Advocacy & Safety - Danger, Squirrel crossing!

While at our churches Wednesday nite prayer meeting a woman mentioned to us to be in prayer for a man that she worked with who was bicyling this past weekend and a squirrel ran into his front wheel spokes. He went down hard and broke his neck, damaged his vertebra and some other injuries I could not hear. She did not say whether he had a helmet on or not. His injuries are very serious but could have been worse. My cousins mother-in-law was killed a few years ago when a dog ran out in front of her and she crashed. She was not wearing a helmet. Everyone be careful out there. Of course snakes are a different matter.

Mark

I worry more about deer.

I worry more about deer.

Technically wouldn't the deer cushion your fall? Especially if it's a big fat one. A cougar or leopard, that's another story.

Technically wouldn't the deer cushion your fall? Especially if it's a big fat one. A cougar or leopard, that's another story.

I'm talking about when I'm decending a mountain road at 35 mph.

With deer, there can be an impalment issue. There was a case of a man walking on an empty country road was impaled by a buck that was scared by a stray dog. I've hit squirrels and dogs before, and once I was injuried and the bike was wrecked.

Of course snakes are a different matter.

Mark

Why? Are you a Pentacostalist? I heard they can handle snakes.

Nope. Independent Baptist. I don't bother snakes unless they bother me but I still don't like em.

I've had deer run out in front of me twice this year. Both does, one about 15 feet in front, the other only 6 feet or so away. Gave me quite a rush. I wouldn't count on a deer "cushioning" a fall. They're not very cushy and they have pointy ends that thrash when they go down. More likely you're going to continue getting injured after you stop, until the deer gets away.

The trail I commute on seems to be a State Squirrel Sanctuary. I've had at least two come from the bushes and scoot across with inches to spare before being cut in half by my front tire. (That is: They've narrowly avoided being hit...)

They're very active this time of year, too.

Can a squirrel really lock a front wheel? It seems unlikely to me, but I guess if people have first-hand accounts, it must be so. :eek:

Suicide Rabbits lie in wait along my early morning path. They wait and wait, and then lunge right in front of me. A couple times, I've faced suicide turtles, but they are far less of a threat.

Last week I had a squirrel hit my rear wheel. Thankfully, he didn't get caught up in the spokes because I was going pretty fast.

I have hit and killed a squirrel on my mountain bike during my morning commute to work. It ran right under my front wheel as I was riding down the Mall near the Lincoln Memorial. It wasn't dead right away, either, but had a broken neck and was flopping around. Quite heartwrenching. Some National Park groundskeepers came over and put it out of its misery.

I heard from another biking friend of mine that he was on a ride and squirrel came through his companion's front spokes. They were going pretty fast on road bikes and apparently, the squirrel kind of came apart in the spokes and splattered them both with blood. Don't know what kind of wheel was on the bike.

On the commute to my summer job I would come across multiple squirrels every day. Screaming at them apparently scares the living bleep out of them because they zoom off the road instead of stay in my path while stupidly looking at me hurtling toward them. Works every time (so far). :D

Sad story about the guy.

More squirrel tails, I mean tales over this way.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=68719

A couple times, I've faced suicide turtles, but they are far less of a threat.

HA HA! Seriously, this has happened to me also. Once, I was descending a pretty good hill at about 35 mph when a dog shot out of someones yard to chase me. As he got to me, he went under my right pedal and at the same time smacked my foot. It REALLY hurt! I think that maybe if I had not been going so fast, I could have gone down. I bet it really hurt the dog too. I had half a mind to go back and ring the doorbell, but I didn't want to get attacked a second time. I know, I know, I should have reported it...

RT

There's a popular park where we ride a lot, and on the road sometimes you see garter snakes. If they're alive, I'll move them out of the way. Once, in that park, we spotted a turtle, right on the bike path! I thought it was a big rock, but when we got closer we saw it was a painted turtle. Anyways, we stopped so we could get the turtle out of the way, but when we got close to it it began to move off.Turtles can actually move pretty quickly! We waited until it was out of danger. It was really cool, actually, since I really love turtles.

