Lemond1985

stardognine

That’s just sick. 😁 My nephew & I found a couple frogs once, that were mating, and apparently they got stuck together pretty good. He tried to pick one up, but got both. 🙄 I hope that wasn’t too painful, for the frogs. 🤔😉

trailangel

I don't like them.

stardognine

Here’s a dead baby, on the trail near Arvin, CA. Just saw this about half an hour ago, at the end of a long ride. I figure a Jeep ran it over, saw a few of those along the trail.

indyfabz

Young one with a little baby rattle on the Lehigh Gorge Trail in PA.

indyfabz

There is no penetration in virtually all frog mating. The male climbs on the female's back and clasps her midsection. He fertilizes the eggs as she releases them.

The horseshoe crab mates in a similar way. The smaller male hooks onto the back of the larger female. She drags him up on the beach. The then digs a burrow and deposits eggs, which he fertilizes. It's a prehistorical mating ritual. Most years I do a ride that stops at a beach on the Delaware Bay to see them.

Lemond1985

You would think that after hundreds of millions of years, those crabs might think of some way to "spice things up a bit", but apparently they are quite happy with the status quo, and it seems to be working.

stardognine

Cool stuff there. 👍 My ex was from Baltimore, so I’ve had a few crabs, lol. 😁 I still don’t know much about cooking them, that’s like an art form to some people, but I can sure eat some. Kinda slow though, compared to the locals, I kinda sorta like to skip the “mustard”. 😁😉

indyfabz

You'd starve trying to eat horseshoe crabs. There is not much to them but exoskeleton. However, their blood is used in medicine. Programs of catch and release and a limit on harvesting is helping their numbers improve. There is a volunteer group that operates around part of the bay. The members free crabs that get caught in the rocks and around piers and cannot free themselves.

DropBarFan

On a local MUP next to the river a "black snake" was sunning itself on the path, a teenage pedestrian girl was terrified, a nice biker guy finally convinced her to let him walk her past it. Never seen a venomous snake in the wild though.

Lemond1985

"Limits on harvesting"? Wow, I can't believe would try to eat one of those, I don't think they're even kosher, but they're such an ancient species, maybe they're grandfathered in.

The only 2 possible uses (that I can see) for those are, 1.) Science classes, and 2.) Making a fake Klingon forehead.

cyccommute 

Neither of those are the reason for the limits on harvesting. The blood of the horseshoe crabs contain ameocyte which can be used to detect bacterial endotoxins for pharmaceutical testing. It is being replaced by synthetic materials and different methods.

Clyde1820

Lake Castaic area, in the Angeles National Forest in California?

Lived in the region for years. Lots of great spots for critters ... particularly rattlers.

indyfabz

As noted, their blood is used in the medical field. I believe they are also used as bait.

Lemond1985

Wow, how could I have not foreseen they'd be used for that? It's so obvious, when you think about it!

stardognine

Don’t feel bad, some of us have to be the dummies around here. 😁😉 Hey, here’s a cool street sign, coming into Bakersfield. 😎 Give this person that names streets a gold star for the day. Too many people get that job, and can’t do it very well. 🙄😉

indyfabz

Somewhere on my computer I have photos of Crop Cir. and Unexpected Rd.

stardognine

Dr. Crane, I presume? 🤔 I don’t know for sure if this guy’s a crane or not, that’s just my best guess. When I found out the main road, highway 99, had a detour for road work, I found the Kern River bike trail, and this guy. Since I’m tall & skinny too, I didn’t scare him off, and he just pretty much ignored me, even while I got his pic. 😎

stardognine

I found a nice shady spot to rest, and made friends with some domesticated horses. That pink-looking one, with the red face-mask (?), was rolling around in the dirt, like some dogs like to do. 😁 I know, they do that, so the dust keeps the bugs away, but it looks like they’re just being silly, to me. 🤔😁😉

stardognine

Here’s another snake, with no rattle this time. This one crept up on me, while I was taking a breather, and got around 10 feet away. I threw some pizza crusts away from myself, for some birds in the trees, and almost hit this dude, lol. 🙄😉

Lemond1985

Well, I guess I won't ask if you, if know how it feels, to walk the streets of Bakersfield.

stardognine

Yeah, there’s definitely a Country & Western vibe going on there, especially in the suburbs. Or downtown. 😁 But certain neighborhoods also have a hippie kinda vibe, like Oildale (?).

Kinda off-topic, but there are some real jackasses around there too, like security guards overstepping the boundaries of their jobs. I told a couple of them what I thought of them, but they weren’t interested in a fair “confrontation”. They just like bullying people. 🙄👎

Either way, I got out of there today, almost halfways to Visalia now. 😎

indyfabz

Look what a Glacier National Park plowing crew encountered recently.

#SocialDistancingSavesLives

stardognine

Look Ma, it’s a bearskin rug, and it’s still warm!!! 😁

Hey, Visalia has a bike shop that’s open! 😎 I finally got some Park Tools grease, and some shiny new V-brakes. 😁 V-brake pads are like $6.99 a set, or a set of the whole brakes (Origin 8, but still decent), for $12.99. No brainer. 🙂

Lemond1985

Excellent!

From Visalia, if you stay on Highway 198 East for about 35-40 miles, it will take you to Sequoia Park. Which looked much like the photo above, as recently as last month. That's where I originally thought the photo was taken. That road tops out at 7700 feet, but it's a National Park, so you have to pay to get in. Definitely worth checking out if you have not seen it.

https://pjammcycling.com/climb/152.H...39;s%20Highway

It's an epic climb.