The following is my in studio interview with competitive
cyclist Carrie, Erica and Tish who were riding in the mountains
of Washington State when 2 Cougars left out of the woods.
What I saw is a flash of movement on my right side.
I turned my head and I saw the face of a cougar.
One of the Cougars tackled Carrie off of her bike.
With her face in its jaws, it held her to the ground.
Are you with the person that was attacked?
Yeah. Where's the cougar at?
It's on top of her and they're killing it.
The rest fought with the cougar for over 45 gruelling minutes
and you won't believe how they survived.
Kill. It pull up not somebody went to.
Rock. Your discretion is advised.
So take me back to the beginning.
What happened? Where were you at?
What were you doing? Yeah.
Tish called the ride together, so she should start it.
I will. OK, so this is really
interesting. So I live in North Bend, WA
which is about 31 miles east of Seattle and I love having people
over and visiting. So I had a dear friend of mine
that was going to come visit and like my friend Rick was out like
a year earlier. And we go on the Magic carpet
ride, which is in Campbell Global, which is a tree farm.
So knowing my friend was coming, I put we are part of the
recycled cycles cycling team out of Seattle.
And so we had just went to like that Sunday evening, like let's
get more involved, let's get more people doing things what we
need to do. So I put an e-mail out that we
were going to do a magic carpet ride.
Easy addition, right? And let's meet at my house.
Everybody welcome and we're going to do magic carpet.
So I just put it out there on the the the e-mail and you know,
I'm going to stop from there. And then once you know, I can't
so then I can talk about when when you got there.
So, you know, how did you find about?
Well, I was the This was my first ride with Recycled Cycles
after I rejoined the team. I was off the team for a year
because I was too busy with my board duties.
I was on the board of PAWS and so I rejoined the team and this
was my first ride back and my first time meeting.
Tish when we met at her house to do the ride and my second.
You, you didn't know each other before this day.
I never did. I never knew Tish before this
day and it was my second ride with Carrie.
Wow, so you obviously are lifers at this point.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So they all come to my house.
They get to my house and, you know, blustery weather.
Oh, it was crazy when, like in North Bend, we're in this this
wind tunnel, unlike the I5 Core or the I-90 corridor, that I'm
at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.
But as we got out there, the sun came out and it was beautiful.
We took it was gorgeous and you were having fun and talking
about what a beautiful day it was.
And you know, just five girls, you know, it was kind of usually
there's a guy or two that comes along with us, but you know,
this time it was just us 5 girls and it was just amazing.
A beautiful day. Every time we go over there I
always reminisce because like 2 years earlier I'd broke my hip.
In the same. The same area.
Was it the same magic carpet? No, that was the.
Pelvis. I broke my pelvis.
We've had some adventures out there, but this tree farm is not
a little tree farm. It's miles.
Miles and hundreds of acres. Yeah, yeah.
So we get out there and and then we get, you know, through the
roads talking, you know, etcetera.
And then there's one picture that's been all over the the
media that we're at the yellow gate and our legs are all up and
we're all like, hey. I've seen it.
Yeah, so. That was the last time we had a
bite to eat, too, before everything happened.
That was our last bite of food. Yeah, was like mile and we were
mile 10 and we all took a bite of our bars or whatever we had
and that was the how. Many people were on this besides
you guys was there. Just as 5.
But there wasn't other teams or anything else.
Or not yet, not yet, not yet. It's pretty remote.
There's no people out there. And we were really shocked when
we did, you know, later in the story when we had people come,
you know. And you'll typically like when
you go out for adventure and like we're talking about magic
carpet, but we're talking hundreds and hundreds of acres
of this tree farm. So you trails, Tokol is out
there, mountain bikers. So I mean, you rarely run into
anybody. It's in the Snoqualmie Forest.
It's part of the Snoqualmie Forest, so it's a huge.
Area. Yeah, so we're talking and it
was. I was going to make up some
pictures and maybe we can send to you later.
But, you know, I believe that you and Annie took him.
But, you know, we have to cross over rivers, you know, like the
magic carpet part. And we're like piling through
trees and shrubs and, you know, bushwhacking, trying to with our
bikes and moving through these areas.
I'd biked with Annie and Onna before when I was on the team
previously, and I had just bought that new gravel bike for
Christmas as a Christmas present to myself.
Oh. Wow.
Yeah. So this is my.
This was this was like. It was beautiful, shiny.
But it OK, we'll get to that part.
But it was your bike, right? OK, OK.
Yeah, it was, it was beautiful. I mean, just and there was other
times we stopped and we had some other pictures along the way.
And, you know, I had individual conversations with you, you
know, about some personal matters and, and getting to know
you. And you know, I don't know if I
can say this, but you know, I just celebrated 11 years of
sobriety in February of. Course, you could say that.
What? Yeah.
And you know, I, I, the 12th step is always carrying the
message forward. And I know that I was having
conversations about 10 years. We were talking about it because
I was on a break from drinking and then I mean, I went back for
a little while after the cougar attack, but I just, I just had
my one year of not drinking so. Wow.
Yeah, congratulations. You guys.
That's amazing. So yeah, and I, I drink heavily,
but I had stopped. She does not drink well.
I didn't stop drinking. Does not.
I've found it way back, like halfway in.
What was it like 11 miles or 20 miles in or something?
Well, 19 is what I think. 19 miles, yeah.
Yeah, and we're going at about 10 miles an hour.
So we have we can track all of our the timeline because we have
devices, you know two of us had in reaches.
And my Garmin. We all had a Garmin and Oahu and
you know, and so there's timelines that we can really
track. And we were going at about, I
looked, we were going at about 10 or 11 miles an hour because
we had just turned a corner and we're kind of going up a Rd. and
Erica and Tish were here. I was right behind them, kind of
in the middle, but maybe more behind you.
And then Anna and Annie were behind me at whatever distance
it was. I don't know.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I'm not good with spatial relationships like how many
yards and things like. That well, they say when you go
through something like this, everything slows down.
Did that happen? For you, yes.
Oh yeah, yeah. Oh, big time.
Yeah, so I, Elna and Annie were the first ones to see anything
because they got the whole picture from behind.
And we'll speak for them because they're not here.
But they both saw two Cougars jumping behind me.
And Annie says that one turned and tackled me off my bike.
That's what they saw from behind.
What I saw is a flash of movement on my right side.
I turned my head and I saw the face of a cougar.
I didn't see anything else, just a face.
And then I have a little block of time that I don't remember
anything. The next thing I was on the
ground pinned, You can kind of see the hole in my head right
here with the top Fang. And then the other fangs were
down here and I was pinned down in a fetal position.
That's my next memory. And there was some things that
these guys saw that I, I don't remember, but I, you know, I
had, you know, a lot of scratches and bite Marks and
that, and my ears were, which I don't remember any of this,
which had to happen when they saw it.
