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Not spooks in the saddle, but ghost stories about the regular places you ride? I know a few for my local Sheffield loop but would love to hear others
Not really a ghost story but when I first started night riding on the Chase in the late 90s there were some 'odd' people around and I'm not talking about Stan Collymore. One was a middle-aged bloke who used to sit on the benches round Fairoaks Pool (now the green route) in total darkness. I said 'alright?' a couple of times but he never replied just used to sit there in the dark, no dog no fishing rod nothing.
More recently there used to be an extemely scary white-haired woman (all she needed was a broomstick) walking her dogs in total darkness around the top of Sherbrook/Abraham's. She was silent, the dogs were silent I used to GTFO ASAP I can tell you 🙂
rocketman - you got a mental health unit nearby your route? 😉
Looking down to see a badger running alongside me was scary enough, not what you expect anyway. Deer jumping out in front of me have caused two offs as well. I always wary of mad axe men from the local mental hospital which doesn't look too secure to me! Funny how your mind plays tricks on you when it's dark in the woods..
From nocturnaldogwalkers.com:
[i]"I have been walking my dogs on Cannock Chase during the evening for many years but last night I was terrified to see some bright lights heading along the track straight towards me. There was a sound like heavy breathing and I was so frightened I couldn't speak, then the lights turned and disappeared..." [/i]
On the Downs up above Lewes for the traditional Bonfire night pyrotechic abuse, we were sittin and chillin when a group of French people wearing 1920/30's style clothing rode out of the darkness on old roadsters. They stopped and said hello and stopped just uphill of us to watch the firework display below. I turned around a minute or so later and they'd gone (or should I say disappeared) without a word.
[url= http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/ghosts_of_dartmoor.htm ]Where to start ?[/url]
One day I went for a ride on my bike and saw no ghosts as they don't exist.
The end.
A few years ago I was cycling with a friend from stafford to Newport down the old train line. It's around 10pm on a dark early autumn night. The old line is crossed over by various bridges, approching one bridge my mate slammed on his brakes a few foot infront of me, shit, he yelled. Thinking he was in some kind of phyiscal trouble I pulled alongside and looked over at him expecting to see some blood, nothing. He just stood there, his bike between his legs and his hands gripping the bars. Up ahead he spoke from bound lips, I looked ahead and saw what appeared to be a large skull, too big to be human, atop of a black cloak. Visibility was poor and the moon coupled with cateyes didn't do a great deal of illuminating that far infront. It's the grim reaper my friend said, we slowly granny geared towards it, knowing the only other route was 5 miles detour to the a518 and we didn't fancy peddaling that with just cateyes. As we got closer it was definately a skull, a big one, and it was definately staring at us. I'm a rational thinking person but I could see no logic as to what it could be, why it was there and why it was staring at us. The track seemed eerie that night, I've ridden it a thousand times but every little noise that would usualy be ignored seemed to make the place seem alive. Birds cooing to the blowing of polythene sheets covering crop in the fields seemed louder. We got closer and concoured it was a White skull, it was staring at us and it was dressed in black. Disjointed and awkward It's mass was huge and it smelt. It was now my friend told me he had been playing with ouija boards, and other occult things at a party a few weeks prior. I wasn't going to show my fear, so I slipped gears and picked up pace. As I got closer I realised what was before us. Indeed it was a skull. A bovine one, the black cloak turned out to be the body and the smell was indeed death. I realised it was a cow, slumped against the bridge. Looking up I saw the bridge was partially ruined. A bright light lit up the alcoves of the bridge and a tractor complete with farmer cane into view. It turned out the cow had tumbled off the bridge earlier in the evening...
...and that was my brush with death 🙂
Well normally I'd say ghosts are all a load of old rubbish but I was out for an early morning ride before work one time and I spotted something flitting down the path in front of me in the dusk light. Big white thing. At first I thought it was a large bird of some description but it was so fast and was following the path. I felt like I was catching it but then suddenly it veered off the path and flew at an incredible rate across the woods and disappeared into some bushes.
Put the chills up me I can tell you.
Well the woods down the road from me have a patch where no trees grow, that's supposed to be where someone died in ye olde days.
A ghost used to shift my gears a few times on a night ride.....Spooky.
cannock has werewolf, a goatheaded beast thing that protects the old hill fort at castle ring and a big cat, plus assorted doggers and loons.
have met a very odd bloke in the middle of the chase on a night ride in the pouring rain. Stopped to have a drink and a bloke in suit pops up and says "excuse me, do you know where the nearest civilisation is" I laughed and told that he was near cannock and rugely so there was no chance of finding any, before pointing him in the direction of a main carpark and legging it.
also had a strange old do in brocton coppice, where we had heard some odd growly/coughing noises earlier in the evening which was bloomin freaky. Comming back through the area turned a corner to get eyeshine of something big black and vaguely cat shaped and with very forward facing predator eyes that legged it into the woods as soon as we spotted it.
We decided that going up hill as fast as possible was a very good idea and that having seen nature documentaries, being the first to the top of the hill wasn't as important as not being the little one trying to catch up!
no ghosts though
My girlfriend was beside herself the other day because she thought she'd run over a baby ghost. On closer inspection it just turned out to be a handkerchief.
It can be a bit spooky on the south downs way, I kept hearing voices behind me above wilmington and at firle beacon, maybe carried on the wind, bit freaky at the time though as I was on my tod.
Yes. Riding near the old airbase at Woodbridge at Tangham on a hot Sunday afternoon. Came across a motorcyclist on a trail bike in the middle of the woods. He was just sitting on his bike in the middle of the path - all in black, dark visor down, didn't acknowledge me or anything. Thought it was a bit strange - I hadn't heard a motorcycle sound all afternoon, just the twittering of birds and I thought he's got to be pretty hot in a full face helmet with the visor down. 50 metres after I passed him I realised I'd taken a wrong turning and returned way I came - the motorcyclist and bike had gone, without a sound. It was then I noticed the woods were dead silent and pedalled out of there as fast as could go.
There's a local hill near me called Galley Hill, on top of which used to be the local gallows. Several 'contacts' reported and plenty of folk in the village won't set foot there alone. But I've never seen anything.
I did hear a great ghost story about a pearl diver in the Sea of Cortez though, that properly scared me.
I was on a ride with "Hora" once... halfway round he just disappeared..spooky
I always ride on my own and usually it never bothers me. However, whilst I can't point to any apparations or things of that nature, there have been a few times things just didn't feel "right" and rides were cut short.
he was probably having a poo in the woods.
There's a bit on my local loop where there's a story of a bloke being out walking his dog.
As he walked down the trail his dog stopped and started growling. Off the trail about 50yds away there was a bloke in a black coat stooped down low putting something large in a trench. Suddenly he looked up and looked straight at the man, dark deep set eyes, shadowy face - his dog carried on growling. Then he just faded away still staring.
The dog stopped growling and the bloke got out of the woods sharpish.
Load of tripe clearly - but i don't hang about when I'm riding through there at night!