Rattlesnakes: Avoiding / Dealing With
 

For better or worse, I ride mostly by myself (in rattlesnake country). I realize the risk of snakes is always apparent anytime you're off-road. But as fall / winter approaches, I suspect many of of my local trails will become a little more overgrown with greener brush. I know it's inevitable that I'll encounter something venomous at some point, but are there any ways to mitigate the risks whilst riding?

It may be a rattler sprawled out across the trail I can see (if I am lucky) or worse – one I startle unintetionally. Check out this video:


*This second rider was pretty lucky.
As was this guy:

[video]https://youtu.be/R00AkdaNgP0?t=97[/ame]

Because I'm typically solo I try and be mindful of avoiding the risks, relatively speaking. Especially deep in a canyon by myself. But there's always those blind crests or turns I worry about, particularly on sunny days.

Can anyone intelligently speak to tips to avoiding rattlers on rides, their behavior in general, and/or how best to deal with taller brush that could be hiding some unwelcome surprises. How does rain and cooler climate add or take away from the problem?

Ironically the only snake I've ever encountered so far was on a road bike (dead in the road)

they typically want to be left alone. And the is probably the best way to deal with them. I come across them and simply avoid them. Had one on a hot summer night right in the middle of a single track I stopped at a safe distance backed away and chose another route

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...5963453&type=3

Sorry can't seem to get the image.

But it shows that it is very rare to be bitten by rattlesnakes, 3/4 of the bites are dry and contain no venom, and that you are ten times more likely to be hit by lightening.

It is like you have to go out of your way or be very unlucky to be bitten.

Most snakes are shy. I've been camping and hiking many times in the small area of Ontario where rattlers exist, and I've never seen or heard one. They are a protected species.

That video was scary! Mainly because I'm pretty sure I've been on that trail (or very similar ones). Rattlesnakes are most active around dusk, so if you're in rattlesnake territory, avoid riding an hour before and after sunset.

Cold mornings are much better, even if you see a snake, its likely a popsicle and less likely to do something.

The reason most bites are dry, and why there is a belief that baby vipers are more poisonous than adults, is because as vipers mature they gain control of their poison and learn what is prey and what is not. So bites that are to ward off threats usually contain no poison. Baby snakes are not more poisonous, but they have little or no control so they release poison whether they are feeding or not.

I am not afraid of snakes, but I have a good respect for them and do my best to stay away from any poisonous creature. That video is a good reason to learn how to do a serious bunny hop.

A few years ago I was riding my road bike solo on a popular 37 mile loop near my home. I was crossing the summit of Round Mountain and there was a 3+ foot long rattler stretched across the road. I chose to pass him on the tail end of his body, near the edge of the pavement, about a foot or so from his tail. He turned and struck at me but missed. Not by much, but enough. I will always pass in front of the head if I ever have this situation again. He will not be able to strike forward if stretched out. Heads or tails? Always choose heads.

Passing a rattler...LOL
They can strike about half their length when coiled and ready, less when not ready..,,I said about. !!

Are you going to measure one ? I don't think so.

I've come up on more than a few, I don't get close enough to get struck at, the poison will rot the meat off your bones,

Remember your at or near max heart rate at the time and far from help.

So no I won't pass over or near one, I choose life with all my meat :P

If you can't safely pass by simply stop, at a safe distance,, say at least double his length, be smart,,triple his length and go silent and still. He 'see's' heat and movement only. so IF you move,,move away.
Make no mistake here, he can see you standing there all sweating, gulping air.

If you remain perfectly still and silent he will uncoil and go on his way.

It's funny, I've heard the exact opposite from different people. I can see the logic of both. I tend to agree with someone else in this thread — where possible I'll just give them a very wide berth. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I encounter one. Hopefully I am not on a narrow bit of trail.

Rattlers are a common sight on my rides in the Summer. Only very close encounter I had was on a singletrack with two other guys. I was second in line. Guy up front spotted the snack on the track and stopped ten foot past. Of course all i saw was my buddy stopping and I pulled up right behind and next to the critter. Snake just turned around and went back in the bushes. Didn't rattle at me either. Took a minute or so to get me heart rate back down. We now have a hand signal for snake!

