mattgmann, I with you on the geese. They are all over the place and have made some park areas near me unusable because their droppings are so thick. I usually just have to slow down for them and shout at them. A couple of times when they have been aggressive towards me I take the offensive and chase after them and they quickly realize that they are outmatched.

On the lighter side of things...the closest call that I have ever had with a critter happened to me last summer while riding a rail trail. It was early in the morning and the sun had just barely started coming over the horizon. I was riding along at leisurely pace of probably 12 or 13 MPH when a great horned owl flew across the path right in front of my face. It was so close that if I hadn't had my hands in my bars that I could have reached out and grabbed it. It startled me so much that I almost wrecked (and filled my bike shorts). Kind of freaked me out too because you don't realize how big they are until you see one up close.