I've learned that if I head straight at them, they seem to know better what to do, and I've had fewer near hits are a result.

Say something or ring your bell as you approach. I think the sound helps them decide which way to go. At least it has for me driving a truck yrs ago. Used to hit a lot of rabbits. Started honking at them. Cut way down on the number who decided to jump in front of me at the last second.

Well, yeah... if it comes down to me or them I guess its gonna be them. But I do the best I can not to harm them, including slowing down sometimes. Hitting one could cause you to crash and get hurt of course.

Was this the guy?

I assume you are referring to squirrels, but I wonder it that also works with women...

Does NOT work with Canada Geese, I can tell you that. They are stubborn and pretty fearless. Probably does work with squirrels... mostly.

Back when I lived in Schaumburg IL, one of those dumb things ran across the MUP and I rode right over it. I was amazed how firm it was. Last seen, it was sitting in the pond squawking unhappily.

You're lucky it didn't bite your kneecap off!

I don't hate squirrels but they do seem to run into the road at the wrong time. First time I saw this picture I wasn't surprised.

Yes, I do enjoy hunting and eating squirrels but little "thump, thump" just wasn't big enough to provide much of a meal and going after more squirrels with a bicycle on purpose didn't seem like a good idea.

What's with all the squirrelly snuff porn?

There it is. (1000fps+4xScope=surplus bird feeder seeds)

The squirrels around my neck of the woods seem to know not to wander onto the MUP. But this time of year, when the streets are wet, the worms start crawling out onto the MUPS and roadways. This is when you're washing dead worms off the bottom of the downtube. Or if you don't wash them off in time, you're scraping dried crud of worms off the bike...

Luis

Squirrels may be cute, but they're just rodents; and rodents are the rightful prey of higher predators such as crows and buzzards. I'm glad to hear nobody was hurt this time. (The squirrel doesn't count.)

The only difference between a squirrel and a rat is the squirrel has a better publicist. I don't call them squirrels. I call them tree rats.

When I lived Schaumburg IL, they had rats-with-wings, aka "Canadian geese".
Crapped all over every square foot of horizontal surface.
It was so bad that Motorola on at least one occasion called in industrial cleaners to
hose down the parking lot due to goose crap being tracked indoors.

I don't try to run over any critter. But I've gotten 1 dog, 1 opossum, a couple of cats and near misses with a raccoon, a goose, a rabbit, a couple of squirrels and a skunk. I stayed upright in all cases except the dog. That was a painful encounter.

+ the Cometa Exact Heavy, 10.4 grain in .177.

Was riding my 35 pound steel wheeled 1970's Free Spirit today when two squirrels tried to cross then recross in front of me. One hit my rear wheel, thump, it ran off into the rocks. I don't think i would have went down if i hit it with my front wheel, its good ole heavy guage steel.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. I saw a squirrel take 2 shots from a small caliber air rifle. It then ran up a tree, jumped to another, then ran all the way up that one. At which point it expired. Later examination showed the first shot had taken out it's heart, the second all but severed it's neck, but it still ran up 2 trees for at least 15 seconds. Tough little critters.