6/20/14 5:06 AM

In the past, while cycling, I've run over dogs and had to dodge cows and kangaroos and even the occasional snake, but this was a first: On Wednesday morning I was riding downhill on a bike path in quite thick fog, and a pair of Red Wattlebirds (they're about half the size of a feral pigeon) came flying towards me from the left, with the second bird appearing to be chasing the first just above ground level. I don't think the first bird saw me until it was too late, but it actually managed to fly under my bottom bracket, between the front and rear wheels. Its wing hit the back of my front wheel, but it kept flying and went up into a nearby tree, so I don't think it was much if at all injured.

6/20/14 6:38 AM

That's one lucky Wattlebird. Pretty acrobatic move.

Regarding the other critters you've encountered, considering you're location, it's the snakes that would make me crazy. There are some pretty dangerous snakes down there.

6/20/14 7:43 AM

I understand that a snakebit tire won't survive more than a few minutes if not patched immediately.

6/20/14 8:06 AM

I once had a cat successfully dodge between the front and rear tires of my motorcycle, quite a feat considering the short wheelbase and low stance of the small bike (1977 RD400).
Was traveling about 30mph at the time, heading into Yorktown Heights.

I looked back and saw the cat make it to the other side of the road, tail intact!

Short-wheelbase cat, I guess.

6/20/14 9:05 AM

"Short-wheelbase cat, I guess."

May have spent 2 lives on that one...

6/20/14 11:00 AM

An argument for a high bottom bracket....

6/20/14 11:10 AM

I had two chipmunks do that once. Coming from opposite sides of the road, they crossed simultaneously under the bottom bracket, almost head on, inches apart. Like the freakin' Blue Angels or something. It was so precise, they must have planned it.

6/20/14 11:55 AM

"It was so precise, they must have planned it."

LOL, But did you stop and check for droppings? ;)

6/21/14 7:00 PM

We had a cat hit the side of our pace line as it did a high speed road crossing (running from something apparently). It caught a rider's rear wheel spokes and was lifted up into the air and flung to the side of the road in the direction of its original "bee line." The cat actually got higher than the head of the riders. It was quite the stunning sight from further back in the pace line.

6/21/14 7:04 PM

I had a darting squirrel slam into the side of my rear Zipp 404 back in NJ years ago. I remember thinking I was glad it was such a tall rim so as not to have him get in and scooped up.

6/25/14 10:37 AM

Same thing happened on my front 404. Squirrel slammed head-first into it. VERY lucky I had a tall rim....the same year I saw a dude at the now-defunct Millionaire's Row SR in Williamsport, PA get a squirrel in his front spokes. Ugly on all accounts. Squirrel was crushed and bent through the fork and of course the guy went flying over the bars....

6/25/14 11:37 AM

A pigeon hit my chain and crankset and feathers went flying. But it was nowhere to be found when I went back to look for it.

Had a six inch crayfish crossing the road in front of me once. I stopped and put it in my saddlebag to show my kids at home. Then returned it to the lake from whence it came.

6/25/14 1:22 PM

"Had a six inch crayfish crossing the road in front of me once. I stopped and put it in my saddlebag to show my kids at home. Then returned it to the lake from whence it came."


If your location/tag said Norleans, LA, may have been a different outcome for the crawdad... ;)

6/25/14 1:47 PM

quote:

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If your location/tag said Norleans, LA, may have been a different outcome for the crawdad... ;)

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6/25/14 2:43 PM

A 6 incher probably looks like a small lobster. I saw about an 8 incher once in my pond, damndest looking thing. The dogs like to hunt them.

6/25/14 3:00 PM

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where are you from that you call them "crawdads"

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6/25/14 3:12 PM

Sally seems to have more wild life encounters than I...go figure. Two memorable ones. First, in a real fast group, so fast the only way she could hang in was to be in the aerobars a groundhog ran directly in front of her, she never missed a beat, just ran over it with both front and rear wheels and continued on her way in the aerobars...after that no one ever dared to complain if she used them IN the group.

Last year she had a Canada goose decide he just had to cross in front of her, on his feet...after banging into her front wheel several times before she managed to slow enough he passed and continued on his way. It was only when she got home that she noticed she and her bike were covered with feathers. Since it was a commuter bike it never gets cleaned (belt drive and internal gears) and a year later you could STILL find some feathers stuck here and there.

I once had an encounter with a Canada goose who for some reason was flying along the ditch at the edge of the road about 6 feet off the ground. Scared the shit out of me as he came up behind me, then as he passed I picked up the pace to stay with him. He eventually dropped my sorry ass when I got tired of doing 50 kph. It was crazy because he made it look so effortless, like he could do it all day and probably for thousands of miles too.

6/25/14 3:36 PM

"a year later you could STILL find some feathers stuck here and there"

LOL, don't you clean them every year or two, even if they don't need it? ;)

6/25/14 3:54 PM

Instructional video:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hBOzsqk7SNs

I love this song.

6/25/14 5:15 PM

Several years back we came across a cray (they're known locally as yabbies) walking down a quiet suburban street about half a kilometre from where we live. It would have been about eight inches long. I manoeuvred it into a plastic bag and took it to a nearby large garden that I knew had a couple of ponds, where I released it and took this photo. I subsequently found out that yabbies can walk quite large distances - several kilometres if needed - across country between waterholes:

6/25/14 7:19 PM

You get a line and I'll get a pole, honey, honey

You get a line and I'll get a pole, babe, babe

You get a line and I'll get a pole,

We'll go down to the crawdad hole,

Honey, baby, mine.


Sing it!

6/26/14 8:03 AM

"A white sport coat and a pick crustacean"

Compliments of Jimmy Buffett.....

6/26/14 7:24 PM

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I understand that a snakebit tire won't survive more than a few minutes if not patched immediately.

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