What is the thing you see most on your rides?

[Clare]

I thought this would be a fun survey...I hope I'm not beating an old thread here!....But what thing or things do you see most on your bike rides? It can be anything.
Here's my 2 cents worth~
It seems there are more trucks out there then anything...maybe I notice them the most because they always seem to get a tad bit too close!
and
If I collected gloves, I'd have quite a collection of singles!

[Pedal Wench]

On Monday, my BF and I were riding through one of the ritziest neighborhoods in Atlanta (West Paces Ferry Road) and we saw a HUGE dead rat. It was somewhat comforting to know that even rich folks have problems!

On my usual rides: squirrels, chipmunks, horses, cows, dogs/dogs/dogs, deer, rabbits, occasionally sheep, goats and llamas!

One time, I saw a skydiver almost bite it - pulled out of dive at the very last second.

Oh! And, out in Colorado, we rode past a brand spankin' new foal. Literally minutes old.

[Veronica]

Nice calves. :p

V.

[Nanci]

Gopher Tortoises!!

I love them. As I go by, I always say "Mr. Turtle!!!" and they crouch down like they're all surprised. I ride a lot on Rails-to-Trails, which are the perfect habitat- little sandy hills that they can build their homes in. I love seeing them sitting on their front porches, or out grazing like little armored cows in the rain.

Nanci

[crazycanuck]

Umm would you believe mainly trains, trees and pelicans.


c

[limewave]

Mostly the backsides of the riders in front of me.

[DirtDiva]

Concrete, asphalt, cars, buses, taxis, bricks, traffic lights...

Wish I saw more in the way of trees and leaves and dirt and stuff, but even when I do, I've got to go through all of the above to get there. :o

[MightyMitre]

Hi tlkiwi - am I right in thinking you're based in London. If so , do you ever check out www.londoncyclesport.com. You might be able to hook up with some other London riders and find some greener routes to ride.

Things I see on a ride... rabbits and pheasants.

crazycanuck : Umm would you believe mainly trains, trees and pelicans.
Wow - pelicans!Cool! :)

( For all those UK riders who'd like to see pelicans on their ride check out St. James Park duck pond, London! :D :p )

[Pax]

Wooly worms!!! There are everywhere right now and I weave around like a drunk trying not to squish any of them. :D

Oh and our local weather forecaster does the annual "wooly worm forecast" which predicts the severity of our winter based on the color of the fuzz on the woolys...she's pretty darn accurate too!

[slinkedog]

I'm with limewave. I see the tushies of everyone passing me. Oh, and the most oft heard phrase... "On your left."

[tatormc]

Trees, cows, and dogs. I'm an animal lover so I always say hello to the furry animals!

[Pax]

Trees, cows, and dogs. I'm an animal lover so I always say hello to the furry animals!
Excellent!! On my last ride I stopped next to a small farm and got to watch ostriches, pot bellied pigs, and something that looked like mini-goats, it was great fun! :D

[limewave]

I ride by a llama farm quite often.

And, how can I forget the beautiful beaches and sunsets along lake Michigan.

[ACG]

Racoons, dead possums, lots of red tail lights, wild parrots, squirels, joggers, well manicured lawns (not mine).

One day I saw a man walking up/down a sidewalk with flowers in his hand, throwing pebbles at an apartment window.

[roughingit]

Green! :D

[bikerchick68]

glass... lots and lots of broken glass in the bike lanes...

after that I'd say I notice the surrounding hillsides the most... rode last night and the sun was at my back... the hills were orange in the fading light... fabulous!

[bikerz]

I saw a dead mouse and a live wild turkey this morning (had to swerve to avoid both of them).

Mostly it's the nice calves and derrieres of the cyclists passing me on hills!

[Trekhawk]

Pine Trees :) and Hills :mad:.

[slinkedog]

LOL V and BikerZ! When CindySue and I did a ride together back in March or April, we saw a guy with TdF-worthy calves! I was tempted to yell something saucy at him, but didn't do it. Just chicken, I guess. ;)

[CorsairMac]

what do I see most??...........hmmmm............mountains and volcanoes (depends on the direction I'm riding), road runners, whiptails (lizards).

