Rider_1

I ran over a squirrel today for the first time. I didn't see it until the last second. It was to the right of me, on the side of the path. Instead of running into the bushes on the right, it ran left, under my wheels. It was creepy. When I looked back it was gone, and there was no blood or guts, either on my bike or the path. I've run over a few snakes before, but this cast a pall over the rest of the ride.

BlazingPedals

Don't feel bad. If he wasn't left in the path, he is probably okay other than a few sore spots. Besides, rodents are designed by nature to be disposable.

Northwestrider

Don't worry about it, be happy it didn't lead to a crash.

905 

You can console yourself that when cycling, your contribution to roadkill is negligible.


photo taken in my back yard this morning

The oddest encounter I ever had was on a night ride, when a badger ran between my wheels. He was quite nimble (not something badgers are renowned for) to avoid not just tires fore and aft, but pedal strike. He nudged the bike but not enough to topple me dumbfounded from my perch.

Badgers aren't small like squirrels. Here's an illustration of one next to a compact floor pump to give you an idea of their size:

not to scale

WrightVanCleve

Aim for their neck so you don't spoil any meat. Post ride lunch.

Squirrel is good eats.

Looigi

I've eaten squirrel and would be inclined to disagree. Perhaps it's an acquired taste.

Better to run over one that have it get in your spokes and take you out too.

modelmartin

That happened to an aquaintence in New York Central Park. He took it straight to the LBS for entrail removal.

WrightVanCleve

Use bladed spokes with a nice sharp edge.

BlazingPedals

That would be good for dealing with squirrels, not so good if you crashed at speed for some reason.

BobbyG

"Badgers?" Wee don' need no steenkin' badgers!

fietsbob

We had a power outage (Eugene) when a Squirrel formed a ground between the power line and the maple tree.

Tundra_Man 

RIP Trinidad Silva

BlazingPedals

Happens quite often, actually. Something about transformers just begging to be chewed. The repair crews learn to look for the charred squirrel to find the bad transformer.

JohnDThompson 

It could have been a lot worse:

JamesRL

A friend of mine perhaps unwisely swerved to avoid a squirrel that couldn't make up its mind where to go, and ended up breaking three ribs. I think I'd rather be cleaning sticky bits of the drivetrain personally.

Roopull

I am impossibly thankful that you posted that. Until two weeks ago, I had hit precisely one animal in 3 decades of riding... and that animal impact was just what you posted.

I hit a squirrel while going down what we called "thrill hill." Somehow the stupid thing got caught in the fork... this did two things. First, it made a loud buzzing sound as the tread burned against the critter. Second, it sent me flying over the handlebars.

Fortunately for me, the bike was mostly unhurt (old steel bike.)

Fortunately for the squirrel, I couldn't find it after the wreck. I suppose it lived.

I posted my account of my 2nd animal strike in a thread earlier...

alaskanb3arcub

Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger.....

yote223

All of this for a stupid Tree Rat?? It's called "suicide". Simple entertainment for simple.......

LordMarv

My tragic encounter was with...yes, an armadillo! It was dark. I was tired. He darted, I swerved. Too late. Cut the little bugger right in two! Tail one way, snout the other. Cute little guy, he was wearing little cowboy boots. And a hat. Odd, what was he doing way up in Montana? Migrating to Canada? Running from the law? I guess we'll never know. Go ahead, scoff if you must. The wife doesn't believe me either. (Too bad he was sliced in two, might have made a cute handbag for the Mrs.)

clydeosaur

Last week I was leading a group ride. As we came around a corner at a good rate of speed, two chipmunks who were fighting fell out of the tall grass and infront of my wheel. There was no time, and as much as I did not want to hit them, I was not inuring 6 people by braking & swerving. They both got nailed.

syncro87

Out in the woods, up to no good, I wanna make friends with the badger

bikemig 

I had a duck take me down once. I spent a lot of time cleaning duck feathers out of the RD and lost a lot of skin skidding on the cement. I had to pop the front brake off so that my wheel would pass through the fork blades so that I could ride the bike home.

Of course all my riding buddies couldn't leave that one alone for a long, long time . . . .

leicanthrope

Mushroom, mushroom!

Seriously, I'm beginning to think that the best way to avoid hitting squirrels is to aim right for them.

Rider_1

wow. Awesome stories. I never thought about animals getting caught in the front wheel and taking me down. Now I have a new worry!

I didn't see the squirrel I hit until the last second. It was at the side of the path, right where a shaded area starts. With the shade and shadows being cast by branches and leaves, it was like a dazzle pattern obscuring everything. I was in a curve, and I had drifted right to the edge. I had time to stand up and brake, but it was way too late. I saw something that looked like a squirrel with a hairy black tail, followed quickly by two thumps as I hit it squarely with both wheels. Oddly, I don't remember ever thinking that it could have caused an accident. It yielded to the bike, not the bike to it. When I went back to the spot it happened, the squirrel was gone, and there were no blood or guts, but I could hear something a few feet into the bushes making weird, repetitive noises. I'm pretty sure it was dying a painful death. I felt terrible.

JohnDThompson 

Go for 36 spoke wheels so the squirrels can't fit between the spokes. Also, wear trouser clips when mowing the lawn so wasps don't fly up your pants leg.