Long-distance cycling(brevet, randonneuring, and other tours) has given me bucket loads of unique memories that not many can boast of. Its a Morpher and brings out hidden humanity that one not often encounters. I have had long chats with men and women from various backgrounds (a fruit merchant, a gardener, random jobless men, teashop owners, housewives) on remote roads of India. For some reason, this act of cycling seems to bring out repressed wanderlust of human beings and make them think fondly of their childhood. The fact that I am a woman adds their wonder I think.
However, one interesting aspect that few speak about is the effect of endurance cycling on the mind. Of course, this is true in many extreme physical activities. For example, hallucinations are rampant in high altitude mountaineering and tales abound of ghost/angel sightings.
Randonneurs are often warned to watch out for this especially at night. One such vivid hallucination happened to me while on the brevet between Pune and Kolhapur. I had already cycled more than hours by then including an all-nighter. It must have been 10 or 11 am. I was nearing Pune after completing 400 KM or so. I was very tired and was just focussing on the road ahead with a gaze steadily on the handlebar. There is this tunnel called Katraj just on the outskirts of Pune. I entered it and within few seconds became aware of someone watching me.
This is a common phenomenon many have reported feeling a shadow(outline( of human beings coming with them during long treks and cycling. Even I had felt it once or twice. But what I saw when I looked up was not a shadow but an elaborate medieval head, beard and all and a flowy purple robe with a bemused look floating next to me. Something like below. it could be Benjamin Franklin (dollar dreams and all :-) and/or Shakespeare.
Instantly I realized I was hallucinating but didn't want to stop in the tunnel so cycled to the end of the tunnel. It followed me till the end and then it stopped. Once I came into bright sunlight outside the tunnel, I stopped on the curb, washed my face, and had tea in a nearby tea stall. Took a half an hour break and musing about marvels of the mind I continued.
Many of my friends have reported similar crazy experiences. One of my good friends while cycling 600 brevets with me started seeing his own hands elongate in front of him. He sensibly cut short the ride and went home. I have heard Chiddu(fellow cyclist) reporting only hearing people but not able to see. People have reported not remembering parts of the ride. They saw their Garmin jump from 200 to 250 found themselves in a different village and not have memories.
What made this Katraj tunnel incident unique though is this experience I had was repeated by another rider a year later. Apparently he saw an Indian woman in white saree (This is how ghosts are depicted in Indian pop culture) staring at him. He told a few people about it and came to know about my experience and reached out to me on FB. We laughed about it and forgot.
Is it possible the conditions in the tunnel (fluorescent light, colder air) trigger something in the brain? (I would like to discount the supernatural as it is can of worms :-)).
It didn't occur to me then, but it may have as well been a lucid dream. I am one of the few who has a natural lucid dreaming ability. After sleep deprivation and extreme fatigue, it could be easily possible that I was dreaming with eyes open.
Someone needs to study this and find a scientific answer. Until then we can only provide hypotheses.
As I said cycling has given me such experiences that only few can boast of.