I've also seen a bald eagle, egrets, and sandhill cranes.

and glass and glass and glass. Who the heck thinks its OK to throw glass bottles at the curb anyway?? :eek:

[Pax]

...and glass and glass and glass. Who the heck thinks its OK to throw glass bottles at the curb anyway??
Speaking of glass in your neck of the woods...have you been to the Trinity Site?? I know they make glass out of sand but that place was amazing/chilling. :eek:

[bentforlife]

I see long horn steer, road runners, armadillos(dead and alive), oil wells and gas wells, horses, and a few other riders out. Also lots of dry brown grass with the drought we are going through right now. I mainly ride back roads but sometimes those are a little crowded also. I'm saving to get a carrier for my bike so I can take it on some of the nice bike paths around here in Fort Worth. It's not cheap to buy a carrier for a bike with a 71" wheel to wheel span. :eek:

Donna :cool:

[Pink Kona]

One of my favorite sites was during a recent road race in Carnation, Washington. This herd of horses galloped along the fence while we were racing next to them. I was moved.

Lately I see blue sky, white Washingtonian legs, lakes, bald eagles, the North Cascades and the Olympics. Plus lots of other cyclists on the road since the gas prices increased.

[jobob]

On my morning loop out by the Dumbarton Bridge, I see squirrels, bunnies, herons, egrets, squirrels, ducks, geese, quail, squirrels, the occasional pheasant, skunks(!!), and, oh yeah, squirrels. Lots and lots of kamikaze squirrels.

[Trekhawk]

[QUOTE=bentforlife]I see long horn steer, road runners, armadillos(dead and alive), oil wells and gas wells, horses, and a few other riders out.

Hey bentforlife - are armadillos a normal sight to see in Texas? Sorry if this is a little off subject but if my family and I get down there sometime I like to know what wildlife to keep my eyes peeled for.

Aussie that loves American wildlife.

[wabisabi]

hm, fog, ocean, buzzards, egrets, blue herons, cows, fog, raspberry bushes, cats, fog.

[SnappyPix]

Glass, palm trees, cars/pedestrians pulling/stepping out in front of me, long sandy beaches, car exhausts, ponga ferns, tail lights, the ocean, hills hills hills, butterflies as big as birds, squished possums, sheep (but not on my city route!).

[tatormc]

are armadillos a normal sight to see in Texas? Sorry if this is a little off subject but if my family and I get down there sometime I like to know what wildlife to keep my eyes peeled for.

Yes armadillos are a normal sight in Texas and Oklahoma. I should have mentioned in my previous post that I see lots of dead armadillos. I lived in Texas until February of this year and then moved to Oklahoma but I only saw my first live armadillo 2 weeks ago. They need to stop running around in the dark and getting hit by cars!!

[CorsairMac]

Speaking of glass in your neck of the woods...have you been to the Trinity Site?? I know they make glass out of sand but that place was amazing/chilling. :eek:


I haven't yet!! But I hear the Trinity Site is quite chilling and eerily beautiful. There is a balloon rally in White Sands every year that they try to plan around a full moon coz they say White Sands/Trinity is something to see when the moon is full.

[DirtDiva]

Long time, no see Snappy. How's things?

Thanks for the link, MM. It would be kewl to have some ride buddies. I went to watch the final stage of the Tour of Britain the other day and a guy I was chatting to suggested I check out a club in my area that is supposed to be pretty good, so I guess I really ought to look into that too.

I do miss seeing pineneedles and sand and the sea and stuff. :o

[SnappyPix]

Long time, no see Snappy. How's things?


I do miss seeing pineneedles and sand and the sea and stuff. :o

Hey tlkiwi, things here are shweeeet! Due to circumstances, have moved from North Shore to Central Auckland, so traffic dodging at the moment & heading for the country as much as I can! Worryingly, have slowly fallen in love with your homeland. This was NOT supposed to happen!!
V.excited at the moment as all trained up for the Hamilton to Auckland 100km on Sunday - my first major race, and with up to 3000 participants, I can't wait!!!! :p
Are you enjoying London? I sense you pining for the tracks and trails of home?

Sorry don't mean to hijack this thread, or go OT.

[DirtDiva]

London is going well. It's a wonderfully diverse place with masses to see and do, but I will cop to missing the scenery at home more than I meant to. It's pretty hard on a lovely summer evening when you can't just call up one of your friends and pile in someone's car and head for the beach. *sigh* There's not that many places in the world where you can be in the ocean in 20mins or up in the mountains taking your first run of the day in 2hrs. What can I say, there's lots of places I'd like to live, but I'll always. be a Kiwi! :D

[bikerHen]

Banana peels! I am amazed at how many banana peels people throw from the car window. On my short ride to work, six miles, I have sometimes counted up to ten banana peels and that's just on my side of the road! Right now, with every major and some minor routes in north Spokane at some stage of road construction, gravel is my biggest pet peeve. I'm almost to the point of pulling out the comfort bike just for the saftey of the wider tires. When I do head out into the countryside its pine trees and lots of white tail deer. You can image how much fun deer are when they dart out in front of you! :eek: But since most of my everyday riding seems to be in town its cars, cars and more cars! Bikerhen

