The damage from one little squirrel.....
 

Well I was involved in my first crash this weekend. And it was all caused by a "DAM" squirrel!

We were in the last 6 miles of a 45 mile ride on Saturday morning. We did 9 pretty decent climbs on the day. There were three of us. Kenny and I were drafting together at 22mph, Kenny leading, and the third was lagging behind just a bit behind. Well, I called "watch out for the squirrel". It was just off the shoulder ahead on the right in a sweeping curve. As Kenny passed by it turned and ran into his front wheel. It caught between the spokesd and his front forks and over the bars he went. I had no time to react. All I remember seeing is him laying on the ground while I think I ran over him. Then I went over my bars and landed on my head off the side of the road. Wow.... what a freak series of events.

I was pretty sore for a couple of days but an feeling much better today. My front wheel (Bortrager Race) and helmet (Giro Pneumo) are history. But no time in the hospital.... I'll take that. The other guy involved, Kenny, got a 2005 Trek Madone 5.9 SL for xmas. It sheered off his front forks, the wheel then hit the carbon fiber down tube and splintered it. Ouch! My loss of a wheel and helmet seem pretty insignificant to that. All from a squirrel.... I still can't get over that. Just thought I would pass my adventure along.

Dude, that's freakish. I'm glad you're all relatively ok. I posted (under "The Ti gods have smiled on me") my Friday crash, so I think I know how you're feeling, though I'm pretty sure somebody else's insurance is gonna' cover me.

I've found that, from time to time, squirrels (and other rodents) are just plain suicidal. You never know what it is: trouble at home, bankruptcy, bad breakup, addiction . . . whatever . . . but when it happens, they're not afraid to take one of us with them.

Weird. Heal fast, ride strong!

what about the poor squirrel?! the monarchs(butterflies) are migrating back north through southern california right now. on my ride yesterday, i rode though a swarm(or they flew into me) and i heard the distinct sound of them being chopped to pieces on my spokes. there were butterfly chunks stuck to my legs and there were a couple of live ones that got caught in my jersey collar. felt kinda bad, but they just come out of nowhere. small beans compared to your squirrel incident, and i wasn't thrown onto my head, either.
just thought i'd chime in.

I noticed a lot of monarchs on the road going thru Santiago Canyon last mon. and a few along Coast Hwy yesterday.

A perfect example of why squirrels should always wear helmets.

I'm glad no one was hurt more seriously though!

Glad you're pretty much ok. That's an expensive way to tendorize a squirrel.

That is maddening. They say the best way to avoid one of those little MOFOS is to head towards them, and they will find a way to miss you. Of course I don't believe it. They are always darting out in front of me causing me moments of concern. It is a shame such a little creature can cause so much harm.

I was on a 44 mile ride with the local club's "A" group. There were three of us left (the rest were dropped), when suddenly a large Rottweiler came running out on the attack. I was pulling, and almost took out the first drafter when I instinctively swerved to avoid the dog. The drafter actually ran over the dog's paws, and was able to stay upright. The adrenalin gave us a boost for the next few miles.

PolishPostal: Sorry to hear about the squirrel attack. He must have been watching those damned Gieco commercials :(. So what options do you and your friend have for getting the bikes repaired. Is there any chance his frame and fork are covered by the Trek warranty?

I've already dropped my front wheel off at the LBS for them to replace the rim.

I think he is looking into his options. I wouldn't think that it would be covered under warranty but it never hurts to check. Maybe Trek would have a little sympathy for him if not.

glad your ok....


I cant stop laughing, this is why I love this forum :D

I'm not quite sure whether to laugh or run screaming. It's really funny in a sick and demented sort of way (just the visual of it).

I was on a ride once and there were a lot of poeple, most of the poeple didn't know how to ride so they were all riding in a big "glob" well, the downhill came and sure enough I was stuck between two riders and a dead skunk right in front of me. I was able to pull a really quick bunny hop and avoid hitting the skunk, sadly though there was slipperyness right past it and I went down. Got a little road rash, but it's better than landing head first in squashed skunk.

Some companies offer a crash replacement policy, hopefully Trek is one of those companies. At least that way he could get a nice discount on a replacement frameset.

I went for a ride in the wet on Saturday. Later that night when I was cleaning my bike I found 4 dried up worms stuck in various places. I wonder how many I ran over without even knowing.

Those squirriels and butterflys work for Geico. Are you insured?

Glad you are okay, sorry about the hardware. I shudder to think of what could have happened. I usuallly look for those guys early and shout out in an effort to get them to move away from the road. They can be so unpredictiable!

"A perfect example of why squirrels should always wear helmets."

I sure hope no one in the California legislature reads that, it'll be law in a month.

I fear them more than I do dogs

http://www.chainreaction.com/squirrels.htm

**** the squirell.

All of them dart out under your, don't even try to avoid it, it'll hit you. Best thing you can do is to slow to 0.000000000001kph until it gets bored, dies and decomposes. Then carry on.

Polish--nasty stuff ma man.
That's one of the dangers of training in a fast pace line....reaction time down and the domino effect.

you will never see one of those little guys again without thinking about this incident.

I always try to scare squirrels away if I see them down the road, because I'm afraid of, well, what happened to you and your pal. Yikes!

Do people sell cycling insurance???

The worst I've had was for a bird to flying into my hand and then fly off. It wasn't too bad but just mad freaky.

Isn't that a federal offence? ;)

In my case, the squirrel ran safely across my path, then decided to stop and make another attempt at clearing the wheels. I ran squarely over his back with both wheels. I saw him scurry off into the bushes. When will evolution teach these squirrels to stay away from mechanical vehicles?

Well I hope you got a good dinner out of it any way. If you haven't cooked him up (the squirrel not your friend) then just say the word and I will check with my hunter buddies for any good recipes. :)

Two words: Brunswick Stew

It's cuz you dont have Geico insurance, them squirles work for them forcing all the other rates up by causing extra accidents

Another reason I do not have or will have a CF frame...

Sorry about the incident, I am glad you were not hurt ore than you were... good luck with the frame.