Incidentally, in Asia, turtles are a symbol of long life.

I've had problems with rats, squirrels, raccoons, deer, chipmunks and dogs. I've always wondered if it's better to hit them than to suddenly brake or swerve altogether.

I have to say, it's nice to do the early morning rides through the urban jungle- rarely do I have some critter jumping in my way. Score one for living and riding in the city. :)

Koffee

Interesting thread. I noticed two dead squirrels on my ride home tonight. They were both on the part of my trip that is a bike path, and I was wondering how in the world a bike could squish a squirrel, and I guess now I have my answer. I have actually hit a dog before, and nearly hit a deer earlier this summer. The dog ran right out in front of me, and got broadsided by me. I am pretty sure he was ok, as I stopped and tried to follow him as he ran off, but I couldn't catch him. The deer jumped across the road one night right in front of me, and scared the living **** out of me! I have been terrified of having it happen again ever since. Part of my commute in the evening involves going down a very steep hill with a sharp corner and almost no shoulder, so I tend to just blast down the thing to get it over, and hopefully get up to traffic speed if a car should come up behind me, and therefore give them time to realize that I am a bike and not hit me. I always worry about critters jumping out in front of me on that descent though. I don't think I would be able to ride in the dark again if I ever hit anything!

i saw one layin on the road with its eyey popped out once... i still can't figure out why that eye was popped out.

i saw one layin on the road with its eyey popped out once... i still can't figure out why that eye was popped out.

EW I dont even want to know!

One of my worst wipeouts occurred when a chicken ran out in front of me while I was mountain biking down a steep trail in Costa Rica. After hitting the chicken, I went flying over the handlebars. The chicken died. I was in pain, but was able to ride back to town. I got treated at the local clinic. Health care is a bargain down there. They cleaned my wounds, put stitches in my arm, and gave me antibiotics and pain pills...all for the low, low price of $20.

Suicide Rabbits lie in wait along my early morning path. They wait and wait, and then lunge right in front of me. A couple times, I've faced suicide turtles, but they are far less of a threat.

Hey a turtle should NOT be a threat at all, they are very slow, and can be easily avoided, unless you take your bike swimming that is

Hey a turtle should NOT be a threat at all, they are very slow, and can be easily avoided, unless you take your bike swimming that is

You shoulda seen the turtle that was on my trail back in June. That turtle was a threat! :eek: It was a snapper. Shell was roughly 20 inches in diameter. Claws like daggers, and a jaw that would split an alloy wheel with one bite! :D

She was out looking for a place to nest. :) Monster of a girl though.

I've had one close encounter about a week ago. The critters seem to be half-asleep or something...they don't react near as quickly...I headed straight for the one I mentioned figuring it would move....and it did...but it was pretty darn close.

Hope everyone around here stays safe with the dangers of wild animals. Sad to hear about injuries and deaths because of it.

I brake for squirrels, four legged only!

Wow, some great stories, you guys! I enjoyed reading your posts. The only thing I run over are snails. They are too slow to get out of the way. ;)

Had another one with a death wish shoot by me on Friday afternoon's commute. Closest call yet. I think my front tire brushed the animal's tail.

Oh My God!! On my way home today, I was riding along on a bike path that runs alongside a road, and I noticed a squirrel racing along at the same speed that I was riding. I was wondering what the heck it was doing, and why it didn't just hop up on the curb and into the woods, when it suddenly did just that...right next to my front wheel! It ran beside my bike for a second or two, and then made a mad dash between my two wheels! I was going about 12MPH, which I realize isn't all THAT fast, but it was fast enough, that I thought he was a goner. I definitely got a little fur on the end of his tail, and am really glad that noone was in front of me, as the entire time, I was looking down at this manic squirrel and not where I was going. So wierd. All I could think was how I had posted on this thread a while ago about how I had never heard of a cyclist hitting a squirrel!