[carback]

While road riding: gravel, bungee cords (go figure), detritus from logging trucks, hills, mountains, the sweat in my eyes, lakes, more hills, people who ride without helmets, discarded beer cans (lovely. Just lovely)

While mountain biking: roots, rocks, narrow bridges & planks that call my name (sometimes I listen, sometimes I don't), bears (black), kamikaze voles, mountains, singletrack, sweat in my eyes, uphills, downhills, my companions, other riders, wasp nests

[SnappyPix]

BikerHen - that is so weird! After reading the post this morning, I went out for a ride along the bays. As I was pedalling along in my happy place, it suddenly came to me - banana peels, "I should have said banana peels"!!
I swear to god that one day I'll slip on one, and then won't I feel stupid?! :mad:

tlkiwi - I'm sure I heard somewhere that the average Kiwi lives no more than 40km from the ocean. How cool is that?!!

[ladyjai]

sun, asphalt, glass, cars and trucks. buildings and landscaping designed to make it either look like not a desert, or take advantage of desert plants.

when i vary my routes to include climbing: quail, cottontails, lizards, and moving bushes/shrubs, and our lovely mountains, sajuaro, and brownish shrubs/trees.

occassionally, other riders!

[JanT]

Road: looking up: mountains, sky, lots of friendly bikers; down: glass, gravel.
Mountain: cholla balls, rocks, quail, kangaroo rats, cottontail and jack rabbits, turkey vultures, and rarely other humans (I know some secret places!)

[SadieKate]

I thought yellow was going to post here and say that she was even seeing roots and sand in her dreams.

[SalsaMTB]

Mountain: Dirt, trees, deer, squirrels, roots, and massive webs coverng entire branches (fall webworm I think)...yuck!

The other day while mountain biking I saved a chipmunk. A hawk and just came down to get the poor fellow and got freaked out when I turned the corner. The hawk and chipmunk fled in seperate directions.


Road: Cars, trees, tons of dead/dying trees (caused by emerald ash borer, such a sad site to see) grass, and lots of badgers (or something that resembles a badger)

[Pax]

YEA for the chipmunk Salsa!!!! :p

I was on a ride last weekend and saw a large bird flopping around in a field next to the road, my first thought was "oh, poor thing is hurt", I started to go see if I could help and saw the reason for it's "balance" issues...the bunny in it's talons. :( I know, I know, it's the circle of life but it's still icky.

[Trek420]

what tlkiwi sees "Concrete, asphalt, cars, buses, taxis, bricks, traffic lights..." broken glass....but it's all good.

[MightyMitre]

Anyone ever see random single shoes lying in the road or at the kerbside?

I often wonder a) where they've come from and b) how on earth did the person wearing them not notice they'd lost a shoe!! I know I have some dizzy days, but I'm sure I'd wake up if I was walking along and suddenly found one of my shoe was missing. :p :)

[jeannierides]

Great thread!

I see horses, dogs (!), hawks, blue herons, buzzards (!!), turtles, men fishing from bridges, the backside of my SO, squished little furry things (eewwww)...sometimes just miles and miles of peanut, cotton and corn fields.

[caligurl]

sadly.... i think the thing i see most (other than desert landscape) is dead rabbits :( .... next most... dead little gopher thingys (about mouse sized)....

[SadieKate]

It squished tomato time on the roads now. Makes an interesting and ever changing obstacle course.

On the trails, it's star thistle. :mad:

[CorsairMac]

Anyone ever see random single shoes lying in the road or at the kerbside?

I often wonder a) where they've come from and b) how on earth did the person wearing them not notice they'd lost a shoe!! I know I have some dizzy days, but I'm sure I'd wake up if I was walking along and suddenly found one of my shoe was missing. :p :)


and random single socks!! I was giggling on this one coz I've always wondered the same thing. oh...and C)if it's a kid, what did they tell their mom about why they only have 1 shoe or sock?

[DirtDiva]

Personally, Corsair, I'd have blamed it on my brother. Heck, it might have even actually been his fault when we were kids - we weren't exactly nice to each other sometimes.


tlkiwi - I'm sure I heard somewhere that the average Kiwi lives no more than 40km from the ocean. How cool is that?!!The furthest place from the sea (as the crow flies) in NZ is right by the lake in Cromwell. :D

[maggieH]

Mostly farms: corn, soybeans, blueberries, cranberry bogs, & turf farms. Lots of horses, no cows. Sheep on two fields, goats on one. On weekends I see one field being used for dog-training classes. Housing developments: McMansions where there were cornfields last year and also historic mills and houses dating back to the 1700's. There's a llama farm next door to our development and wild turkeys come into our development. Small airports: Sometimes I lead a 16-mile "three airport ride." On longer rides I'm in the Pine Barrens. Overhead: Helicopters, small planes, airliners, and military planes from McGuire. Not much traffic on my routes, plenty of bikers going much faster than I ride.