So yeah, so obviously Annie and Anna, which are part of our
group and are here unfortunately, but so all I
heard was an Annie just go, no. So Eric and I are up there and
I'm going to let you speak for yourself.
But so I turned around and like we said, we're going to cry.
So I saw Carrie like a rag doll through the air.
This thing like got her and like they came from we were riding
that way. So they came up this way and
they were going to go up this way at the last second, the
second one, and I don't that's their story.
But what I saw was that thing and then when it had her to the
ground, that like was was dragging her back that way.
And then, you know, I'll let you do your because it's like in
sections, because it's even though we were all there,
there's different like you're all, even though we're
synergistically beautifully working together to save lives.
There's just so many things that were happening during that time.
And I heard it before I saw anything.
I heard. I heard the no.
And I heard screaming. I heard Ona screaming Cougars.
I thought that's what she was screaming.
It turned out that that was. But your mind is catching up
with what is going on, what your senses are telling you.
This can't be happening. This is like, it just can't be
happening. And there must be something
else. I didn't know who was being
attacked, what was going on. You know, I just heard Ona
screaming. I turned.
I looked at Tish and we were looking at each other and it
felt like that time period was so long, But the way Carrie's
told it to us, we were like right there.
Like, But it felt like that was a really long time.
And it felt like it was taking forever for me to get on 911.
And it felt like it was taking forever for me to get service
because I was pacing back and forth trying to get service
because I had nothing until I crossed over to where the attack
scene was, went over there, and then I was still pacing.
I'm going. We get them.
Was attacked by a cougar whenever he made.
Hold on. I'm the Campbell Global board.
Hold on. Where are you at?
Where are we? Where did Campbell go?
You're where? I don't know what to do.
OK. Where did you?
Are you. You're hiking on a trail.
Where did you park at? We're biking.
I don't know where we're at.
OK, hold on. Just a second.
I'm going to try to find your location.
OK. Just one second here.
Are you with the person that was attacked?
Yeah. It's.
Where's the cougar at? It's on top of her.
They're killing it. Who's they're killing with the
stone hold? Who's killing it?
The other people. My teeth.
There's and one got attacked. I'm sorry, what?
There's four of us and one got attacked.
I your phone keeps breaking up. So I can't quite understand.
I know I don't have any service. I don't know where to go.
From what I could see, like Tish was gathering weapons and over
there and then then I saw once I got there what was happening and
there was there was a battle. It was a battle.
Eric and I at this point are stopped or looking each other
and I don't know if we said it, if it was emotional, but like I
just wanted to run. All of a sudden I'm just
staring. That's the rag doll part.
And I honest just start screaming because you know, you
were told make yourself big, start screaming.
So we're over there going, you know, just, you know, trying to
do anything. I think you're at this point
trying to do 911 and and I was like grab a stick rock and I
don't remember anything about my bike, but somehow my bike was
over there. So I turned around and I go in
the woods and on the side I found this big rock and then
this big long stick that was about that thing.
That rock was huge. So I carry over this rock and
this stick and by the time I had did that got over there, Aunda
has like the legs filleted this way away from Carrie.
And then I got this, I got this. Annie had the head and her arms.
So when I walked over there, it was just like this perfect
fillet of the animal. So all I could think of was that
big rock, like doing burpees. And that's where I was like, die
emmer Effer, right? Die emmer effer.
And it wasn't that tame, but I went like 20 or 30 times.
Just remember hitting like I'm from the medical field and I'm
like, you know, just being a code team.
I'm like, we just hit it and hit it.
It'll release her. And I'm like, that's when I
think I probably when you guys really hurt and like die, you
know, I'm like. I'm holding it.
I'm holding the button holding the button.
And then I remember falling back and I'm like, I got to get back
up. I got to keep fighting.
I just remember sweating so hard and just keep hitting it over
and over and trying to stick it and stab it.
Yeah. I I heard all of them.
I heard them all talking. I, I could, I couldn't see them
because they're all behind me on the, the cougar was behind me.
I could see Annie. She was the only one in the
front. And yeah, I, I don't know if it
was Tish or Anna that at one point were saying I don't have
any more strength to lift the rock because it was a, it was a
boulder, you know, it was a big rock.
One of them said that. And then they just got the
strength back because that was like, that was my time in the
jaws was 15 minutes, 20 minutes maybe.
And they continued to fight for the full 55 minutes, you know,
but during my 15 minutes, I could hear everything that was
going on with these ladies and the fight that they were putting
up, you know, and, and I just my experience was when I was down
there, I was down there just pinned and I was sticking my
fingers up his nose. Well, first I was trying to
gouge his eyeball out because I thought that's all I could
reach. That's the only way to defend
myself. But the skin on the eyeball was
like leather. And it's like I couldn't get in
there because I would have reached in and yanked it out of
there if I could have, you know? But so then I tried to put my
fingers up his nose, thinking that if he took, you know, had
to release me a little bit and I can get away, maybe that would
help. But then after about 10 minutes,
2/3 of the way into my, my time frame, he started crushing down
on my face. And it felt like it was just
like disintegrating inside. And I felt my back teeth
floating around. You know, I thought that I, and
then I took a swallow and I swallowed just massive blood.
I felt like I was swallowing gallons of blood and I thought I
was going to swallow my teeth with it.
My teeth didn't fall out, but it felt like it.
I don't know what I was feeling. And you know, so that the last
one third of my 15 minutes, I was he was crushing.
And I thought if he just shakes his head, you're going to RIP my
whole freaking face off of my, my face.
And then I felt him like the only thing I felt was this
little scratch right here and this and all the other stuff, my
ears. And I never felt any of that,
which is weird. But then he grabbed my earring
somehow and swallowed it. And I could feel it because it's
it's got a clip on it, you know, a real hard clip.
And it's like, Oh my gosh, they're going my freaking
earring. You know, these are the good
earrings. These are the.
Things that go. Yes, yeah.
And anyway, I rolled to my knees because I thought if he gives me
a little bit of a little break, I'm going to, like, spring.
And I couldn't spring at a fetal position.
I had to, like, spring from my knees, you know, But when I did
that and he just, like, shove my face into the dirt and I started
suffocating. And I thought, OK, that's when I
thought I was going to die. And I'm like, but they were
fighting so hard, you know, it's like, I had to keep fighting
because they were fighting, you know?
And it's like then whatever somebody did, somebody did
something. Going back to the beginning when
I saw the road and I was like, I saw another Rd. that and that
was like an escape route when Tish and I were looking at each
other and I was like, Oh my God, we need to get out of here.
And then I look back and I see all this stuff going on.
And this is before I start dialing 911 and I go over to the
scene with my bike. But I'm thinking like I'm
terrified we're dead. Like I'm thinking as I'm going
into that like this is how I die.
