and some granola bars or the like to munch on at stops.  This trip, when I wanted to take a slurp of water and eat a snack, I noticed that one of the foil packages for the energy bars was already open, and the contents half gone.  I don’t usually leave any when I start on one of the bars, but I shrugged and ate the rest, then started on my way back home, never giving it a second thought. 

Later, at home, as I was unpacking my tank bag – the place I carry my food and drink, along with some other necessary items, and I noticed little pieces of foil wrapper littering the inside of the bag.  “What is this?” I said aloud to no one in particular.  I dug further.  One of the other granola bars had some of the foil torn off it too. 

Now, I know I didn’t do that twice. 

Wait a minute.  All those shreds of foil look like teeth marks.  Mouse-size mouthfuls, in fact. 

In MY tank bag, eating MY granola bars!  And I ate the other half of one of them, to boot!  Yuck.  No telling what diseases that mouse might have.  Can a human catch mouse mung or some other malady?  I was seeing red. 

Then I got to thinking.  Was this little brown fellow a passenger with me?  Had he ridden pillion with me, so to speak? 

If he did, I wonder what he thought?  At least he had some snacks to eat while on his trip.  (That’s more than some airlines give you these days, and at a lot higher fare than Mr. Mouse paid.)  Or maybe he hopped out when I opened the bag to eat my snack at the waterfall.  If he did, I’ll bet he misses his family now, being out in the cold, cold world instead of in my nice cozy garage. 

I went and bought some mousetraps later in the evening. 

I’ll ride a human passenger some time, perhaps, but hopefully not another four-footed hitchhiker.  
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