Kat

My problem is with Canadian Geese. Lots and lots of them, and they insist on hanging out right on the bike path! Every single damn day I have to slow down and shoo them out of the way.

In the springtime they can act very aggressive to protect thier young so they hiss at me and I'm afraid they might try to bite me although that hasn't happened yet.

My problem is with Canadian Geese. Lots and lots of them, and they insist on hanging out right on the bike path! Every single damn day I have to slow down and shoo them out of the way.

In the springtime they can act very aggressive to protect thier young so they hiss at me and I'm afraid they might try to bite me although that hasn't happened yet.

Not to mention what flies off your tires after you ride through! :p

My problem is with Canadian Geese. Lots and lots of them, and they insist on hanging out right on the bike path! Every single damn day I have to slow down and shoo them out of the way.

In the springtime they can act very aggressive to protect thier young so they hiss at me and I'm afraid they might try to bite me although that hasn't happened yet.


Not to mention what flies off your tires after you ride through! :p

In some places, including the San Francisco Bay Area, the problem has gotten so bad that the Streets and Parks Departments have started deploying a secret weapon: Shetland Sheepdogs. These little dogs love to chase the geese, and that encourages them to go to less-populous areas for their breeding. This is better for the geese and the people, since the geese can breed in peace, and there are no "goose attacks" or "goose poop" problems in the areas where people typically are.

My problem is with Canadian Geese. Lots and lots of them, and they insist on hanging out right on the bike path! Every single damn day I have to slow down and shoo them out of the way.

In the springtime they can act very aggressive to protect thier young so they hiss at me and I'm afraid they might try to bite me although that hasn't happened yet.

Good ole' Eden Prairie is overrun with geese. Fortunately, they are significantly more intimidated by my bicycle than my Mustang (stupid stupid birds), but what really gets them moving is the $3 squeaky horn I got at target. The horn gets squirrels moving too. Pedestrians, slow cyclists, and dogs are another matter though; people just wonder what the hell that noise was and usually look around and loose their line, and I think dogs may think it's one of their squeaky toys. I only beep it at dogs when I'm feeling malicious... seriously, I've given up on the horn with dogs.

I saw a squirrel's tail on the bike path the other day - they don't always avoid getting hit, evidently.

Have any of you been hit by a flying bird? I haven't been but have come across the goose poop problem before. Just seems like a flying bird hitting a rider might happen occasionally. I ride a lot of covered trails and come across some snakes, turtles, dogs, squirrels, wooley worms and tons of grasshoppers (the last two are most generally not a hazard) but never had any flying bird problems yet. One of those, even small ones, upside the head might hurt a little or cause a wreck by throwing ya off guard.

You shoulda seen the turtle that was on my trail back in June. That turtle was a threat! :eek: It was a snapper. Shell was roughly 20 inches in diameter. Claws like daggers, and a jaw that would split an alloy wheel with one bite! :D

She was out looking for a place to nest. :) Monster of a girl though.


I saw a huge turtle (about a foot wide) on the side of the road last year about this time. I stopped in hopes of getting it off the road, it was headed for the highway. Usually you can see the pointy parts on the shell to tell if it is a snapper, but this one looked smooth. Something told me to check before I got too close. I grabbed a stick and kind of gently waved it by the turtle's head, and SNAP that big stick was in 2 pieces. I jumped out of my skin, and a couple guys in a truck were laughing heartily out the window at me. Good thing I checked first, that could have been my finger. :eek: Still determined to try to get the thing out of the road, I found a piece of board a little farther down and kind of pushed the turtle into the grass. The next day it was SPLAT in the center of the road. I tried.....

