When traveling alone, it is so important to trust your gut. Although you’ll be likely to meet some great people on any trip you take, there’s always the risk that someone might not be as friendly as they seem. 

One woman met a man who completely changed her perspective on meeting new people while she traveled alone on a long bike trip.

After graduating college, she decided to carve out some time to bike down the coast from Canada to Mexico. 

“I was pretty nervous to be going by myself, but for the majority of the time, I felt safe,” she remembers. 

Halfway through the trip, she got used to sleeping alone in empty campsites and parks. She even had some company here and there along the way and would occasionally ride with other bikers she had met on the trail. 

However, her guard was put right back up when she had a creepy encounter with a man while stopping at an information sign one day. 

She was only about a mile away from the Campground she planned to stay in on the Oregon coast. On her way there, she noticed a yellow vintage car pass her on the opposite side of the road.

When she pulled over to read an informational sign about the campground, the same car returned and parked right near her.

An older man who appeared to be in his 50s or 60s came out of the car and started looking at the board with her.

Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.

At first, he seemed very friendly and charismatic, telling her that he lived in the area but had never stopped to learn about the campground.

She remembers acting naive, thinking that he would be just like another one of the friendly strangers she met on her trip.

But then, he started crossing some personal boundaries. 

There were multiple moments during their encounter when the man would shake her hand as if he was about to leave, but then he would carry on the conversation.

While he shook her hand, he would take his opposite hand and tightly grab her forearm. To make things even creepier, he would let out a strange laugh every time he touched her. 

He did this multiple times, changing the subject after every uncomfortable handshake. 

“I realize that I’m completely out of sight from anyone in the campground, have no phone service, and I’m now very close to him and his open car door,” she recalls. “There‘s a knot in my stomach, I’m on the verge of tears, and my voice is shaking with every response.”

Finally, she felt brave enough to announce that she would leave very loudly in hopes that someone nearby could hear her.

Then, she got on her bike and sped to the campground as quickly as possible. She didn’t even bother exploring the areas near the campground and immediately set up a tent next to the camp host for safety. 

“I had a lot of encounters with random strangers at this point, but none of them terrified me like this one did,” she explains.

“Even if he was harmless, his actions were a good reminder that I had to be mindful of my vulnerable situation and be more alert.”

You can read the original post on Reddit here.

If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe

In 1985, This Missouri Teen Vanished After Leaving Her Friend’s House One Evening: Then, Years Later, Her Mother Began Receiving Threatening Calls Demanding Money In Exchange For Her Daughter

His Brother And Sister-In-Law Started Trashing Him And His Wife’s Work Ethic, So He Shut Them Down By “Reminding” Them About How Much Money He Makes

A Guy Asked Her Out And She Turned Him Down, But After Her Friend Said He Had Money, She Agreed To Let Him Take Her Out For Dinner Because She Likes That He’s Rich

He Allowed His Girlfriend’s Brother To Move In After Getting Laid Off, But He Refused To Get Rid Of His Dog Because Of Her Brother’s Allergies And Got Accused Of Choosing A Pet Over His Family

Researchers From Japan Discovered That The Juice Of This Fruit May Inhibit Lung Cancer In Mice

He Bought His 17-Year-Old Daughter A Locked Bin After Some Of Their Family Members Wouldn’t Stop Helping Themselves To The Snacks She Bought With Her Own Money