I Almost hit a Gator on my Bike!!!

I had to interrupt our "Conversational Marketing" stuff to tell you what happened to me this morning! I almost hit a gator while I was on my bike! Here's how it all went down...

Facts: 6:10 am...

It's still pitch black outside...

This is day 4 of my "bike riding, get in shape, stop living unconsciously" campaign...

Once I leave my addition and cross the main road, I kick it into high gear...

The sidewalk I ride on runs right next to a bunch of ponds...

That's when it all went down...

I had just started to ride hard and of course the sidwalk is pitch black, so I'm looking ahead to make sure there are no oncoming bicycles headed toward me since I'm flying at this point. That's when I see this "log shaped" object in the middle of the sidewalk ahead. I gave it one of those "squinting glances" to try and see what it was. THAT'S WHEN IT STARTED TO MOVE!!!

IT WAS A GATOR!!! I am not lying... It was 6 feet long! It started running (as fast as a gator can run with it's little legs and all) across and then I see it go down the bank and splash into the water!

Oh...

My...

Gosh...

It was one of those "hair standing up on the back of my neck" moments. I was freaking out! My jaw was like wide open and I'm riding for the next few minutes thinking, 'What if I would have hit a gator on my bike?' That would have been really, really, (wait for it) really bad!

So here's the thing... From that moment on, I got paranoid. I slowed way down and began watching every little thing in the pavement. How often does that happen in our lives? Something happens that takes us off guard and from that moment on, we allow our whole train of thought to get knocked off course. ? Are you afraid of any "gators" in your life? Guess what, the minute I turned into the housing addition where I ride, I felt safe again and I returned to the pace I'm capable of.

? Where do you need to make a turn so you can return to the pace your capable of?

Oh yeah, I rode back past that pond on my home and he was sitting right on top of the water.

He really was 6 feet long... I'm not lying.

Matt