I once came around a corner into a group of geese waddling along. Most of them scattered but one decided to fly directly away from me. I slowed and he lifted off right in front of my wheel. I could feel the air (wing wash?) as he flapped. It was a really cool experience.

A walking catfish would take you down...well not me, I'd bunnyhop it.

But a rabbit?..what if I bunnyhop and the bunny hops too?

I think they are suicide squirrels, they have difficulty obtaining and loading firearms, a few jumpers, (too many tree limb smacks-ow!) so the bike spoke is the best way out.
...guess nuts don't contain much lithium, squirrels are nuts.

Years ago I had the pleasure of riding around a herd of 100's of elk at midnight on a golf course in Banff park. Beautiful.

Yesterday, I took someone's advice in an earlier post and I yelled at a suicide squirrel. It worked!!!! However, he got the last laugh. At the intersection about 10 feet past the squirrel, I unclipped my left foot, and fell to my right. I tore three chunks of knee out and I am missing some of my elbow skin. :eek: I swear I could hear that squirrel laughing, right along with my husband.

I've had problems with rats, squirrels, raccoons, deer, chipmunks and dogs. I've always wondered if it's better to hit them than to suddenly brake or swerve altogether.

I have to say, it's nice to do the early morning rides through the urban jungle- rarely do I have some critter jumping in my way. Score one for living and riding in the city. :)

Koffee

Three separate instances of big city rats crossing my path on the bikeway last night. I think those buggers must sit by the side of the road and guesstimate the speed of traffic.

I sure hope I NEVER hit one of those!

Stacy

man.. the other day this squirrel ran outta the ditch. man.. it kept runnin infrontome for like 10 seconds until it found a tree. then zip it went up the tree...


why?


they're nuts.

Have any of you been hit by a flying bird? I haven't been but have come across the goose poop problem before. Just seems like a flying bird hitting a rider might happen occasionally. I ride a lot of covered trails and come across some snakes, turtles, dogs, squirrels, wooley worms and tons of grasshoppers (the last two are most generally not a hazard) but never had any flying bird problems yet. One of those, even small ones, upside the head might hurt a little or cause a wreck by throwing ya off guard.

Yes, but on a motorcycle. A bird took off the side of the road as I came by at 70 mph and I had just enough time to duck my head when WHAM! the bird hit my helmet head on. Luckily it was a small bird. When I got to work and took off my helmet, there was a bloody streak with a little piece of down stuck to the top of my helmet.

I see lots of animals when I ride my bicycle, but they never taunt me. Just let 'em try.
Tom

...was bicyling this past weekend and a squirrel ran into his front wheel spokes. He went down hard and broke his neck, damaged his vertebra and some other injuries ...
Other than having an animal enter my spokes, I finally have a good excuse for commuting with my hardtail. I have hit more than my fair share of potholes, but no animals in many years. Front suspension can do wonders when it comes to absorbing animal/pothole impacts.

Back in high school, I hit a squirrel while riding a road bike, but he didn't seem any for the worse. And a few years back a friend of mine was riding just in front of me when an oppossum ran underneath his bike. He didn't wreck, but it sure did surprise him. And then there was the bird...An angry bluejay decided to have it out with me on a busy residential street. It's not easy fighting off a bird while trying to maintain control.

One time there was this particularly vicious canadian goose that hissed at me every day. Then I got a bent. The next day the gander figured he could reach me on my new low rider and took off running flapping his wings to gain that extra speed. When he reached me his feet were bouncing off the ground. His eyes were firmly fixed on my neck and his beak was open ready to tear flesh. At the last second before impact I raised an elbow and hit him in the neck which deflected his head. His gapping mouth slammed shut as it plopped down on my shoulder an inch from his intended target.

When a bird of that size traveling at take-off speed hits a biker sideways, the biker has but a short time to kiss the vertical world goodbye. Fortunately the path was not yet paved so the worst injuries were the green grass stains on my cloths and a few black and blue ones underneath. what a way to break in a new bike.