In one of the towns, there was a wild turkey that would come out of the woods behind a house and chase bikers. It was funny being chased a quarter of a mile by a turkey and I always looked forward to seeing him. One day when he was missing there was a lady on the sidewalk, "No turkey today?" I asked as I rode by. "They killed him, number 33." she replied. There's a house by that number across the street and down a ways, and I inferred she was angry about the avicide.

[On_yer_left!]

Pedal Wench, was that during Day 3 of Ride the Rockies? Saw it too. There were so many bikers stopped there I thought somebody had crashed..

[On_yer_left!]

what i see: the flatirons of the Rocky Mountains, fields of sunflowers against blue sky, huge dead snakes, prairie dogs yelling "biker, biker!" and running for their holes (saw one flip himself on his back trying to yell out his alarm -- almost fell off my bike), pro cyclists gliding effortlessly by me, packs of elk and deer, storm clouds coming over the rockies, truckers flipping me off, roads winding between canyon walls, summer wildfires lighting up the hills...

Rare sighting: during a ride in July called the Triple Bypass (120 miles over three mountain passes), I saw something that shocked me out of a very pissy mood. I'd spent most of the ride struggling, swearing under my breath, contemplating quitting, my head down and mood about as dark as can be. Coming down off Vail pass, going about 30 miles an hour, a dark shape came from the side of the road. A huge bear had started walking calmly across the road, in broad daylight, right in front of me. I slammed on my brakes, thinking, "I'm gonna hit him. I'm gonna die. He's gonna stop and eat me. I'm gonna die..." He kept going and disappeared into the brush, and I was shaking for the next 10 miles.

It's like something had reached down, given me a huge slap upside the head, and yelled, "SNAP OUT OF IT, YOU MORON! Look around you. It's beautiful, it's amazing, you're lucky to be able to do this, so shut up and appreciate it!"

Life on a bike. :D

[emily_in_nc]

What I see most when I ride around here: trees (hardwoods), rolling hills, cows, horses, dogs (mostly chained or behind fences, thankfully), fields, farms, and pickup trucks passing me.

Yep, I live in the rural south... :)

Emily

[betagirl]

In the summer, corn and soybeans. Soybeans and corn. And maybe a cow or 2.

In the spring and fall, empty fields of cut corn and soybeans. Cut soybeans and corn.

In the winter, spinervals DVD's on my TV :D

[skibum]

I see a variety of things on my rides, but today, it was lots and lots of runners. Our route took us past a 5k race. Also, Team in Training was using a part of the route we were riding for their long Saturday. They had a big group -- must have been about 50 runners.

[Pedal Wench]

OnYerLeft- yeah, the newbie foal was on day three - same thing with us - thought that there was a crash because there were bikers everywhere, but we were all watching, in complete silence and awe, this little miracle on the side of the road. The farmer was up the road aways, smiling like a proud new papa. I'm jealous of your other sights on your rides. I would FREAK if I saw a bear. Out in Yellowstone, we had to hike past a grizzly. I was terrified - and fascinated! Got a few great shots of him, though.

[RoadRaven]

tlkiwi - I'm sure I heard somewhere that the average Kiwi lives no more than 40km from the ocean. How cool is that?!!


The furthest place from the sea (as the crow flies) in NZ is right by the lake in Cromwell. :D

Mmm... have to plug Middle Earth... love it here... I am 10 mins from the first of three rivers near me... 35 mins drive from the ocean, and 25 mins drive from the forest and mountains... 2 hours drive from "Mt Doom" (Lake Taupo and the ski slopes)
Its a wonderful place to live

[kestrel]

- crazy little squirrels that can't decide if they want to cross your path or not

- gopher snakes crossing the path/road (a lady in a SUV safely stopped traffic and escorted/carried the huge snake off the road.. kudos to her!)

- little birdies harassing the crazy little squirrels

- those damn guys in their little green Velo wear

For awhile, I *swear* the same guy was lapping me on Old La Honda road.. I know that I'm slow, but thinking that I've been lapped 3 times was demoralizing. Apparently there are *hoards* of people wearing the same jersey.

- those friendly of guys in their Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Club wear

- tandems! i love watching tandem teams!