Like we're we're dead. Like when they said 2 Cougars,
there's just no way we can. Where was the other cougar?
It ran up the embankment. Apparently it never came back.
Yeah, it never came back. But we were, we were eyeing it
the whole time, thinking it's going to come out, it's going to
smell blood and it's going to come out and we're going to all
get eaten. Like this is it?
And so when I went over there and I'm trying, I'm pacing to
get service, I see them battling.
I just dropped my phone and my bike in the dirt next to me and
picked up a stick I think Tish handed me.
She was like, this is a good one and just start stabbing,
stabbing the cougar. We're all just in battle and all
we have is like sticks, rocks or fists to punch.
Like that's all we have. We have nothing, you know,
except when Annie says. Yeah, but we're not.
I don't, I can't remember, but so at some point you're
battling, I'm doing rocks. At some point I wanna have said
grab the legs. So I took over the legs and then
I remember Anna, whether she, there was another rock behind
her that was even bigger, like the size of a watermelon.
And I just remember, and I know some of this, you know, we,
we've talked about, we've done things.
So, but I just remember in my mind, what I remember is when
she was getting to lay the rock and this was another, I guess
there's 4 slow motions. And I remember her grabbing that
rock to bring over to your head, to the cougar's head.
And umm, she's like, I'm really sorry, Carrie.
She didn't want to hit me in the head with the rock, yeah, But I
was like, Oh my God, just do it. Who cares, you know?
And it was summer during that period of time that like all of
a sudden I you're rolling away. Yeah, I say I got.
Hey, whatever happened, anyone. Well.
Before that happened, remember Annie?
Said Erica. I've got a multi tool in my seat
pack that's. It.
That's all we had and that's that's and it has a little knife
on it. Fixing your bike.
Yeah. And so I grab it and I'm handing
it and she and at the same time she's telling me push the button
on the SOS. So I go push the button on the
SOS, go back, hand her the I thought I'd pushed it.
I didn't realize how that thing worked.
Yeah, you should show because it's.
I didn't realize it just says SOS you push the button.
I didn't realize you have to open this flap.
So at the time I thought I pushed it.
So meanwhile my phone's in the dirt, my bike's in the dirt.
I hand Annie the tool because my hands are shaking like this and
she and everybody's hands are shaking and she grabs it and
she's like going to stab. But you know when you're going
to stab something, it's like and we're all going do.
It do it do it. You know, and then she starts to
do it and the thing just, it's like, it's like she's trying to
hit a rubber mat. It doesn't do anything.
So then we all take turns because we're like, well, I can,
I can get in, I can do it. So then we're all taking turns
with the, the pocket knife and it's just like you're, it's like
you're, you're hitting carpet with it.
It just doesn't do anything. It feels like it's not doing
anything, the hide is so thick. On the IT is rubber, like to
your point with the eye, 'cause you know, I used to be on a code
team so I was trying in between the intercostal muscles.
So I was like filleting open like trying to get the this the
hair and the skin. But literally like you said, it
was like like just rubber and then you're doing it and it's
just like you're. We're all taking turns and it's
not and it's not working and yeah.
I I was also, I'm laying down there and I could speak.
I don't know how, but I, I also said kill the MF, you know?
Yeah, it's like we all wanted to kill that freaking thing, you
know? I mean, because like, really I
was thinking if if I get away, it's going to flip around and
get one of them, you know, what else is it going to do?
And so the bike thing was brilliant.
That was just, I mean, the stuff that happened in that 55
minutes. We were brilliant.
We were amazing. We were like reading each
other's minds, you know, I, I, I think somehow you got away.
I'm reaching for my bike, I hear Tish say.
Yes, let's put the bike on top of it.
It's like you see a bear, you do anything, you put your bike up
and you hold your bike. I didn't personally touch the
bike up and you had to do all that.
But no. We all did it at the.
Same time, because if that bike, if we got on top of it, to your
point earlier, if that thing gets up, it's going to kill one
of us. I grabbed it because I knew no
one is going to grab my brand new bike.
Like I started grabbing it and then we're right.
But everybody's like, everybody's like, yeah.
And so it was like before we knew it, we had the bike on top
of it and we're on top of it. And The thing is thrashing
beneath us and it's like we're on top of it and it's like
writing a surfboard because it's moving around, but we at least
have something now over it. So So what?
OK I'm my mind is trying to wrap itself around what the visual is
here so it is off of you. So this all happened at the same
time. I I like army crawled to the
middle of the road and then I sat there and I looked back at
them and they were then the bike was on it.
So it happened all kind of it so.
It didn't have time to like, prowl around like.
We were acting so quickly. I mean, we were like all on a on
a mind meld. A fluid machine.
Yeah, yeah. There was no arguments.
There was nothing. We were just.
It was just. Teamwork, yeah.
Yeah, that's what was amazing is there was nobody screaming.
It wasn't calm. Well.
We'll get to that. We'll get to that.
And then it wasn't calm. But we.
Your mind probably wrapped itself around it later, I'm
sure. Right.
Nobody was hysterical. We were we were very methodical,
everybody, whether or not it. Felt we didn't want.
Kerry to die. It was at that point it was like
Carrie is one of the most beautiful aunts pouring kick ass
women you would never ever, ever.
Ever meet? And it's like, and we I don't
want her to be murdered and all of us out at the same thing was
like, this is our woman. She says it away.
I can't. She's German, so she has this
beautiful sexy German accent. You can't.
It's just this is our woman. But yeah, so she's over there.
We got the bike now. So now, like at one point Amy
tries to get up because like, she's over there and we could
like, are you doing Carrie? And she's like these bloody
thumbs up. But like, like, you can tell
your story. Oh, no, I'm looking in my, I'm,
I'm scrambling in my jersey pockets.
I've got to have another weapon here somewhere.
I'm, I'm scrambling. I'm like just trying to find
something and I I pull out this pack of quick clot and and I
remembered that I had put it in. But you know what I'm like
packing my pockets for the ride and I remembered.
So all I did I just tossed. On the ground, nobody's with
her. Well, Annie was between them and
me and she didn't know what to do.
She was like they needed her. I needed her.
And for anyone who doesn't know, this is a military grade.
You know, bandage for bloods for stopping blood so that you don't
bleed out. And so that's that's all I had.
And so she puts it on her and. She threw it at Annie.
Annie doesn't know what it is. Annie just slaps it on my face.
And. Then and then Annie went back to
help them and she has one of the boulders at this point and I
hear her saying I don't want to hit your bike, I don't want to.
My bike. This is we're crazy.
We're like, I'm still stabbing this thing.
How's the bike now? And she kept apologizing.
I'm sorry about your bike, Erica.
I'm sorry, because I'm sorry about your bike, Erica, I'm.
