Hitchhiker?

[wildhawk]

On our training ride today, DH and I were visited by one of the park’s pesky patrons. She went through all of her cutest antics trying in vain to get a chunk of our Clif bar. Then she went over to my bike and placed her foot there as if to say, “Can I have a ride?”.

[sbctwin]

I know there are some who dislike squirrels, but I get a kick out of 'em :D.

[Aggie_Ama]

It is actually investigating the proper way to run out and take you down in the process. I like them as long as they are very far from me! I have known two people to have pretty spectacular crashes and injuries from Kamakazi squirrels. Be careful of them, they have evil thoughts. :p

[short cut sally]

That is sooooo cute.. HOw could you resist all that cuteness???
Reminded me that while on yesterdays ride, there was a big road side billboard with the words " Save the Squirrell", a pic of a squirrell and I think maybe Monroe Muffler or someone that teamed up and with the local college are having a awareness or benefit day. They are too cute, but mighty destructive if they get in your dwellings...

[OakLeaf]

I have known two people to have pretty spectacular crashes and injuries from Kamakazi squirrels.

This is probably going to get me a rash of !@#$ here...

so I'll preface it by saying that absolutely I will brake and come to a complete stop if necessary, if the squirrel is far enough ahead of me that I can do that safely. And absolutely I still feel bad about the groundhog I ran over with my motorcycle 14 years ago.

But there are times with a small wild animal like that that you've just got to run over it, unless you really believe that its life is worth more than yours. (And possibly the lives of the people behind you, if you're riding in close quarters.) Bike straight up and down, don't look at the squirrel (target fixation as much as any emotional issues). Trying to respond to a squirrel's instantaneous changes of direction at the same time you're braking and trying to stay on two wheels is a recipe for disaster.

[Susan126]

Very cute squirrel but I have a fear of them whenever I see one while on my bike. My friend had a squirrel run in front of her 11 years ago while she was coming down a hill. She tried to avoid it but it did this crazy back and forth indecisive dance and she hit it. She went over her handlebar and broke her jaw. It took her a long long time to get back on her bike. And that image of my friend's jaw always pops into my mind whenever I see a squirrel on the road. And believe me we have a lot of those little buggers here!

[Aggie_Ama]

The one I am really thinking of is a guy who was on my husband's college cycling team. Our university and the neighborhoods around it are lined with oaks, grand oaks full of squirrels! This guy was leaving campus heading to the historic district when a psycho squirrel bolted out, through his front wheel. He endoed, tacoed the tire, broke his collarbone and sprained his ankle. Plus he had tons of road rash and grossly a dead squirrel wedged between the steel fork and his tire. :eek: Sorry for the graphic description but I seriously get nervous with those little guys.

I have also seen a squirrel break a carbon fork and the rider with some of the nastiest road rash ever. Don't know the status of his attacker, he was just in the LBS.

I am pretty sure the insurance company was on the mark with the squirrels playing chicken ad a couple years ago. Might have been a car company but the squirrels are in the road to terrorize the motorists and high five when the car runs off the road?

[kfergos]

I think I hit a chipmunk a while ago. It dashed right between my front and rear wheels; I didn't want to crash, but I did feel a kind of thump from my rear tire, so... :( I felt bad, but at least I didn't end up like the guy in Aggie_Ama's story! (ew)

I do have a squirrel story, but not biking related. In Mt. Rainier National Park, we were sitting in the parking lot at a visitor's center eating apples. A squirrel ran up my mom's leg and arm, grabbed her apple, and made off with it. We just sat in shock as it disappeared into the bushes.

[Lifesgreat]

Squirrels are cute when my bicycle isn't moving :) That is a cute picture.



It is actually investigating the proper way to run out and take you down in the process. I like them as long as they are very far from me! I have known two people to have pretty spectacular crashes and injuries from Kamakazi squirrels. Be careful of them, they have evil thoughts. :p


Your story reminded me of these pictures I saw a while ago. Caution- injured rider and dead squirrel pictures ahead-no gore though. Most pictures show the damage a squirrel can do to a bicycle.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dbiked/BrotherSBikeCrash?authkey=iOs1rM3MJzo

[Fujichants]

That is so cute but you can see he's up to some mischief.

I hope he went back to his squirrel friends and said: "I touched the two-wheeled machine and it didn't do me any harm. Perhaps we have to re-consider our attack methods."

Yeah right!

[kfergos]

Your story reminded me of these pictures I saw a while ago. Caution- injured rider and dead squirrel pictures ahead-no gore though. Most pictures show the damage a squirrel can do to a bicycle.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dbiked/BrotherSBikeCrash?authkey=iOs1rM3MJzo

I just hope the squirrels never get organized. That one by himself did enough damage.

[PscyclePath]

I am pretty sure the insurance company was on the mark with the squirrels playing chicken ad a couple years ago. Might have been a car company but the squirrels are in the road to terrorize the motorists and high five when the car runs off the road?

I remember that commercial, and was rooting for the squirrels.

I like squirrels... I encounter them just about every day on my commute, and chat with them as we roll along. Yep, I slow down when they get a little squirrelly and aren't sure which way to run, and I haven't hit one yet. I have hit a German shepherd and a deer, and for that matter I still like dogs and deer better than I like a whole lot of folks.

I think Yehuda has the right philosophy here, and it's a pretty poignant little cartoon:

http://www.yehudamoon.com/images/strips/2008-09-23.gif

Rick Smith, who draws Yehuda, seems to like squirrels too, since they seem to be a recurring theme in the strip...

Tom

[coyote]

{{{{{shudder}}}}}
NO, NO NOT the SQUIRRLES :eek:
I was walking thru a park with a shopping cart. A pack of those buggers chased after me. I ended up throwing them my box of donuts and making a run for it. I didn't stop till I was a couple blocks from the park. The stuff nightmares are made of.

[wildhawk]

Wow - thanks for the responses. And I also have to deal with squirrels every single day on that trail - they are basically obnoxious in the way they dart to and fro, but I have learned to make a combo hiss sound at them and they run off the trail completely. I guess I sound like a huge cat and probably look like one too. I just thought it was a cute pose - we were stopped under a shelter having a snack. Most of the squirrels in that park are used to the seniors hand feeding them - one of my pet peeves BTW. Today when I stopped one of them started climbing my leg and I hissed at him and off he ran. It works. BTW, when I finished my twenty mile ride and was leaving the park, I saw a dead squirrel - I guess he made a dash in front of a car for the last time.

[Aggie_Ama]

Ahhh my Pawpaw fed the squirrels that came in his backyard, amused him to no end. The problem was he passed and no one kept it up. I always wondered if they were too spoiled and died by not knowing to go get their own food. I hope not.

[wildhawk]

Aggie,
Your Pawpaw sounds a lot like mine - he was an old Blue Ridge Mountain man and had a real love of animals. He once had an owl land on his shoulder after he called to it. I guess that’s where I get my love of nature and animals - from him. Precious memories.

[Aggie_Ama]

An owl?! HOw cool is that? My Pawpaw had a cat for 18 years that "just showed up". Yeah right, he started feeding it and it never left as cats tend to do. Pawpaw was buried with DC's (damn cat- really his name) ashes, kinda weird unless you knew Pawpaw then you would laugh at that stupid box of ashes.

BTW- I really enjoy your photos and stories. Reminds me to stop, smell the roses, say hi to the critters. All the good things about being out in the open air! ;)

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I saw a red squirrel on my last mtn bike ride a couple of weeks ago. Very neat.

I had a porcupine in my wedding party but I'll save that story for another day...

I guess after years of working in wildlife rehab I would rather trash my bike and break my neck than run one over. Oh well. I don't go that fast so it shouldn't be too bad of a crash...I already missed a deer. How did we go from look at the cute squirrel to road kill anyway?!;)

[Aggie_Ama]

I don't mind them mountain biking because I am so darn slow no way I couldn't stop! But they are scary because they are more hidden. I think I jacked it to road kill, sorry.

I am scared of them but not as scared as the cows in the Hill Country. Open range ranches are some scary stuff when you are cycling, does everyone realize how easy cows spook? At least a squirrel only weighs 2-3 lbs not several hundred (thousand?) pounds. At least they usually aren't longhorn cattle out open range. :eek:

[Midmichigangal]

On Thursday while I was collecting shopping carts at Meijer I found a dead squirrel in the parking lot by a cart corral. Another co-worker disposed of the squirrel. I have no ideal how the squirrel got there because I never see squirrels around Meijer. My only theory is that he came off some-one's car. The squirrel was laying belly side up.

[Trekhawk]

Oh that is a cute pic!
I miss squirrels back here in Australia but I must admit they have given me a scare or two in the States on my bike. Hmm I also remember them digging in my pot plants:mad:.
Hey lucky they are so cute.:)

[Fujichants]

{{{{{shudder}}}}}
NO, NO NOT the SQUIRRLES :eek:
I was walking thru a park with a shopping cart. A pack of those buggers chased after me. I ended up throwing them my box of donuts and making a run for it. I didn't stop till I was a couple blocks from the park. The stuff nightmares are made of.

LOL! Sorry, it must have been terrifying, but I can just imagine it!

[Grog]

Oh that is a cute pic!
I miss squirrels back here in Australia but I must admit they have given me a scare or two in the States on my bike. Hmm I also remember them digging in my pot plants:mad:.
Hey lucky they are so cute.:)

No squirrels in Australia? :eek: I hear there are no woodpeckers either. But you got lots of creatures to replace them! You can think of kangaroos as squirrels, only a little bigger.......

[deeaimond]

No squirrels in Australia? :eek: I hear there are no woodpeckers either. But you got lots of creatures to replace them! You can think of kangaroos as squirrels, only a little bigger.......

imagine what the carnage would be if you hit a kangaroo...

[Trekhawk]

No squirrels in Australia? :eek: I hear there are no woodpeckers either. But you got lots of creatures to replace them! You can think of kangaroos as squirrels, only a little bigger.......

Nope no squirrels in Aust or woodpeckers or unfortunately humming birds. I sure do miss those little zippy guys. We do have lots of our own great animals though and I am glad to see Kookaburras again their laugh makes me smile.:)