[shewhobikes]

you won't believe what we see. Just today:

Great church signs. As in, "Without the bread of life, you're toast."

Hay bales, appaloosa horses, signs for Lickskillet Road and Bachelor Ave, houses from the early 1900s made entirely of stone with tin roofs and plastic flowers rooted by the mailbox,

a white t-shirt with black letters that said "God Has Been So Good to Me" draped over a fence,

mist rising over a lake with dogwoods on the banks turning red,

the ususal road kill--squirrels, possums, an occasional turtle, unidentifiable squashed furry things,

a big herd of cows headed at a trot toward a pickup (dinner time!) followed by a huge flock of those white cow birds, whatever they are,

a house with icicle lights hanging across the front and a halloween skeleton hanging on the door.

I promise, we're not all rednecks. But when you get out in the country, this is what you see!

[BikeMomma]

Too many freakin' cars, gravel trucks, etc etc!
Wildlife: hawks/fowl, rabbits, coyotes, squirrels
Roadkill of the above, especially the last one (saw a dead wild pig one day)
Stray dogs, some of them chasing me!
Yea...ummm...nice calves, among other nice body parts :eek:
Oh! Lots of cows with the other kind of calves...
Horses! Luv them horsies....
Not to mention the nice bikes....
:D
-BikeMomma

[seagrape]

Wow! You guys get to see a lot of cool things! I get to see really big, seafront houses... A couple of marinas... If the sea is calm, maybe a ray breaking the surface or even a wild dolphin. Other than that, the streets here are urban/suburban and my road rides a pretty limited... Actually, I'll probaby hightail it down to a local state park and just lap it. There's too many pedestrians/bike riders (not cyclists :D ) and outta staters on the road here, especially with tourist season coming up.

I do get to see the occasional crab crossing the road...

[nuthatch]

In the summer, corn and soybeans. Soybeans and corn. And maybe a cow or 2.

In the spring and fall, empty fields of cut corn and soybeans. Cut soybeans and corn.

In the winter, spinervals DVD's on my TV :D

Beta, I'm seeing the same thing. I think we need to move to Boulder with On-Yer-Left! ;) Or let's give cyclocross a try and keep riding all winter!

[mom2twins]

When I first head out all I see are McMansions and then once I get out of that neighborhood its all farms, lots and lots of farms with all of the various farm staples like cows, chickens, barns, and old tractors.

Oh and what I smell the most Farms! fresh country air :rolleyes:

[latelatebloomer]

Mostly meadows and woods, small "gentleman" farms, a horse rescue (boney horses eating happily and making friends with other boney horses eating happily), a strange dark pavilion with tables that never has any humans ( we call it The Picnic Grove of Despond), a few McMansions with more on the way, and the other night, a family enjoying a candlelight dinner set up in their driveway, with the teenage daughter standing in front to give a violin concert. I can't believe I'm so fortunate to live in such a lovely place - though how long it'll be safe from the bulldozers, I'm not sure. Meanwhile- on the bike, I drink it in. Oh! and the deer that stand on the quiet roads watching me curiously until I'm 20 feet away - then I must yell excuuse me!! so they let me pass. Oh! and the songs of the frogs, crickets, wild turkeys...bikes are so blessedly quiet...

[crazycanuck]

On my ride today i just about ran over two funky creatures...

As i was riding, i looked ahead a bit and saw something slithering on the bike path..My first thought was .."oh ***..a snake..." (i haven't encountered any yet-just the warning signs), it turned out to be a Blue Tongued Lizard..It was so cool & cute..This thing must be very cooridinated as it moved sideways, kept looking at me and had it's toungue out..I left it alone and went my merry way happy i'd seen something cool..

NExt, on my way back I thought there was a twig in the middle of the path..Turned out to be some kind of lizard...Not sure what kind but it was light grey with dark grey patches with a long skinny tail, really little eyes and likes to sun itself...I must of stood there for about 10min wondering about it..Didn't flinch when i bent down to look at it..At least it doesn't eat curious cyclists...

I've encountered more wildlife here in perth than i ever did back in auckland...way cool...

c

[Mia]

What a great thread!
I see lots of corn and soybean fields, cows, cows, and oh, more cows :rolleyes: some deer, the three legged dog that lives about a mile and a half down the road from us, little mini pigs, houses, lots of trees, yesterday I saw a little tiny snake slithering across the road. Oh, and lately, zillions of grasshoppers! Also a few cars, but almost never another cyclist (besides DH who always rides with me). It is mostly very peaceful here...very rural area. Glad not to have to see all the stoplights and concrete that some girls have written about! :eek: