General Cycling Discussion - Odd things you notice on your ride.

I often notice odd things going on around me while riding my bike.

My commute takes my under a bridge near downtown, where all sorts of strange people seem to hang out. There is one strip where there are always 5-6 homeless people sleeping in a row. I've seen them shooting up many times in this spot. :( This morning when I passed, they were all sitting up in a row, reading books. I was impressed, and admittedly somewhat surprised. I slowed down a little because I was curious to see what they were reading. I noticed one was reading "The Grapes of Wrath". Another was reading a manual of home repair....

It made me smile.

That sounds like something out of a comedy sketch :D

because I'd have to ride about 40km before i got to anywhere with pavement most interesting things i see have to do with wildlife, carcasses or garbage.

though one time I was happily riding along, and I came across a nude couple picking wild blackberries. when they saw me coming they jumped into the blackberry bushes.

if you've seen a blackberry bush, sometimes called brambles, you may agree with me on the fact that it would have been less painful to throw modesty out the window

Three empty condom wrappers on the floor of a wheelchair accessible (meaning large) portapotty. I can only imagine. Wouldn't the smell alone stop all of the ardor?

Snakes all the time. I have run over several.

A large bloated dead cow being devoured by crows and vultures.

I ran over a hornworm looking thing once. It exploded. I also had a squrriel try to jump over me while i was on the trail. He could have just went behind me, dam crazy squirrels.

I witnessed two horses attempting to make a baby horse, if you catch my drift.

en route to work two years ago, I ran over a very large urban racoon, who seemed a little tired, and wasnt looking where he was going.
I ran over it with both wheels, and sprinted away as I heard it making very angry noises.
The funny thing was I came upon a man walking a dog about 100 meters down the road, and warned him about the angry racoon. He gave me one of those "yeah sure" looks.

Funniest thing:

I was riding down a trail and I noticed in the distance a black dog standing in the middle of the trail. Upon closer inspection it was a young black goat guarding what he thought was his property. I stopped to see what he would do and he promptly bounced his head off my tire a few times and wandered off.

Worst thing:

I was Riding one of my regular road loops out in the country and I ventured up one road with woods on both sides. Looking off to my right I thought I saw a set of eyes look back at me from the ground but I was going pretty fast and occasionally quick glances provide less than accurate info so I didn't think twice about it. Instead of completing the loop I decided to turn around at the half way point and double back to get more hills in...when I made it back to that road there were police cars everywhere. An old woman walking saw the same thing I did and she checked it out further to find it was the body of a 37 year old woman.

Just two days ago on the Katy Trail, I saw garter snakes, black snakes, tree snakes, a huge copperhead across the trail, (just missed his tail, he didn't budge), and for the first time I saw a corn snake. It was beautiful. Then a very large snapping turtle.
But today was the topper. I was looking ahead down a long straight stretch and saw this thing walking. Looked like a small dog. But where I was there shouldn't have been any dogs. Then I noticed it was walking like a cat. Didn't want to startle it so I started whistling to get it to move but it wouldn't. So I yelled a couple times and got it's attention. Biggest damn bobcat I've ever seen! I've seen quite a few in the woods but this thing was huge. Glad I didn't startle it... :)

Corn Snake

I saw a wild turkey leisurely cross the trail in front of me last week. - Ted

I like ths discussion...amazing the things one runs into..or over... as the case may be when biking...make me laugh :)
so far the stragest thing I have seen is a lama being walked like a dog on the bike path I ride. Did I mention I live in Boston ?!?!?
Well, the lama was not right in town, but still pretty unexpected. I see this big thing in the distance and I'm going donkey? no- head to tall. horse? no, way to furry. baby giraffe? no- no zoo around here....lama? yep, lama.

I see lots of odd things when I ride in my "hundred-acre woods". Once I was riding along and found that someone had built a teepee way back in the woods on my place, complete with a barbecue pit. There was even what looked like a goose cooking over the pit, but no humans in sight....I may have scared them off, 'cause I was singing aloud as I rode.

I am always finding deer stands during deer season on my property....we have a bad time with poachers, 'cause our woods are full of deer. I took a chainsaw to one, but decided to sell the others I found. I've made some pretty good money, too!

I see a lot of animals, too...wild dogs, deer, wild boar, bobcats, coyotes, once a whole family of ducks waddling down a trail. And once I happened upon a huge emu running along down one of my trails (a local emu farm was hit hard by a tornado and all the emus escaped). There was an escaped cow on a trail one day. I had to call the neighbors and find the owner. And a whole herd of goats ran through one time, with a kid chasing them!

Once I came out of the woods down by the lake and found cut-off jeans (wet) hanging on the fence. Oviously, someone had been swimming in the lake and had changed clothes and left their swimming clothes there. Maybe I scared them off with my singing, too!

Oh, and once I came across a car parked on the property. Got off my bike, went up to the vehicle, and there was a young couple in the front seat, mostly unclothed, and pretty oblivious to their surroundings. I scared them to death when I knocked on the window and asked them to find someone else's property to go parking on. You never saw anyone get dressed so fast!

Originally posted by MsVicki
Maybe I scared them off with my singing, too!

Is your singing really that bad?:p

I've seen several wild turkeys, many deer, one fawn that had been struck by a car, dead, a tangle of legs, a silver fox (no, not Charlie Rich), hawks, dead opossums, and dead skunks in the middle of the road--a real treat on hot summer afternoons. Once on the KATY Trail I was riding past a field of corn stubble and startled what must have been thousands of black birds; they were swirling all around me as they took flight.

Last year when I was doing a lot of rural riding in prepration for the STP I noticed that dairy farm stink badly, but cattle ranches don't :)

Kind of sad, that man reading "The Grapes of Wrath". A small dose of irony, perhaps?


While riding if farm country, I came upon a large ostrich standing near the roadside.
Nearby was a man walking; I ask him if he could see an ostrich too. He gave me an odd look and said "yes". "Thank god" says I.
He looked at me as if I just stepped off a UFO.
No sense of humor.

a dog and a goat trying to make a baby goat or dog... you figure...

I look for bugs scurrying across the road. You'd be surprised at how many you'll spot.

I mainly see perverts and exhibitionists, drug addicts and winos.

Brother, do I need to find a better place to ride!!

:(

There seems to be a lot of road-dumb 'possum in the world. The most vivid was a mama 'possum on the side of the road with her babies knocked out of her. All were dead except one tiny guy teetering in the carnage....so sad!

Things I notice are how crazy fast people drive. Its not uncommon to see people drive 60-70 maybe even 80 mph in a 35 mph zone. I'v also seen alot of car crashes to. Then there are those kids who point and laugh at me when they see me riding my bike.

I had two bald eagles do a low level flyby over a bridge on the Tunnel Hill Trail.
My favorite was seeing a redtailed hawk dive from the sky onto a snake then he flew up to a power pole with the snake slithering in his claws.Better than seeing it on tv!:D

Originally posted by SellingEngland
Worst thing:

I was Riding one of my regular road loops out in the country and I ventured up one road with woods on both sides. Looking off to my right I thought I saw a set of eyes look back at me from the ground but I was going pretty fast and occasionally quick glances provide less than accurate info so I didn't think twice about it. Instead of completing the loop I decided to turn around at the half way point and double back to get more hills in...when I made it back to that road there were police cars everywhere. An old woman walking saw the same thing I did and she checked it out further to find it was the body of a 37 year old woman.

(chills) That must have been kinda creepy at the time. :(

I'm astounded by the amount of "junk" folks collect that you don't see when whizzing by at 45+ in the car. On a bike it is easy to see that a great number of us don't discard anything. We just pitch it in the back or side yard.

I was riding on a fire trail in a large park near my house (Briones), when I saw a man on a horse coming towards me. Behind him was a herd or goats he moves around the park to eat the star thistle, a nonnative plant that is taking over the grassland, in California. I moved off the side of the road to let them pass, the goats were packed tight, shoulder to shoulder, nose to tail taking up the full width of the road. I waited for about 5 min. There were thousands of them. They kept coming like there was no end. As far as I could see in both directions there was a sea of goats. Finally the end of the herd came around into sight still packed as tight as the rest of the herd, and at the very end a very small dog following behind, darting from left to right, nipping at the heals of the last goats. It was an amazing sight, I rode a few hundred feet and passed a bird watcher who saw the goats too. We shared a good laugh and amazement at the experience.

Originally posted by stiffee_shane
(chills) That must have been kinda creepy at the time. :(

Not only creepy at the time but every time I ride that loop....Real glad I didn't stop to see what it was.:(

This trail(Keystone) is in the middle of the city---roughly mirroring the creek that runs through it. Last ride--something bouncing up and down through the grass----seemingly following me---under closer inspection---a muskrat.

The other odd thing---it ALWAYS seems like I'm riding against the wind---and the creek bed makes for one heck of a wind tunnel. I can't wait for the dead of summer--for all the winds to die down.

After cycling in India earlier this year, nothing seems odd anymore.

I rode past all kinds of animals, from monkeys to elephants, camels, bullocks, horses, you name it, I rode past it, as well as strange things like a couple of naked gurus and their followers.

About 5 years ago I had a blue racer chasing me on my ride. I was traveling at about 18mph and he was right next to me about 2 feet away. It was like having a snake for a riding partner for about 300 feet.

In New Zealand I was taking a freind out for his first MTB ride. The trail goes near the beach at one point. It runs along the back of the sand dunes. There was a girl sunbathing topless about two feet off of the trail. I tol d my freind that enjoying nature was one of the best parts of mountain biking.

In Pasadena, CA - a big hairy tarantula walking right acroos the trail. It gave me the creeps. Also a coyote, and a couple small rattlesnakes. I also was coming down off the mountain 30+ mph and a squirrel decides to jump right through my wheel!

In SC - copperheads, deer.

In Miami, FL - Raccoons, Iguanas (three ft long).

I saw a truck pulled over for an unsafe load. A little toyota pickup had a 12' satellite dish in the back. It was pretty surreal it looked like a Satellite dish with wheels on the bottom.

Another time near Flagstaff I was just cruising out in the woods and came around the corner and stopped face to face with 4 of the biggest Elk I have ever seen. Not wanting to be skewered I just let them make the first move.

A group of friends and (when I was in Okinawa) I found a guy that was passed out on the edge of the beach we were riding to (we thought he might be dead actually but weren't sure enough to do a thorough check, besides hee looked like he was breathing so we let him be). He had sand all over his face, he was gone when we left so he must have just passed out from too much Sake'.

A couple years ago I was riding up a gravel road and I felt something heavy hit the top of my helmet, like a coconut or something. I look around to see what it was and I see a large bird flying around in circles making crazy noises. For a second I think maybe the bird took a swipe at me, then I dismiss it. Just as I do so the damn thing swoops straight at me at 100 miles per hour! I duck just in time and realize that it is one pissed off perigrine falcon! I thought maybe it would leave me alone once I got past it but it kept coming! Over and over, it would swoop down and aim itself right between my eyes and I would duck at the last second! I slowly walked my bike back the way I came, never taking my eyes off the demon bird as it continued to try and decapitate me. Pretty soon a friend joined it, so now I had to watch out for 2 guided missiles! After avoiding about 20 attacks, I had eventually moved out of their territory and they left me alone. I didn't go back there for several months. If I didn't have a helmet on they probably would have scalped me. They must have had a nest nearby or something. It was pretty scary at the time but I can laugh about it now.

Love the photo of the corn snake. I'm trying to remember, are they poisonous or not?

One weird sight was a guy riding a bent with a stuffed toy dalmatian on his head.

No, and they make great pets!;)

The clickitty click of dog nails in the dark on night rides! Things running through the woods next to the road, in the dark, with a 12 W light. The opossum running back and forth from one side of the road to the other because he can't decide which way to go. Deer, rabbits, crazy squirles.

The clickitty click of dog nails in the dark on night rides! Things running through the woods next to the road, in the dark, with a 12 W light. The opossum running back and forth from one side of the road to the other because he can't decide which way to go. Deer, rabbits, crazy squirles.

Corn snakes as pets... why the heck not?

UCI, I'm think I'm seeing in triplicate....

Saw a drug bust the other day. Someone was driving from BC and got stopped just outside of the city on the Trans Canada. On my way out I saw more police cars than usual, and sure enough, on the way back they had this pickup stopped and were checking it out. Read about it in the paper the next day.

There was a drug lab making crank that would dispose of its trash and used chemicals along the country roads I ride. They would dump hundreds of empty cold medicine bottles they use as the base for the speed, with the tops intact, but the bottoms cut off, easier to quickly empty that way. And at another spot once there was a sheriff’s hazardous waste truck picking up bottles of used chemicals. At least they didn't dump the chemicals into a stream.

Sorry about that double post.:blush:

I just have to shair this with yall. I just got in from a 22 mile night ride in the country. The smell of cows and horses, honey suckles blooming thick and the scent in the still night air so thick you can cut it with a knife. One coyote running back and forth across the road, but by far the coolest thing was the millions of lightning bugs "fire flies" hanging about 3 feet off the ground. I just had to turn the light off and cruse through the pastures where they where. It was like ridding the stars!:beer:
I wish I had a video camera to show it but you would have had to have been there!:D

Originally posted by gonesh9
I slowed down a little because I was curious to see what they were reading. I noticed one was reading "The Grapes of Wrath".

I hope he will have better understanding of his situation after reading this book.

I saw once a homeless man writing something, what looked like a manuscript. Perhaps in some decades this writing will be studied in schools, or pehaps - not. Flowers grow from dirt.

Once I've met the bear. It happened on the Great Allegheny Passage, in Penncylvania. I was very scared. It seems to be the genetical memory. I was surprised to notice that my knees were trembling even some time afterwards. Here is the photo. The bear is that black dot. Do not ask me why I did not take a closer shot. Strangely, I grew up in Siberia and never met a bear in woods there.

I can recall only one time when I was scared about the same. It was when we walked into the sleeping rhinoceros on the trail in jungles of Chitwan National Park, Nepal.

In both cases I was even more frightening for both wild animals, than they were for me. Rhino just plain run away. The bear left the trail for a minute to give us the way.

I hope this doesnt offend anyone but I could not resist. The oddest thing I have seen while riding was a lady & a goat trying to make a baby goat/human! No KIDDING !

Originally posted by mnppunky
I hope this doesnt offend anyone but I could not resist. The oddest thing I have seen while riding was a lady & a goat trying to make a baby goat/human! No KIDDING !

Their son would be like the goat-man from Saturday Night Live!!

:D

Originally posted by mnppunky
I hope this doesnt offend anyone but I could not resist. The oddest thing I have seen while riding was a lady & a goat trying to make a baby goat/human! No KIDDING !

Contest over. You win.

That is just too wierd. (I assume the NO KIDDING pun was intentional.)

Originally posted by Avalanche325
In New Zealand I was taking a freind out for his first MTB ride. The trail goes near the beach at one point. It runs along the back of the sand dunes. There was a girl sunbathing topless about two feet off of the trail. I tol d my freind that enjoying nature was one of the best parts of mountain biking.


Hey, u remember the name of the beach and where-abouts it was??? :D :D :D

I am not kidding the bad thing is that the lady was pretty hot ! If she only knew I would have been riding by she wouldnt have needed that goat! lol

Last Fall, while riding down the Natchez Trace, two butterflies followed me for about three miles. It was very wierd!

Monks. That's right Monks. I was riding on a trail in the South Valley of Albuquerque and came around a bend in a grove of cottonwood trees and there were two monks walking. They were wearing robes and had long beards. It looked like something out of the middle ages but it was last Thursday.

Originally posted by gonesh9

...My commute takes me under a bridge near downtown, where all sorts of strange people seem to hang out... This morning when I passed, they were all sitting up in a row, reading books... I noticed one was reading "The Grapes of Wrath". Another was reading a manual of home repair....


It's like a Monty Python skit! :eek:

I see them a lot too, since my workplace is near Division and Grand. In that neighborhood, you see a lot of transients ride by on bicycles with their worldly belongings in tow.

Yup, up here in the Great Northwest even the hobos ride bikes.

:rolleyes:

-Rob

Originally posted by RobCat
I see them a lot too, since my workplace is near Division and Grand. In that neighborhood, you see a lot of transients ride by on bicycles with their worldly belongings in tow.

Yup, up here in the Great Northwest even the hobos ride bikes.
-Rob

Ya, I have noticed a lot of them have bikes. I guess it'd be a good thing to have to help get around and carry all your stuff.

In the same spot that I saw those homeless readers, I just saw a cardboard sign up on a pillar under the bridge that said, "Please remember to clean up after yourselves."

I've also seen them out picking up trash along the waterfront. They surely aren't your typical homeless people up here!

Originally posted by gonesh9
...In the same spot that I saw those homeless readers, I just saw a cardboard sign up on a pillar under the bridge that said, "Please remember to clean up after yourselves."

I've also seen them out picking up trash along the waterfront. They surely aren't your typical homeless people up here!




That's so cool! What a difference it would make if all of our employed and sheltered brethren and sistern in the city were that industrious.