soccerpig70

Snakes. I have seen them in the past but this year they are everywhere. Where i am at most likely water moccasins. lots of bayous. Deer, hawks, turtles, rabbits, skunk, squirrels who cant figure out what the heck they want to do and an occassional gator if i really look for it.

MrCharlie

I saw a turkey dressed up as a cowboy with a lasso and everything riding a horse. Granted, it was a statue outside of a restaurant, but still very bizarre. It is near my mother-in-law's old place outside of Syracuse, NY. Meant to grab a picture but never got around to it.

slowride454

A couple of weeks ago I almost got hit by a deer running at full gallop. It crossed the road about 6 feet in front of me.

alexaschwanden

I have seen, dogs, ducks, squirrels, raccoons, snakes, cats, frogs.

Mountain Mitch

Pretty much 'National Geographic (North)' around here. Marmots, deer and coyotes are common. Moose occasionally; lynx, bobcat, weasels a pine martin. Full range of vultures, hawks and eagles - last year a hawk nearly flew into my head as I came down a steep hill. Several black bears - never a grizzly although we have them around here. Last year a black bear came down off a bank and was directly in front of me on the road. I stopped about 50 yards back and my wife, who was following me road right up to him! He crossed the road to the river and my wife and I had a discussion about 'the plan' since I would have felt duty bound to try and rescue her!

But of them all, getting smoked by a speeding deer is one of my biggest concerns. They come up onto the road so fast.

danmc

You need to post this on the A&S forum. There's too much hand wringing over there about getting killed by drivers and not enough about bear attacks.

dalava

According to my dr and blood test results, apparently I encountered one or more deer ticks.

danmc

We need to get a full-blown argument going over which helmet gives the best protection for grizzly attacks. Of course no helmet is probably much of a challenge to them, it would be like cracking a walnut to get to our brains.

KenshiBiker

I see numerous deer almost every morning on my commute - they're all gone in the afternoon when I head home. Tukeys (this morning I say a couple of hens with a chick in the grass), Canadian Geese (I think the park they hang out at is on the flyway) and ducks (Mallards I think - the ones with the shiny green heads), snakes (moreso in the afternoon), rabbits, quail/partridge (I don't know the difference - they have a little dangling thing over their head). Then there are the feral chickens in the village I ride through. Honestly I didn't know chickens could fly - but that bothers me less than thinking that they can climb trees I suppose. Finally I saw a coyote crossing the trail this morning - haven't seen one in a while.

danmc

They can fly, they can climb, they'll cut you if they get the chance. Not many men live to tell tales of encountering the "feral chickens"...

Ricanfred

Too many deers, few coons, few coyotes, hawks, some field mice, plenty turkeys, owl, aggressive geese, lots of duck, squirrels and.......

JonnyHK 

Baby wombats are the cutest things - evidence here.

There are a few places in HK where there are great big troops of monkeys alongside (and crossing) the roads. A couple of guys say they've seen some big adult monkeys stand tall and stop/direct the car traffic to allow the females and young monkeys to cross the road.

fuel0707

On a the past few rides here in OH, we've encountered several deer, a few squirrels and a chipmunk that got the scare of its life when a buddy and I passed on either side of it. Also saw a small garter snake on the trail this weekend. I missed the little snake by a few inches. However, my wife got a direct hit on it a moment later.

kaisersling

I live in black bear country (yes, in New Jersey) and see them on a nearly daily basis. I think I will get a go pro specifically to film the bears i encounter on my rides...and to film my eventually demise as a midday bear snack. I actually love the bears and they have been completely harmless, so far. I hi-fived one on during my hill work the other day.

Paul Y.

Beautiful animal for sure.

Paul Y.

Lots of snapping turtles (I try to get them off the road.) A huge beaver. Plenty of snakes.

Machka 

It was still out there when we rode past yesterday. It's probably moved out of "baby" phase, but still quite young.


I like the echidnas.

jeepseahawk

This little bugger beat me in a hill climb one night.

Mountain Mitch

Our bears are usually pretty good too and my Labrador is actually friendly with them. However, to be on the safe side, I modified my water bottle holder to hold a can of bear spray 'just in case'. We have a young mother with two small cubs living just below us and I worry that she may panic and do something stupid if I come on her suddenly on a trail.

bsektzer

Here in the East Bay, we've got a pretty varied roster of critters you're likely to spot once you get past the urban sprawl. Coyotes and ground squirrels are probably most common, and both can be annoying since one tends to chase the other right out in front of me. Then there's the plethora of Red Tailed hawks and Turkey vultures above and the odd Corn snake below. Finally it seems a Bobcat or two have taken up residence in the Mt Diablo area. I haven't sen them myself, but one of my riding partners got a picture of one in a dry drainage canal at the base of the mountain yesterday.

turkey9186

Riding Tuesday in the hills between Napa and Vacaville. A doe and fawn. A rattle and gopher snake warming up at the side of the road. A raven snacking on some other kind of snake in the middle of the road. A bunch of lizards, more heard than seen. Two vultures snacking on a deer at the side of the road. Turkeys, peacocks, and guinea hens. And a fox carrying a still twitching rabbit back to her den.
I haven't seen any bobcats in the the area this year. Did see one last year.

danmc

I'm planning on riding in Allegany State Park this weekend so maybe I'll have some good reports. Of course, in the spirit of one-upsmanship here on the 41 I may book trips to Madagascar or the Galapagos Islands in the future...

kbhenze

I saw my mother-in-law walking up to my front door as I returned home form a ride one day....That was scary

kraftwerk 

Mt. biking solo in VT forrest: Bear cubs. Real cute ones... and they looked scared but I looked even more scared. You know Momma Bear must have been nearby.

Also in woods near a busy highway: Baby Fawn it was heading right for the road (!) walked right by me.. I was stopped at the time and off the bike. Picked it up and turned it around like you do with a crawling baby, and it headed back into the forrest..
Then I saw Mom and she was pissed at me. Take care of your own kids I said...

danmc

You need to carry pepper spray for those situations.