Well, I started to go in. Had a really nice ride going. 70 degrees or so and clear sky.

I park by our datacenter in Ashburn, VA, and I’m happily riding in the W&OD trail (MUP) toward work. This time of the year it’s full of baby bunnies that go into major panic mode as you come up on them, but no big deal. I’m booking through Herndon at about 20mph coming into Reston, and something runs out from the trail and right under the bike. I knew I whacked it, because I felt it tangle in the pedals and then the thump/jolt as my rear wheel ran over it. No issue, didn’t fall down, doing good. Came to a stop to do an inventory and realize that the jolt caused one of my water bottles to eject from the holder. Cool.... I’ll double back and get it.

Bang a U-turn and double back, easy to locate as it was right by the bridge that goes over Herndon Parkway. Bit of a blind hill, but I just came over it, and besides I get to survey what the heck it was I hit. Bad, bad mistake #1.

I come back over the bridge, and there the critter is in the middle of the trail. I don’t feel so bad, because he was obviously moving. I also see the water bottle, and I’m looking more at that as I get closer. Bad, bad mistake #2.

So I pull up, and I think “that’s not a rabbit, it’s a cat”.. Yup, black & white cat. I get a few feet away, and just as I’m thinking “oh crap” I realize it’s not a cat... It’s a SKUNK!

He didn’t get me the first time. Damned if he didn’t get even on the second pass.

Things I learned this morning.

A:I know how a dog feels when they get it..
B: At close range the smell is so strong it’ll make you toss your cookies.
C: 24 hour grocery stores don’t appreciate when you stop in to buy Hydrogen Peroxide to kill the smell. Even when you go through the self checkout line
D: Did I mention how bad it smells?

So I’ll be trying to de-stink the bike, car, and myself for a bit...

BWAHAHAAHA!!!!!

Oh man, what crappy luck! So sorry that had to happen... when roadkill fights back!

O my. How do you get the smell out? Did it live?

Payback is a b*tch!

Score:
commuter = 1
skunk. = +100

And I thought I was having a bad morning because one of my cleat screws fell out and my tail light batteries died.

I hear taking a bath in tomato juice helps.

Tomato juice is supposed to work better than anything at getting ride of skunk smell.

Hydrogen Peroxide is supposed to be the most effective per google. Worked on me after scrubbing in the shower.. Now my stuff is next.

Dang that's crazy. I've only ever seen rabbits on the W&OD but within a mile or so of it I've seen deer and foxes too but never a skunk.

You be ok. Just carry your bike helmet with you and the grocery employee will not question the smell.

Car?

This mixture works well for when our daughter's dog gets skunked.
https://www.jlhweb.net/Boxermap/skunk.html

The daughter tried tomato juice, it did nothing for the smell, and only made the dog red.

Which is why it's so often recommended.

I've seen lots of wildlife riding in the DC area, but never a skunk. Man, that's rough. Hope you get the stink out.

Did the peroxide bleach your hair?

Yeah the tomato juice thing doesn't work. Take it from a bird hunter who's dog gets skunked all the time.

So for future reference:

A mix of hydrogen peroxide (1 pint) , dish soap (couple squirts) and baking soda (small box) thrown into a gallon of water works great...and doesn't bleach the hair.

BE VERY VERY CAREFUL NOT TO GET IT IN YOUR EYES

Dang! Something that actually smells worse than the open air sewage treatment plant I ride by. ew

Feel fortunate that you just ended up smelly ;-). A close-up skunk to the face could have resulted in a trip to the ER to have your eyes flushed out (it burns). Both me and the doggie found out the hard way one nite :-(

I, too, have learned the hard way that skunks aren't as obvious as everyone thinks they are. The old Bugs Bunny cartoons about "Pepe LePew" passing for a cat? Not as improbable as you'd think.

The first time I ever got skunked was my first trip to visit the home of my then-girlfriend's parents. We piled out of the car after our 8-hour drive to Maine and let the dog out in the backyard. I saw the dog about 15 yards downhill playing with something that looked like a small squirrel--gray and furry. I was afraid the dog had caught a baby squirrel so I trotted down the hill yelling, "Bear! No!" It wasn't until I was about 3 yards away that I realized what looked gray at a distance was actually black and white. I yelled, "SKUNK!" just in time to get caught in the blast that hit my dog right in the face. I turned to run for the house only to see my girlfriend already in the house, locking the door and closing the windows. Thanks dear.

]

Mom, come look at all the kittens!

What happened to the skunk?

If it looks like a cat, walks like a cat and smell like a skunk, then it must be a...........

...........a bad smelling cat.

Where/how the he** did you get that photo?

Funny that you post that picture. I forgot to say in my anecdote that the skunk in question was a very young baby skunk. It didn't look really black and white at a distance, I swear!

Lol, after de-loussing yourself and your gear, I think the next step is to go to the bike store and buy a better water bottle cage. :-)

(I'm serious though - I have a cage on my mountain bike and my bottle has never come out, they do make ones that won't eject your water bottles if you hit a bump or go off a jump)

Yea... um... don't get it in your eyes. It hurts EXTREMELY bad and is considered a chemical burn. Also, speaking from experience, don't rinse your contacts with solution that contains hydrogen peroxide then put them in your eyes. Did I mention it hurts?

The only time I've ever been sprayed by a skunk was while riding a bike also. Was riding home at night on a dirt path between a corn field and a soybean field. The neighbor's dog was trotting along beside me. Suddenly he darted off into the corn field on the left. I though, "huh, he must have seen a rabbit" and then looked back to the path just in time to see the skunk's ass blasting the bike and my leg. Wish I had known the peroxide trick back then!