When an accident happens, especially when the human hand reaches nowhere, you can clearly recognize people’s actual nature.
People reveal their true selves in travel, but they reveal their real personalities in dire moments of life
... and cyclists are not any different.
One of the times I got to know people was when we got lost in the forests of Gilan, in the Talash region of Iran. Of course, lost might not be very accurate because we knew the way back, but it would take a long time to drag ourselves out of the forest that way, so we decided to move forward to maybe find an easier way out and failed!
In fact, we had traveled this route many times with the cycling group from the main road, and this time a new member tempted us to take the difficult path into the forest. we all wanted to try such a new thing, but not at the cost of breaking someone's leg or losing a bike over the fierce river.
The person who took us into the woods claimed to know the way, but turned out, he wasn’t very confident after all! From the beginning to the end, we dragged our bikes by hand, over fallen tree trunks, thick bushes, and under shadow of the trees while it was raining relatively hard.
The folks were all tired, and the one who called himself the leader, our assumed guide, disappeared from the very beginning of the path to save himself!
The group of guys and me, with great effort moved our bikes from the abyss, over a roaring river, and found our way through the forest to the outside... and finally saw the main road.
During those difficult moments when we were trapped in the forest, people were divided into several groups.
The first, were those who only thought about getting out of there , without any regards for others. And as soon as they found an escape route, they disappeared into thin air. Later they brought up excuses, yet it couldn't be convincing in the slightest.
The second were those who became a burden to others and growled a lot! They were not the only ones hurting, but in their opinion there were.
The third category consisted of a few people who carried their bicycles and extended a helping hand to others. Those who looked for a way out while helping their friends. Those who just didn't lose it! People who didn't forget the meaning of friendship even in difficult moments.
