Commuting - Owned by a squirrel

Okay, so ALMOST potentially owned by a squirrel. :D

On one of the back roads along my commute this morning, I had two of the little critters dart out from the bushes right in front of me. :eek: We all managed to avoid each other, though it was close. I honestly don't know if I would have gone down if I had hit one or not. I'm a somewhat proficient mtber, but I don't tend to practice obstacle clearing on my road bike.

So I'm just wondering, has anyone out there had any run-ins with the local wildlife? Squirrels, cats, dogs, maybe a cow?? What was the result?

Just curious.

Cheers

...maybe a cow??

From the joke forum:
I was speeding down a narrow, twisting, mountain road. The woman was driving very slowly uphill, honking her horn and shouting at me: "PIG! PIG!!" I flipped her the finger and shouted back "*****! COW!!" Then I collided with the pig!

So you've run into suicidal squirrels as well, eh? Worst one animal one I've done was riding into Montreal and this rabbit ran under my crank then turned around and ran in front of me. I don't know what it is but some animals are quite determined to become "road pancakes".

I have had a weird cow experience. When the SO and I did a tour of central/eastern PEI, we found a hill that was a bit too steep to bike up so we decided to walk it. Running along side was a farmer's field with a herd of cows. The cows thought we were interesting enough to follow us, along the fence, constantly looking at us. Must of thought we were the ugliest cows they've ever seen. :D

I've run over a chipmunk before....didn't do much, but there was a slight "bump."

I had a chipmunk run into my front wheel from the right side, then get caught in the spokes and do a full (dance, dance) revolution, then scoot back again to my right! It was on a mountain bike at slow speed, but darn funny.

Also had a small bird hit me on the hip and fly away, again on the mountain bike.

Run over a rabbit, stopped for a deer and chased by geese.

I was riding along a trail once and a squirrel fell out of a tree right on the path in front of me. It didn't land on its feet like I was expecting. It hit the ground like a sack of potatoes and quickly darted off the path.

That's still the only time I've seen a squirrel fall. Perhaps it ate something from the nearby high school parking lot.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!! Prairie dogs!!!!


any of a genus (Cynomys) of gregarious burrowing rodents of the squirrel family chiefly of central and western U.S. plains; especially : a black-tailed rodent (C. ludovicianus) that usually lives in extensive colonial burrows !!!

two days ago i saw a turtle on of the cherry creek bike trail here in denver

it was a narrow below grade area with just the creek, a bit of grass, and the retaining walls, so put him in my rack trunk and relocated him a few blocks down where there were more trees, shrubs, and shelter (and probably more food).

i hope i did the right thing and some little turtles aren't still waiting for their dad to come home.

Squirrels are practically blind, but their hearing is incredible. If you make a noise - "Yo! Squirrel!" - they'll immediately know where you are, where you're going, and where they should go. It works! I would venture this is true of other small animals.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!! Prairie dogs!!!!

So what's the story? ever hit one?

I've come close many many times and wonder what if?

I was viciously attacked by a cicada Monday evening. He (?) slammed into my chest, and then proceded to do aerobatics in the airspace defined by my thighs, arms and face. I wa s trying to ride, not crash, and swat him (again ?) away.

I'm sure I looked like an epileptic, lunatic to casual observers.

Had a squirrel run between my wheels a couple of months ago. We both missed.

Got a squirrel last year. Even on my road bike it was barely a bump. I did hear the little fellar's ribs cracking though as I went over. He got up and ran away but I felt bad about it :(

Several years ago was almost taken out by a deer. I was on a highway that had high embankments and cyclone fenching so he had no where else to go but to dart to and through 5 feet in front of me. Had just begun to comprehend my precarious situation when he, at last, doubled back behind me.

Finally, years ago I rode the "Hotter 'N Hell Hundred' out of Waco, Tx. 10,000 cyclists going down the road created quite a lot of road kill amongst the local jack rabbit and armadillo populations!

Finally, years ago I rode the "Hotter 'N Hell Hundred' out of Waco, Tx. 10,000 cyclists going down the road created quite a lot of road kill amongst the local jack rabbit and armadillo populations!

How sad! So much for cycling being good for the environment. I'm surprised they didn't have the ride in an area where less damage to the local wildlife would have taken place. :(

A couple of weeks ago I hit a goose. Just caught her tailfeathers. The look she gave me was hilarious. I'm sure I looked pretty strange too as it happened at the bottom of a hill and if she didn't FINALLY get off the path it could have been worse for both of us.

I daily dodge the ever-growing population of rabbits on the path through the woods that I take. Those things are reproducing like...well like RABBITS!

MM

Other than swallowing a bug here and there, nothing really. I try to scare away any critters I see before getting close. I don't doubt that someday, though, one will surprise me and I'll be posting here about it. :D

Two cats blasted out of the woods once, the first one slammed into my front wheel and bounced right off and kept right on running.
I can't help but wonder what would have happened if had my wheels with more space between the spokes?

a skunk

all week going to work I had been going around this road killed skunk. Damn it stank too!! Well on Thursday mornings we do breakfast so I was heading out in the dark. I was thinking don't forget about the skunk over and over. Pretty soon all of a sudden I see this black and white heap laying in my path as my light flashed over it. YUP you know it , I had forgot!! lol at 20+ mph I had time to swerve but not far enough!!

I heard a couple bones break, and felt a bump. I didn't get a flat tire..... But I then had to smell it all over again for a few more days.

no encounters with live animals yet.

Ran over a squirrel in Central Park that had crossed in front of me. At the last moment, he decided to go back to where he came from. Bad idea. I looked back and he didn't seem to be moving.

I wouldn't crash to avoid running over a squirrel. More likely go out of my way to roll over one. Not a big fan of the furry-tailed rats.

There is a small black cat that, for some reason is fascinated by my bike. On the mornings she is out, she is sitting on the sidewalk. As I approach she trots out to the road meowing and then follows behind for a few yards. The first couple of times this happened, I was in a bit of a hurry so I just said "Hey kitty!" and rode on by. One morning I stopped to see if she would let me pet her, but she darted back up to the house. She still comes out to the road, but obviously doesn't want me to actually interact with her.

I scatter deer wherever I go. It might have something to do with my radio and the occasional whine of my electric bike's motor. ;) The other evening, I approached a deer in the middle of the road and a car was approaching from the other direction. The deer seemed indecisive about what to do and I was afraid it would wait until it was too late so I gave it a burst of my AirZounds horn and it sprang off into the woods. It's the only time I've used my horn so far. :)

Oh another one. Bee. Bee down the jersey is the worse. Swat as fast as you can but the sucker still seems to get you a few times.

Never had anything more than a few close calls myself (dogs, squirrels, prairie dogs, snakes). But... Check out this thread! (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=95702&page=1&pp=25)

Brand new Trek Madone 5.9 SL destroyed by a squirrel that darted into the front wheel. Check out page 2 for pics!

http://users.zoominternet.net/~polcyn/crash_madone2.jpg

never on bike, but ocne ran over a squirrel on a spring snowboarding trip. Turned around adn saw squirrel pop its head up out of the flattened snow...

Other than swallowing a bug here and there, nothing really.I'm with oboeguy, but I seem to run into way more bugs.
http://bwinton.latte.ca/camera/weblog/BikePics/bugheadSmall.jpg (http://bwinton.latte.ca/camera/weblog/BikePics/bugheadLarge.jpg)


Bleah!
http://bwinton.latte.ca/camera/weblog/BikePics/bleahSmall.jpg (http://bwinton.latte.ca/camera/weblog/BikePics/bleahLarge.jpg)

(Click either pic for a larger view. But do you really want to see three huge bugs squished on my huge forehead ?)

We had a bit of a rat population problem a few years back. I would see several dead ones during my morning daylight commute. I always wondered how they got hit. Then during
one of my night commutes, "*THUMP-THUMP*". I didn't stop to see what it was,
but the next morning there was a fresh kill about where I thought I had hit it.
It was also kinda funny to see at least two other sets of bike tracks in it.

Well, i've posted it a couple of times before, but a good cat story is a good cat story (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=127659&highlight=lion) .

It's post #6 in the thread.

I had an owl fly into my face. I thought it was just a big bug and tried to swallow it. ;)

I ha d a squirrel almost land on me. It just came flying out of the sky and landed right next to me. It looked as surprised as I was.

I've had bees in my jersey many times. That sucks.

I've had deer run in front of me 3 times in the last year or two, once no more than 6 feet in front. After the initial surprise it's fun to ride alongside as they run.

I've also had a few hornets down my shirt, and one in my helmet. I've learned to just ignore the ones in the helmet, and in the shirt, well, stop calmly and try to get them out, but I've decided that when it happens I am just GOING to get stung, probably a few times. The stings hurt a long time because of the sweat pouring down into them.

Lately it's been f'in japanese beetles down my shirt. Not as bad as june bugs but bad enough. Plus I hate them anyway because of what they do to my roses and fruit trees.

I was riding in the dark last winter, and saw some deer about 100 ft off to the right spook and start running, angling towards the road. I saw a car coming the other way, so I stopped and waved my handlebars (w/headlight) to warn the other driver to slow down. He did, but he was transfixed on my light and nearly hit the things anyway.

I had a depressed squirrel throw itself under my front wheel on the path beside the reflecting pool between the Lincoln and Washington Monuments. I stopped and looked back, and the squirrel had broken its neck, but was still thrashing about on the ground. Quite horrific to watch. Luckily, even though it was early morning, some groundskeepers were there and one came over to dispatch it with his shovel. I left the scene of the crime before I could be questioned further.

A few months later, I was riding along a path and a squirrel, attempting to cross the path, jumped out of some bushes just as I passed. The critter ended up actually running up my leg, then somersaulting back into the bushes. Luckily, its sharp little claws did not break my skin, although I do foam at the mouth from time to time. But that's usually when some motorist misbehaves.

A few years while riding from my job at one college to go to class at another I was riding through some oak leaves and a squirrel was half buried in some a few feet from me. It jumped up and ran in front of me, and I ran it over with my front wheel. Of course I freaked out and slammed the front brake and hit the dirt. The squirrel ran up the nearest tree and I assume survived the night. Most likely because the grass was still tall and lots of leaves for him to get squished into rather than into pavement...

Squirrels are practically blind, but their hearing is incredible. If you make a noise - "Yo! Squirrel!" - they'll immediately know where you are, where you're going, and where they should go. It works! I would venture this is true of other small animals.

Works for me too except I throw in a pseudo hog calling technique to the word squirrel or rabbit. Go figure how they learned English?

I suppose you don't do a lot of single track riding on your commutes, but I had several run-ins with Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes on my MTB back when I lived in southern CA. One coiled at me right at the edge of the trail as I flew by (thankfully moving pretty fast or it may not have been pretty). I just hopped over another one that was stretched across the trail in the sun trying to warm up. Saw a few others from a little more distance (that's a good thing).

Geese......$)@*($) Geese