Like thrashing the multi tool between this thing and then at
one point, like as I'm like there's so many weird parts at
this point because everything's happening.
But I used to remember like the cougar's eye, like as I'm
killing it, you know, I'm trying to kill it underneath the eye.
Like if you think of the old, like Egyptians with all that
like black, beautiful in that Gray brown eye.
It was the one of the most beautiful exhibits of nature in
that eye. And then it was like, I don't
know. So there's, yeah, it was just,
it was amazing. We're just, I couldn't look at
it. But yeah, at one time, Annie
like left. The first time that cougar
literally left had to been like 3 or 4 feet.
Like Annie? Get back here.
So this was a sizable cougar. 75 lbs.
It was a juvenile male, 12 months old.
Yeah. And so the cougar, when it's
full grown, a male is maybe 120, a £150.
A female full size is between 70 and 90 lbs.
So but they're all muscle and they can exert, you know, 400,
you know, pounds per inch of of pressure.
I think I said that right. Yeah, it is because the the jaw
clamp that we now we're like not the cougar experts, but we know
too much. But like how much pressure the
PSI like you said I think. What?
Exertions. Yeah, they're all muscle.
All. Muscle OK, so so we're all
fighting, doing whatever. And so all of a sudden we're
sitting there and so I'm looking straight down the trail right
there. But then there was other parts
though, because Eric was on my left side.
And this is what you talked about was like, so we're
fighting, fighting. And, and Erica to me is like,
and here's one of my other long term stories is like, I used to
work as a credit rehab theorist 100 years ago.
And this Barbara Asman was so loving and kind and touchy.
And somehow I've become a very touchy feely person since this.
And I just remember she was always so kind and compassionate
rubbing people. So I'm rubbing Erica with my
left arm at the same time killing the cougar right,
because I'm like, we need you. I remember it took about 45
minutes right by the time the the the ambulance and the fire
trucks came. There's been so many events in
the woods, I heard. I didn't have any strength left.
I, I crouched down because I'm like, well, maybe if I put more
of my weight on it, but my weight isn't very much.
None of us, I mean, we're all, you know, pretty small women.
And so my, I'm, I'm crouched down and I, my legs just gave
out. I mean, it was, it was a long
battle. And so we're standing and trying
to fight and stomp the bike into the cougar.
Is there ever a point where you think this thing's going to come
out from under the bike? Yeah, well every time we we slow
our pace and we start relaxing because we're tired and
breathing. They do have 9 lives.
And Ona kept reminding us of this.
She's like remember these things have 9 lives.
We can't stop fighting. We got to keep fighting.
And and then she'd say we got to keep our eye out for that second
cougar. So while we're trying to battle
this thing, we're looking and we're like, when's it going to
come and and kill us? And so I am so upset because I
am thinking this is how it ends. Like this is how we're going to
die. There's nobody coming to rescue
us. It's taking so long to get
somebody to help us. By this point Ona had picked up
my phone and she was on the 911 call so.
She had service. She did.
She did your phone right. She did.
Yeah. It was my phone.
So they, they, she was finally on talking to someone.
She's like, we need a gun and someone with a gun and a
helicopter, you know? Yeah, 9. 11 What is the location
of your emergency? You have the location on the
receiver. Yeah, you have your location on
our receiver right now and then we have a Cougar tech in Tango
Global and you have a one writer down I.
Need the location please. The location.
The location is on the phone. Is anyone?
Interested. Yes, Yes, we need, we need, we
need, we need a we need a helicopter immediately.
We need air helicopter immediately and to location.
We have a we have a rider down bleeding heavily in our pace.
We got attacked in the phone, please, just a moment, please.
And we need somebody with a gun to kill the cougar.
We're holding the cougar down with a bike right now.
So we need multiple situations. We need an air, probably a
helicopter for the location and we need the crew.
And then we need somebody who can take care of the floor.
And so, but I was so upset and I'm trying to battle this thing.
And I'm also feeling this immense sense of I just want to
kill this. And I've never felt that urge to
kill anything before ever in my life, wanting to kill something.
And we hadn't eaten anything since that 10 miles, right?
We're in this battle and Tish is rubbing my back.
She's comforting me, you know, while she's trying to kill this
predator. And I just, I, it was just so
surreal how how it was happening and.
So. So you're being turned to by
Annie Down is on June 911. What trailer?
Are you on? We, we, we went, we went on to
gate 2 into Kemper Global gate 2 and woke up our coordinate.
We, we, we came into gate 2 into Kemper Global.
But we have left there and we an hour into the area where you
there's no access our coordinates.
I've got them exactly on my GPS. No, I don't have.
We need to have an helicopter here and.
Somebody have the coordinates? Yes, I OK.
The coordinates are N 47.622516. By West by West 121.795916.
They were asking Anna where we were at.
We're out in the middle of the woods.
We don't know where we're at, but Annie was able to get the
coordinates off the in reach. Translate it to Anna, who got it
to 911. Well, as this is all happening,
she has the ability. This is this is after I got
away. They're all just.
Right. But I'm just so impressed that
someone has the ability to think that clearly to find coordinates
on a device that they may or may not have ever had to find
coordinates. For right telling us what they
needed on the 911 call and she actually had to read them twice.
And I'm like, I was so exasperated, 'cause I'm like,
why do we have to give you these twice?
Aren't you really like? Somebody raped.
Right. Yeah, exactly right.
It was crazy. But it was again, it was so
calm, like, and I know Annie, they're not here.
I wish they could be, but and Annie's like, no, I was great.
I was. So if you watch the delivery of
their communication skills to me, I that's why I was like.
All right, Now we have a bicycle on top of the cougar that we are
holding him down with, but he is fighting back.
And there was a second cougar. Yeah.
All right. And the person that's hurt,
where, where has he been bitten? Scratched.
Where? In the face?
In the face. And they they they literally, I
mean, we were doing our everybody had a purpose.
We're still and behind you, the the cougar's still being crazy,
right? I want gone bye bye.
And then during when all this is happening, all of a sudden down
the trail, I'm like actually 2 bikers and I'm like, then it's
our team colors. I'm like it's Daniel Lease and.
I'm like. Yeah, they're our team.
And I'm like, I'm like. We all.
Carry them. By a cougar.
And we're on the cougar. And all of a sudden at least was
just there. Yeah.
And then you heard it. We had more weight.
It was so great. I was.
So great. I was laying in the road because
they told me to lay down at this point and I was looking down the
road. So I think we all kind of saw
them at the same time. It was like out of nowhere, you
know, and I don't know how many minutes and it was it's.
Like 3035? I'm sorry, Track.
Coach yeah, like 35 minutes, 3035 minutes in.
And so Elise was like medically trained kind of an adventure,
something I don't. Know Wolfa?
Yeah, so she was, you know, kind of telling Annie how to help me
out. And then Daniel came over and I,
I don't. Know he had got another.