First day on this forum and I find a thread that makes me never want to get on singletrack again. lol

I havent dealt with any timber rattlers here in LA, but we would see diamondbacks in TX regularly enough. If you stop far enough away, theyll usually go on about their way and you can keep on with your ride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGyMe6YIAs8

I couldn't resist

Man that kid had a heck of a reaction time. He was pretty much on top of it before he decided to do anything! And he still managed to miss it. Very surprising.

Given the choice, I'd choose to pass the head of a stretched out snake. I imagine the tail (or something close to it) like a pivot, with the mouth able to reach anywhere within the length of the snake around that pivot. Therefore passing 1 foot from the mouth is much safer than passing 1 foot from the tail.

Honestly though I'd probably bunny hop it if I didn't notice it 'till I was right on top of it.

Dude, I see gators regularly. Especially this time of year, where it is the 70s and 80s during the day but down in the 50-60s at night.

Now, I know what youre thinking... Hes a roadie, where the heck does he see gators?

Like any cold blooded animal, they sit up on the road shoulders in the evenings to warm up. I ride after work, which means a lot of evening and night rides. My 700 lumen headlight is worth its weight in gold sometimes. :)

Cool thread,,this 'Critter thread' I dig it :P

This is very similar to my experience when I lived in Eastern WA. Heard a ton of them, saw some of them, never even got close to getting bit. And, according to one doc I talked to, virtually nobody dies these days from a rattler bite that goes and gets treatment.

This is true but again I must stress,, We are pumping our legs, lungs and heart on our bikes. This is vastly different from a walk in the tall grass or picking around the wood pile out behind the paint shed~

so long time agohttp://laissezachats.net/71/o.png

Used to come across them all the time in late Spring and early Fall, when trail running in the Bay Area near Crystal Springs Reservoir. One day I spotted five on or near the trail. Babies. I was getting sick to my stomach, lol. Another time I almost stepped on one coming through a rocky section - suddenly my stride lengthened by a couple of feet as the adrenaline hit, haha. But never really any danger, nor have I even seen one coiled up except as a kid. Only have seen a couple while on the mountain bike, and those were in the Sacramento foothills.

Here in the Philippines there are poisonous sea snakes, mountain vipers and pythons, I've only seen the last and they don't bite. If you do get bit by a viper though, you're dead because they don't stock anti venom in the hospitals and a viper bite here will generally kill you in 30-45 min. Of course they're rare. In Australia I've heard there's a snake that is very aggressive and will *chase* you.

When I was a bloodthirsty kid, I would have done violence to it from out of range.

Now I guess I'd just ride way around.

I started riding in north Florida where the trails are tight and snakes are common. If you have a chance to avoid one, obviously that's the best tactic, but when I rounded a corner and there's a snake in the trail and I'm trucking along at 15 mph or whatever, I lift the front and put it down on its head. Rolling over it means it doesn't have a path to strike at you. I don't care for bashing on the heads of little critters, but this isn't a fight I plan to lose again; I managed to get bit while scouting a trail, completely ignoring my surroundings, and snake bites are not any fun. They're pretty durable, too. I've seen them run over by motorcycles and scurry away unhappily.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=494430

The worst part about seeing a snake on trail for me is that every root in the trail becomes a snake for the next hour.

I've had a couple of them strike at me, but both were on pavement. One was on a bike path through the Monterey sand dunes and the other was on a rural road south of Castro Valley. They frequently stretch out on roads to warm up and are usually pretty easy to spot. I saw both of these and correctly judged that I was passing them at a safe distance (but apparently they thought I was too close).

Damn you actually got bit by a rattler? Or? Did you get airlifted and the whole thing?

It was a copperhead, but they're basically the same family. I walked about a mile to get out of the woods and went to the ER where they looked at me and prescribed pain meds (that I couldn't afford). The pain is intense but dwindles after three or four days. A week later I was on the same trail, with a limp and a shotgun.

Wow, crazy. So then was it a dry bite? You didn't have to inject any of the antivenin?

I guess it was "dry." I didn't ask. :) I know it wasn't enough to kill me! There was definitely some venom, though; My foot swelled so much the skin hurt, and my ankle was bigger around than my knee.