But for the grace of God go I! I almost crashed- AGAIN!! At about mile 26, coming up the backside of the Pepacton reservoir, I was getting a bit tired riding into a stiff headwind. I tipped my head down for the briefest of moments to try to get a little more aero, and the next thing you know I’m running off the right side of the road dropping down about 2 inches onto loose gravel doing anywhere between 17 and 18 mph! Somehow, I managed to recover, and was able to jump back up onto the smooth, paved surface above the loose gravel area. I have to say, for the briefest lapse in attention, I almost had an absolutely disastrous crash. It would’ve been the realization of my worst nightmare - crashing, out in the middle of nowhere, with little help available and no cell service. I am forced to conclude that there must be a God because, by all rights, I should have landed hard on the road, injuring myself yet again. In addition to this, I really tore up the sidewall on the front tire, left side. Of course, that tire will have to be replaced. In spite of this near disaster, it was still a magnificent ride. The weather was gloriously sunny, with temps in the upper 60s to low 70s, and a somewhat stiff west northwest wind. The low humidity was also rather pleasant. As I arrived back at the car at the Dunraven parking area, I noticed that the Subaru that was already parked when I had arrived, was now open with two road cyclists, a man and woman, stowing their gear after the conclusion of their ride. I commented to them that they must’ve had a really long ride given the fact that their car was there before I had arrived. They said that they had only done 35 miles or so. Then the middle-aged, bearded gentleman asked me if we had met before at that very same spot. I said to him, “Were you here a few years ago heading down to Downsville?” He replied in the affirmative and asked me if I lived up at Roxbury Run. When I told him I did, he said that we had definitely met a few years ago. I noticed his white, Scott bicycle and ask him, “Are you Scott riding the Scott?” He replied that he was indeed Scott riding the Scott. I was delightfully surprised at meeting him and that I had also managed to somehow pull his name out of deep storage! He asked me if I would like to ride together at some point. I told him that it would be delightful, after which we exchanged phone numbers. He lives just outside of Fleischmanns and he’s actually a neighbor of Jim Router, the local guitar aficionado. Another interesting feature of this ride was the abundance of road cyclist that I saw along this route. I must’ve encountered perhaps as many as 15. All in all, a great day on the bicycle, and thank God I was not involved in yet another crash!