One with us and was like hugging us and we were all huddled
together. Was it like I'll take over?
No. No, we also wasn't like that he
had. Another device that actually had
like a file on it and he was trying so and then Annie looks
at me over there because Annie, I, I'm emotional, I have
anxiety, I have some stuff and she's like, Tish, not now you
got to suck that up. And I I got back, I got my
poise, I got to keep fighting. But you were also comforting me.
So you were, you know, because I had anxiety as well at that
point. I mean, I think we all,
everybody said it was calm, but I don't know.
I don't remember it being calm. I remember everyone was like
doing, we were all doing, but it was still terrifying.
Did anybody else get bit or injured by the cougar?
At all. I just had holes in my gloves,
my shoes from kicking on the OR stomping on the claws, and then
we had gloves on, I mean. I just have a little.
I had a little, that's all. I got nothing to my hand.
I had bruises on my knuckles, that was it.
But Annie and Ona did go to the met check 'cause they had some,
Annie had a scrape or something. Anna had a sprained finger, you
know. What I'm saying, Yeah, she did.
And Annie had a scratch or bite or something on her hand.
But yeah, I mean, yeah, it could have been terrible, but it was
actually like, pretty amazing. Daniel Daniel's like and and and
I think that's another thing we don't, I know that they've
haven't been part of this, but Daniel, Elise are a huge part of
the story. They were our angels.
That day, they were our. Angels.
I still call them that. When I see them, I'm like,
there's my Angel. And we're all adventure people.
Like, was that really cool on the the Tour Divide?
I mean, yeah, all of us aren't just.
Like Annie's done it too. We're.
A bunch of 60 year old and maybe a little 51 year old that goes
out and. Now we've all done hardcore.
Yeah, we are in training like. Hardcore, we'll hit that later.
But so OK, so we're going to still fighting, battling.
So now we're like Anna's still like talking on her phone, like
getting time, like we're thinking how much longer, right.
Yeah. We have a cougar attack out in
Snoqualmie Valley trail so. OK, what's the address?
All we have is a Latin. A Latin long so far.
OK, all of a sudden we hear hear a truck.
Yeah, then the the next person, well, I don't know if Quinn was
a lot. He was after I, Yeah, I don't
remember. Do you remember Quinn?
Yeah, but you guys are skipping still ahead of we had, I had my
seat pack on my bike, right? And so we open up my seat pack
and Tish pulls out the tube and she's like, maybe we could
strangle the cougar with it? Now.
Now we're. Trying to think of everything we
can do at this point and it's just, and and I'm like, well,
but we're going to have to wrap it around its head and we can't
really get under the bike to do that.
Like, but we're trying to just, this is the desperate type of
situation we were in. I mean, we're just trying to
think of anything we can do so that we don't have to continue
the terror. And yeah, what were you going?
To say, I was going to say that the problem solving that no one
of us could have gotten out of there, but the five of us
problem solving together and how everybody worked together got us
out of there. You know, I mean, all of us
could have been and, and all of us have scars just because I
have them on my face. It all of us have our own
individual story about this and it's different.
Each one of us story is different.
But we all suffered, you know, we all suffered and we all have
scars from this. And we are all heroes and we're
all victims, you know? And well said well.
Said we could end it right there, but there's like a whole
nother 30 minutes ago. So that's your point, though, as
we're standing there doing all this, you know, because I was
standing next to where the other cougar would have been and I
just I did. For some reason, men in black
keep coming up. But it was like you triage this
way, this way, this and you were just and at the same time you're
Macgyvering in your head. Like I'm looking at all the
different bikes. Like if that other one came
back, it's like I don't think I could have out Macgyvered it
because we had the bike. You're over there.
That was a terrifying prospect. And like the second, I couldn't
think of any way else if the other one came back and I'm
thinking somebody would have died that day.
I'm the outcome was beautiful and it's a beautiful story.
But the what ifs, and I know we talked about, I can talk about
the what ifs for many months after because it could have been
a whole whole different outcome. So the thing I wanted to say is
that all of us have bear spray. None of us, I think at the that
time had knives, but we didn't bring our bear spray with us
that day because it's, it was going to be just a short little
ride, you know. And, and so we were very like,
sometimes we'd bring it and sometimes we wouldn't.
And now I think every time we're all out there with our bear
spray and we all have knives. We all have huge buck knives
now. Yeah, because we had a weapon is
important, you know, and bear spray is important, you know,
it's like, yeah, yeah. For sure.
Yeah, but how? How I can't wrap my head around
why this attacks you while you're riding your bike.
I think it triggered the movement.
We were going like 10 or 11 miles an hour and justice, the
movement triggered it because the other ladies said that they
saw them, they look like they were both going to pass behind
me. And the one just like had a
change of heart and went for me, you know?
The other one continued. On.
He made a mistake. Yeah, yeah.
I think now that we're we're Cougar experts.
I almost said my comment. I'll wait for that.
One is that they usually don't travel in the day.
Usually it's a dusk and dawn. But the, the wildlife people,
and obviously I'm not quoting, I'm not expert and wildlife
people, I'm sorry, but they said because the juvenile, it was
like 1:00 in the afternoon, it was the middle of the day and
they just saw an opportunity and I think they took it and they
were young. But I also don't go with the
statistics of dusk and dawn because the guys in California,
we're middle of the day. So yeah.
And I also don't go with oh, it's a rare thing and it never
happens because it does happen all the time.
We've we've taken over their land.
But they've also made laws that make it harder for hunters, and
they used to pay bounties. They don't do that anymore.
So they've been a confluence of factors that have contributed to
the population. So you, the last I heard you say
was they were driving down the road, there was a truck coming.
What was that like for you when you saw the truck and what
happened? That was not Sergeant Pace, that
was another officer. And it was Officer Horn.
Oh, yeah, Officer Horn. Yeah.
And he got out of the car and I'm like, why is he moving so
slow? He was just like he was looking
over here. It's.
Not like the movies where they come out and they just, like,
get back, yeah. Was the thing still alive at
this point? Yeah, it's alive.
And the other one, so they had to secure the perimeter 1st.
And this is where the men in black thing, you know, when they
sit there and they're all sitting looking around.
So they actually maneuvered. There was a couple of them.
So remember there was like a couple because they wanted to
protect our area in case the other one came back.
And we had to stay where we. Were so we were still until and
they I think the the 911 were tending to carry at this point.
But I know they weren't there, really.
So Officer Horn first came over to me and Annie and he's like,
and Annie's like, don't worry about her.
I don't. She didn't say that.
But she's like, get the freaking coup.
Yeah, that's kind of threat here.
One thing we forgot to mention and this is your story, you and
Annie, but didn't you notice there was pictures in the middle
of this crazy attack? Yeah, yes.
They got all the photographs. No, no, no.
I got away and he's like not knowing where to go, me or or
them and I said take pictures, we have to document this.
And so she's shot one shot at them, one shot at me, and then
threw the phone down and went back to work.
That's funny because I'm and I'm not trying to put this on me at
all, but I've been in a Sigma situation, right?
And I remember vividly telling my Emmett, my videographer, you
had better get. That done, yeah, right.
Like somehow I had the the the mind to be yes.
Yeah, yeah. If we had a grow GoPro it would
it life would have been good. So so.
Or it would be terrifying. More trauma.
I would be institutionalized. No.
So they're perimeter. And so Erica is where Kerry is
right now. And the officer, I remember
Daniel was in there too and he said, Sir, please back up.
But I'm going to do this slowly. I'm going to tell you all what
to do. And he's like Daniel back up.
I'm in therapy working on this part right now.
So I lose a little bit. So he moves out and then he
comes between both of us. I remember.
I mean, not me. No, it's Erica.
It's Erica. So I'm here and he's
right-handed. So his his hand goes between the
two of us. You're here and all the way
down. I remember I just felt like his
hand touched, he said all the way down.
Yeah, it's just stay still. And I thought it was going to be
the loudest thing. It was just this and it's like
you need to stay at it for like another 15 to 20 minutes.
And so, yeah, they brought you had that warrant, that red
Gatorade thing. So we're talking socializing,
they're saying to her. Me and Tish are on the dead
cougar with. With Alan, and I'm talking about
Gofundmes because I know that you need money and and yeah, it
was. And we're just talking like
we're on we're on Cougar, you're over there.
And I'm like, this is what it being for me.
Really, really surreal. Like we fucking just.
We yeah, we just survived. Oh my gosh.
I'm such a cry baby. Yeah.
It was, it was incredible, the best story ever.
It was in slow motion though, because it was like, they're so
slow. I know, Carrie, it is the best
that we all had this great outcome.
But thinking back on it it and thinking about that moment, I
mean, even when I hear a gun pop now, I think about it and I
can't watch any show now where somebody's I can't watch any TV
show and I love violent shows. I can't watch anything where
somebody is fighting for their life or desperate to live or
your podcast being an exception. I did watch those videos.
But when I hear that gun pop it just I think about it.
I think about it and the fact that we had to stand there and
we couldn't get off, and who knows, there could have been a
rock under it. It could have ricocheted again.
I mean, there's a lot of things that could have happened, but
thankfully everything thing turned out so.
Hot dude though man, that's what got me through it.
I I am a cougar. I'm a cougar.
Not sure. You didn't tell your.
Cougar. Jerry.
No, I gotta tell there I'm good. Yeah.
Us Cougars took down that
Cougar. Yeah, that's right.
She always loves to say that. No.
We get that. I wasn't.
Gonna get these Cougars. Oh yeah, that's right.
But gosh, so then then that was there, there's it keeps going,
right? Because now we're looking at
Carrie. Well, no, no, so I this is 1.
So Quinn, Quinn is another teammate.
So all of a sudden now, like I think he said, came from a trail
from the other side. We I don't know where, but
Tianya was talking to him and Quinn is the most adventure dude
out there all by himself, blah, blah, all these and I'm like,
what do you do for safety? And he goes, well, I have a gun
and I'm like, where do you keep it?
And it was on his top two bag. And I'm like, well, that
wouldn't have a bleakly helped you today do anything.
Another teammate that came right.
Oh, another one, your teammate. OK.
I was thinking he was it like part of the rescue team?
And I believe that there's such a higher power in this world and
God, that what are the odds that Danny lease recycled cycles,
Quinn recycled cycles like, like.
I had just joined the team and this was my first ride back.
And as Carrie, you said, we needed all hands on deck.
I mean. Yeah, everybody equally
contributed, contributed to this event.
Yeah. And I don't know what the
hospital said about you having the quick clot on your.
I think well, they everybody praises Erica.
She's actually giving quick Clot a lot of business because she
had. Given it to people, yeah, I get
bear sprayed, everybody. That's my.
Quick Clot can sponsor this episode.
If you like. Real free.
Would that be great? But the other thing too is the
bear spray. You know, Costco we is the
mothership is in Issaquah. But one of the things I know we
all are on the same thing, but awareness and education of
properly recreating with the appropriate supplies.
Because my new thing is when I learn people, do you hide?
Do you do whatever? Do you cure anything?
Oh no, And I might go. Well, I was one of the cougar
people and and so every I've probably given away 6 or 7 bear
sprays now. Same.
I give them away all the time. If you can save that one life.
I want to carry 2. Well, I mean, I go buy them, but
Costco has a really good deal with Tupac.
But it's it's just remarkable, unfortunately, and I'm talking
about me because I don't want to insult anyone, but how
unequipped for that particular day I was when I went in the
woods. So.
So looking back on it, what would you have done differently?
I as I was laying there with trying to protect my throat, I
was thinking a knife and neck knife would have been useful to
me. Or if I had something on my
thigh, if, if I couldn't have reached down and grabbed it, one
of these guys could have grabbed it off my leg.
I don't want to carry a gun. I considered it in this past
year and I've gone to the gun range.
I've, I've actually shotguns quite a bit in my younger years,
but I don't really feel like that's the answer for me.
I I feel like bear spray and a knife is what I need to have.
Yeah, I ended up, I did get my concealed weapon permit and I
did acquire that, but because I'm experiencing so much PTSD
that right now I'm mentally I'm I'm not equipped there.
So I think in time. But if I do, it's like, you
know, driving a car is a privilege that once I I do, I
would take all the classes, understand how to shoot, do a
lot of practicing and really think long and hard because it's
a privilege to carry out weapon in our.
World I carry a big buck knife, you know, it's like a sidearm
and I've learned how to use it. I watch videos and I practice
getting it in and out of the holster.
I also carry bear spray and the Kwik Klot, obviously in a
complete medical kit with a space blanket.
Yeah, I, I feel like the, the other people that I've
interviewed who've had similar, you know, traumatic situations
happen, many of them weren't able to get to their bear spray.
It was deep in their backpack or it was in a place where they
couldn't reach to it fast enough or whatever.
I used to teach concealed carry classes back in the day, so I
know how important it is to have something that's ready, but
that's incredible. I do have a firearm, but I'm not
prepared to bring it on the trail.
I just feel like I don't know. I, I, I feel like if I would
have had it, sure, maybe would have shortened our time or my
hand would have been shaken so bad.
I would have been like, OK, everybody like, am I going to
shoot the animal or am I going to shoot my friend?
You know, so it's, I don't know, something would have been great
though. Well, they say when it's
something of extreme, you know, your, your body, your, your
hands go numb, your, your fingers don't seem to work very
well. Your blood just goes to the main
places that it's trying to protect and you can't do what
you'd think you would normally be able.
Did you experience that at all? Oh yeah, when I was trying to
dial 911, I couldn't get my gloves off.
It was like, why is this so hard?
Why is this so hard to push buttons on my phone?
So I use my, I'm an exercise physiologist and I love data.
So I wear a heart rate monitor. And it was interesting.
I didn't look at it for many months later, but I looked at my
heart rate data and, and at that moment when that happened, I was
like 110 one, you know, because we're really, really fit.
We're just now about the recording being like, let's go
have fun. But at that moment of the
attack, my heart rate went from like 190 for the next 24 minutes
and it was about 18170 and it trickled off.
So to actually see that the Physiology of that happening is
just unbelievable. Your body is incredible.
I mean what it can do in situations like that.
Yeah, I mean, what what you went through with Rabdo and that was
that was just a miracle, a true miracle that you're sitting
here. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
This isn't my story though, but yeah.
I know, but I just watched it and I was like wow.
Yeah. Thank you.
You can relate. Yeah.
So. Yeah, so you, you leave and
we're like, Oh my gosh. Well, they wouldn't let us
leave. So now it's the rest of us.
Dana leaves. The rest of us curl up in a
little huddle and they put those yellow blankets on us.
We're all at this point. We're freezing, we haven't eaten
and we haven't had anything. And so Officer Horn, he had
spicy Doritos and some Gate razors.
And he had starbursts. Yeah, yeah.
He's like, you guys need to put the sugar back in your body,
right? So we're all just sitting there
talking and. And at this point, like, we need
to call Carrie's family. We got to call our kids.
Yeah, I call my daughter Ashley. You know, it's a Saturday in the
woods. And like I said, the last two
February's in Washington. Ashley broke my hip.
Ashley broke my pelvis. Ashley, we've been attacked by
cougar. I'm like, and it was so hard to
have to say it's not me, but I terrified her.
She's like, Oh my God. And there's she is she OK?
I said, you have Kendall, Kendall and Alexis number
because we did the ambound together.
That's where that came from. And she's like, no.
So then we're thinking who else can go over and tell our kids?
And that's what Darren Nelson is one of our also biker friends.
And so we called Darren, and you probably know the story better
because you've it's your story. Well, I I think he just appeared
at my door and Kendall doesn't ever answer the door.
But Kendall did that. Kendall.
Yeah. And he, I I don't know my
situation. I wasn't thinking really of
anybody else but myself. But several months later, my
kids, my two daughters told me how traumatized they were.
Oh, yeah, but like Kendall finding out by Darren just
showing up at the he thought she thought he was joking.
You know, your mom's in the hospital attacked by a cougar.
But you know, all of our families have, you know, I mean,
how do you react to something like that?
Actually, how do you? Even when you can't even
comprehend it yourself. And it took me a month to even
be able to talk about it. I couldn't even comprehend in
the moment that this was happening.
I completely dissociated. It was like just to just to
realize that this was happening and I was a part of it was it
was just incomprehensible at the time.
I can't even imagine how they felt.
Yeah, well, even like, you know, everybody from the beginning was
saying hero, hero, hero. And these guys are like, we're
not heroes. We're.
Just doing what we're supposed. To do yeah.
And I'm like, you know how? Can you?
Possibly say you weren't heroes because I'll tell you what, from
all my looking at Youtubes and stuff, people will help their
friend. They'll grab the legs and do the
tug of war with the cougar. But these guys were on it, you
know, They weren't like. Trying to pull her away.
Yeah, I just, I'm so incredibly grateful that they handled it
the way they did. You know?
I mean, they didn't drag me. There was no tug of war with
that cougar. That cougar was just pure power,
you know? But Carrie, you would have done
the exact same thing. None of us.
None of us know. What we would have done, because
I know. But I know her now in a way that
I didn't know before. And Carrie will help anyone,
even a stranger, on. And so I, I am very confident
that you would have done the exact same thing to save any of
our lives you. Were there twice for me yeah
fallen over bikes yeah right there I've.
Seen you help strangers so I I don't want to hear that you're a
hero. They they won the Carnegie Award
and they didn't even have to think about it.
You know, it's a huge honor. Yeah, yeah, I've I've, I've.
It's a huge honor. I've got the lapel Peach.
She's got the scene. Actually, and if you want to
take it out and it says on the back if you want to read it,
we'll. We'll get some video of that for
sure, but that's amazing. It's the highest, John. 1513.
Yeah, I started. Like a medal. 19 O 4 by Andrew
Carnegie and there's been over 10,000 awards.
I have done so much research on Andrew Carnegie.
I want to say why I'm wearing this.
Yeah, yeah, I would. I was, I was.
I'm excited to hear about this because when I found out about
this sweater, I was like, she's got to wear the sweater.
Well I don't like just wearing it around because people think
I'm weird but. I don't think it's.
I think it looks cool actually. Yeah, when I when I got in the
ambulance, they started cutting off all my expensive stuff, you
know, and I'm like, no man, just can you cut it in a good place
where I could sew it back together later.
And so this one was just tatters and I'm like, I want it, don't
throw it away. And my, our good friend Anna,
who was the 911 caller, is a craftsperson and she's way
better than me, for sure. But she did these things on her
wool stuff that the moth moths have eaten.
And she said it's celebrating the whole, you know, you're
celebrating the life of the sweater.
And I'm like, well, this sweater has had some life.
And. They, I mean, I hacked it
together, but I, it's my artwork and I just, you know, I, I think
it's. I don't ever think I've seen I.
Love it, and it's like all the places where the cougar.
Yeah, this is where it got me. The worst is on my shoulder and
then my. It must have reached around and
got me in different places. But but yeah, I mean, I got a
sweater that tells the story because they wouldn't give me a
claw and they wouldn't give me a tooth.
Yeah, they. Wouldn't give us any of the good
stuff. Really.
Yeah. Wow.
I don't know. I really wanted that that.
Somebody's going to comment and tell us why.
Sergeant Pace came to the hospital to take my statement
and he comes around the corner with some flowers and and then
he started crying when he saw me and, and I'm like, Oh my gosh,
what a sweet man. Who's he?
The Fish and Wildlife man that. He was on scene, he came on and
he sort of did the investigation of the attack.
What has recovery been like for you?
So I all my stuff was just, you know, scars that healed up, but
my teeth don't really line up right now.
I've got metal metal down my face in two places and my ears
have healed amazing and my face has healed pretty freaking good.
Yeah, looks amazing. It's really good.
It's better than the pictures, Yeah, that's for sure.
Yeah, and I can open my mouth now.
I can kind of. I can chew fairly well.
And I am so grateful to Harborview and everybody there.
I do suffer from my concussion still because I went out, all of
us went out like two months later and I thought that I was,
I'm like, I'm getting back on it.
