Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Ever have a bird Jack in the box up at ya while riding?

My daughter (age 6) and I were enjoying a ride down the local rail trail me on my K2 her on the Adams Trail a bike and about 5 miles down the trail I catch out of the corner of my eye a Grouse shooting up out of the brush on the side of the trail! I hear the flap of his wings and he flew between my daughter and me as we rode down the trail. My daughter let out a high pitch squeal so I stopped to see if she was ok and assumed she was startled by the bird flapping so close to us but she said "whatever made that noise hit my head" so apparently there was a bird strike on the rail trail!

My daughter is ok but refuses to believe me that it was a bird that hit her, she keeps saying that I am a good joke teller :lol: anyways it was an interesting enough thing that I thought I would share and ask if anything like that has ever happened to anyone else?

She already asked if we can do a longer ride this weekend :love: how could I say no to that? :D

Awesome memory for your daughter. Sounds like you both had a fun time.

Personally, I was riding through the Great Swamp (a national wildlife refuge near me) and a wild turkey the size of a german shephard flew across the road about 50 feet in front of me. I've heard that turkeys can't fly - but I saw it with my own 2 eyes (albeit it maximum altitude was about 5 feet). The thing just missed crashing into an SUV coming the opposite direction, too.

I've nearly been hit by pheasant hens twice. Though they missed me, I still took abuse since I ride a recumbent trike and my dog tried to jump over me in an attempt to catch them only to be yanked short by the harness. On top of me. Ah, the pleasures of being trampled by a 50 lb husky. ;)

Then there's the 3 times with deer. :D

I got chased by an Ostrich in Northern Indiana one time. There used to be a farmer with Ostriches near Syracuse, Indiana, and they'd get out loose every so often, and they are big, nasty birds!

I startled a hawk sitting on a tombstone last fall. We both screamed and it flapped its wings at me. Big wings. Big beak. Yikes.

Two weeks ago, I startled a raccoon and he stood up on his back legs and kind of hissed at me.

I'm thinking about tying a bunch of tin cans to my rear fender.

Had some close calls
with Canada Geese .
They hiss at you, too .
I think
it's a wildlife thing .

Early morning ride with Buzzards perched on wooden fence posts along the trail. They were sunning their wings in the sun. Took off as I passed. I think they circled me for the next hour waiting for breakfast.