msincredible

I always see alpacas at the beginning and end of my rides.

(They belong to my next-door neighbor. )

There are llamas down the road too.

And an elephant (oh wait, that one is a life-size sculpture in someone's yard.)

lechat

when riding in fla. i dodge a lot of armadillos. gads of them about right after a shower. little devils can't see very well. keeps you alert.

Harun

i saw a bunny run across the road on my ride today.

also some vultures - must have been some dead stuff lying dead beside the road.

dlester

On the route I take to work I can see anything from bull snakes, rattlesnakes, unleashed dogs, feral cats, cougars (cats and middle-aged women), rabbits, guinea pigs, geese, ducks, and/or groundhogs (these cause the most trouble because they wait until you are right next to them to decide to run across your path).

dlester

If I am mountain biking the list is quite a bit longer.

Brandy

I was taking the kids to the bmx jumps today and we saw a little gopher snake while we were climbing the paved trail. We stopped just past it and I tried to get my camera out in time, but no luck...he was speedy. We also saw lots of lizards, squirrels and bunnies today.

big john

I saw 2 rattlesnakes wrestling at the side of the road. I stopped and watched them and several cars stopped, too. Some sort of mating ritual I guess.
Had a large hawk fly over carrying a 4 foot snake.
On the mtb I saw a large mountain lion down in a gorge. She looked right at me and I sprinted out of there.
On the trail with my ex-wife a large doe jumped up in front of me, went up the hill and turned around, then jumped across the trail, nearly hitting the ex.
Seen a few bears on the road, too.

Brandy

Is it bad that I wanted to see a bear on my solo ride up to Crystal Lake? It would have made my "I climbed GMR, then went all the way up to Crystal Lake alone and with only 200 calories" ride story much more epic if I could have thrown a bear sighting in.

HarryStoddard

A lot of butterflies this time of year, mostly monarchs, red admirals, tiger and pipevine swallowtails. I also was fortunate enough to race a hare a few weeks ago. Oh, and anxiety causing squirrels.

tstrick72

Alligators, a snake that was about 4 inches long (literally) that tried to bite me, turtles, zombees, cows, horses, dead cows. For some reason, I've been seeing skeletons of small animals lately.

StephenH

Thursday night, saw a little coyote on Barnes Bridge Road, not the normal critter for around here.

On my last Saturday ride, I was out in the country, saw some largish animals go across the road far in front of me, but then didn't see them when I got up there- I think they were wild hogs, which are not uncommon out there, might have just been big dogs.

fusatia

Those are some hairy guads... time to shave?

Anyway, I'll throw in a pic or two:

Harun

(s)he's eating your bike!

fordmanvt

Machka 

Bear sightings aren't that dramatic ... most of the time they are just grazing in the ditch and will totally ignore a cyclist.

I took the picture below on July 12, 2008. There were busloads of tourists all over the place taking photos as well ... mainly between me and that bear. I thought it was hilarious when I stopped at a tourist place just up the road, and overheard a concerned tourist say something to her friend about it not being safe for me to be out there on my bicycle ... I might be eaten by bears. Meanwhile, I'm thinking ... if that bear were at all inclined to eat a human (highly unlikely), it would get you first.

roadrider63

Alot of the basics of W. central Ohio....squirrels, rabbits, birds, deer, etc. I once thought I was coming upon a dead groundhog so I was going to ride between it and the edge of the road...about a 1' gap. Just when I was upon it, it decided to run for the ditch (guess it wasn't dead). I rode right over the center of his back. Surprised the he!! out of me...lol.

10 Wheels

Wild pig. Just North of Presidio TX

big john

We were coming down 39 when Rick@ocrr spooked a bear who was in the middle of the road. The bear ran downhill, looked back and saw Rick was still coming and ran some more. After more of this he jumped off the side of the road and took off down the hill.
One time Laura went into the Crystal Lake campground and she came sprinting out when she saw a bear.

Brandy

This is southern California. Bear sightings are dramatic to us. Hell...ANY wildlife sighting is dramatic to us.

Brandy

Yes...it was your bear stories that sparked my "I wanna see a bear" desire.

You still mountain biking Big John?

J.W.

Thats not a wild pig, it is a javelina (or peccary)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peccary

I can up on about 15 whitetails one ride, i dont know who was more suprised.....me or them.

big john

Yeah, when I can get some people off of the road bikes to go with me. Haven't done any 8 hour mtb rides for a long time, though. I still ride it after work sometimes.
I broke my old mtb last year and I bought a cheap one to replace it and it's a tank, over 30 pounds.

Brandy

Mine is at the shop...waiting to be built. Should be ready sometime this week. I'd love to go sometime if you're itching to get off the road!

big john

Sure! I know a nice loop at Chilao where you might see a bear. Maybe 5 hours with a little bit of everything, (no cliffs). Or Wendy and Potrero to the beach and back. Some singletrack but not too technical. Lots of climbing and no bears.
Let me know when you're ready and what type of ride you have in mind. I know there is some good riding in your area but I'm not familiar with those trails.

daredevil