I'm going to do it, you know, And we all went out on a rainy
day and there was, you know, rivers of water coming down the
double track and it would probably shouldn't have been
out. And I wasn't really ready to be
out on that stuff. And I had a second accident and
had a pretty severe concussion. And so it like compounded my
probably had a concussion when the cougar tackled me and then
definitely had the concussion 2 months later.
And I'm paying for it now because I am not recovered over
a year later. I don't know if or when I will
be, but umm, I'm still not back to work.
I, umm, went back to work for four months in the summertime
and it was mind boggling. I couldn't do it, you know, work
on the computer. So yeah, it's changed my life
and it's changed where I'm going.
But you know, I am so grateful for everything.
Everything. My gratitude is like amplified,
you know, and my love of people is amplified.
And you know, my looking at the sunny day is just like, I get to
do this today, you know, So it's like there's so many good things
and whatever happens, rolling forward will happen.
I'm OK. I can ride my bike.
You know, I can't ride it like I used to, but and I have my
she's. Kicking my butt.
Yeah, right. But yeah, so and, and
everybody's recovering. We're all recovering.
You know, I'm, I, people ask me a lot because of my faith, but
all of us are recovering from this.
You know, it affected all of us. How about you?
So I, I have suffered from mental health and anxiety and
depression the whole life. So I knew like when I got back,
immediately called a therapist and you know, I, I have PTSD
pretty bad. So I took disability last year
and it was really helpful. I found a wonderful counselor,
but two weeks ago I was like, go for my job.
And that's a that's a different story.
But so I'm back on disability and really working with the
therapist, you know, and I have episodes of flashbacks out there
and it's pretty severe, but I keep doing it.
I keep putting myself out there. It's, it's been a journey.
But you know what? And I know Dan, we talked about
it, but. I had my business plan, I'm
working my LLC because I would like to do what you do for a
podcast for mental health, talking about the bad ass people
in the world that no matter what you encounter that you know,
mental health, other kind of parts of life never have to stop
you. You walk through those dark
times, but there's so much beauty and excellence in people
and you're like in community that make it all worth it.
And so even though all this crazy stuff happened the last
two weeks, I've never been more excited than peaceful in my life
to live life. So I'm really excited.
You are definitely alive. Yeah, I I just, I haven't felt
this good and I can't tell you so.
I think you'd make a great podcaster like you should do it,
yeah. I mean I definitely had PTSD and
I've also had post traumatic growth big time.
I mean, my lease on life is like, I always had pretty good
perspective, I thought, but kind of like Carrie, I, I wake up
every day and I'm grateful to be alive.
I'm like, wow, this is awesome. You know, I get excited about
breakfast, what I'm going to eat for breakfast.
You know I. Do too.
I just, I'm just like that, you know, like a kid.
And especially in the whole year, I've had a lot of clarity
because I, I haven't had any alcohol.
I quit drinking after the cougar attack.
And so that also helped with that.
And I needed to do that so that I could have healing and
clarity. But just my mates, like they're
my mates and they're my friends and all five of us are, you
know, we're like sisters. And I feel like I have just this
unconditional love for them. And also just, I'm just so
thankful to God and my family. My family's just so amazing.
I can't imagine how terrified they were.
My friends. I mean, I'm just so blessed to
have my career and just everything in my life.
I'm just extraordinarily grateful.
So let me ask one question. I asked this to everybody that I
interview who's gone through a traumatic situation like this.
And it seems like an odd question to ask, but I think
it's a interesting one to talk through is if you could go back
in time and remove this whole situation from ever happening,
would you do it? I wouldn't because I and I I'm
first one to respond right, And it's like I'm the most like
traumatic premise, but I believe everything's predestined in this
world and already and and we're given the skills to walk through
this And even though right now seems really crazy, I believe
there's a strength and character that I don't think I ever knew I
had sure, And I don't know, I just life just happens and crazy
and I'm like, oh, and I wish you wouldn't have gotten hurt be
alive, but there's something spirited about this.
I mean, it's taken away some innocence, but I don't know.
I just it's, it's scary, cool and different ambivalent, but I
wouldn't take it away. I know I, there's absolutely no
way I would pass up this incredible story.
And I all of us suffer in our bike rides, you know, and it's
like it, this sucks, man. We suffer and when we put our
bodies through crazy stuff, but the reward that we get at the
end of it is so huge and I feel like this thing was suffering
and the rewards are huge and I wouldn't give it up for
anything. That's good.
That's a good way to. I like that.
Would I ever go back in time and say no, I didn't want this to
happen? Oh man, it that's such a, a
philosophical question. And I'm an existentialist by
nature. And so I have to say I wouldn't
take it back because I believe also that, you know, God has a
plan for us and we're supposed to learn and we're learning and
growing. And that this is I wouldn't want
to be terrified and I wouldn't want Carrie to be in pain was my
only thing was I wouldn't want her to suffer like that.
Well, if you wanted anyone listening this to take to have a
take away, what would it be? I have so many takeaways.
Safety Hairspray, knives, live life.
Enjoy your time. Don't don't waste it on the
couch. Yeah, I mean.
Yeah, I agree. Awareness, education, bring
every like even like, oh, I'm just going to wherever.
It's like, hey, I'm going to the supermarket, I'm not going to
wear my seat belt. And then you get in a car
accident die. So it it no matter what you do
when you leave the house, like I have a whole like algorithm that
I do. I even practice like if
something were to happen. How about like you said, the
other part is that one of my my learning things is that last
year I with with and drew into myself and I just couldn't get
myself out where I had these beautiful lady resources
everywhere around. I needed them and I didn't know
what to do. And with wonderful therapy is
that today I can be Hey, things are happening.
I need your help so don't walk away from the things and the
people that are so close to you that they're going to be there
and have your side and have your ass like on a cougar attack.
I think you got to live life to the fullest, you know, Do what
you want to do now. Don't wait till, don't wait to
be happy. People are always like, when I
get this, then I can relax. When I get this goal, then I can
do it. No, no, no.
That's not how life is. You just got to do it now
because we never know, you know, when our time's going to come.
And, and that's been my biggest take away.
And the other one also being prepared.
Of course, I'm into that. And like Tish said, if you need
help, ask for it. There's, there are going to be
mental health implications for all of us.
I think for a while maybe they'll come and go, but there's
no shame in getting counseling. There's no shame in saying, yes,
I was diagnosed with PTSD. Who wouldn't have?
You know, it's completely reasonable for for that to
happen and there's no shame in it.
Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much.
For letting us thank you, we could talk.
We like to talk. Thank you for letting us tell
our story. I was so excited when you guys
said yes. So super cool.
It's great to meet you. Yeah.
Well, thanks you guys appreciate it and yeah, awesome, thanks for
sharing your story. Thank.
You thank you for having us, yes.
Yes, thank you.