The Birds and The Bees

[kenyonchris]

On a MTB trail (a DORBA kept trail, used very frequently) two springs ago I saw THREE rattlesnakes on one ride. I don't do snakes. One was curled up on the path and I dang nearly careened into it (my husband was behind me). My husband and another biker prodded it off the path, it was rattling up a storm. The second was crossing the path and was all of two feet from me. The third was sleeping in the path. By that time, I was ready to call for a helicopter to come and get me. Ugh.

[Groundhog]

Wow, glad we don't have rattlesnakes in Western Washington.

The timing on this thread is perfect as I ran into a bee both yesterday and today on my commute. The first bounced off my nose and onto my chest. The one today got stuck in between my helmet strap, hair and ear. I whipped off my helmet with one hand while riding, as I'm allergic and have a great fear of being stung. Luckily, no sting.

[crazycanuck]

We have some nasty birds(magpies & others) that seem to think it's fun to dive bomb humans. No so much fun when you're up in the hills & trying to avoid honky nuts plus pay attention going downhill.

There was an incident earlier this year(i think) where a young girl was attacked by a magpie & had to have her eye removed. That was just one attack I can remember

Should you want to be birdy free, place some cable ties on the top of your helmet. It may look funny but the birds don't bother ya!

The other option is to wave your bike pump in the air whilst riding .

Snakes..umm ya! Tiger Snakes, King Browns etc..not something you want to encounter. Isn't it wonderful that Australia has 8 of the 10 most deadliest snakes in the world...lovely...ermm..no.

[Aggie_Ama]

On a MTB trail (a DORBA kept trail, used very frequently) two springs ago I saw THREE rattlesnakes on one ride. I don't do snakes. One was curled up on the path and I dang nearly careened into it (my husband was behind me). My husband and another biker prodded it off the path, it was rattling up a storm. The second was crossing the path and was all of two feet from me. The third was sleeping in the path. By that time, I was ready to call for a helicopter to come and get me. Ugh.

OMG you just described hell to me! The one I have heard the most reports of in my area is the very well traveled Barton Creek Greenbelt. I already have been terrified of rattlers and then I watched a show about what happens even if you get treatment, now I am really scared. I really HATE snakes! I can deal with bees and wasps but rattlers and water moccasins no way. This wasn't riding but I saw a water moccasin on a local run and bike path. They are known to be aggressive, I was not a happy runner.

[irrealised]

I really need to learn to deal with bugs (especially the stinging kind) if I'm going to keep MTBing. I was out the other day on a nice doubletrack path just riding along when I hit a bumble bee. It was fuzzy, it touched my face, and I tried to escape... which consisted of throwing myself into the grass on the side of the path. I knew I didn't have time to unclip, but I tried anyway. At least I picked a soft area to bail.

That was not a good instinct though, and now I'm freaked out about what I might do if I have another bee encounter. Crashing is not a good plan.

[kenyonchris]

OMG you just described hell to me! The one I have heard the most reports of in my area is the very well traveled Barton Creek Greenbelt. I already have been terrified of rattlers and then I watched a show about what happens even if you get treatment, now I am really scared. I really HATE snakes! I can deal with bees and wasps but rattlers and water moccasins no way. This wasn't riding but I saw a water moccasin on a local run and bike path. They are known to be aggressive, I was not a happy runner.

I have ridden that a couple of times and it just LOOKS snakey, so I am not surprised to hear that there ARE snakes there. After I survived that snake ride, my husband (at the time) said, "I guess we won't be riding this again." And we didn't. I was skittery for a while, but a few years of no snakes has made me feel a little less like every stick is a snake ready to strike.
Water moccasins are seriously aggressive. They will swim over to bite you. They are territorial suckers. I have seen a lot of them and dealt with a few on patrol (one of the downsides to the job...snake calls when Animal Control is off).

Give me a bee or a bird any day.

[kenyonchris]

I actually nearly had a head on with a chipmunk the other day. It was running straight down the singletrack for me. The only thing I could think was "Oh my gosh I am going to kill a Disney character!" We both swerved in the correct way at the last moment. I hit a tree, but it was better than keeping Cinderella from the ball because her seamstress or whatever was killed by me.

[Tuckervill]

ROFL! That's hilarious!!

[tab123]

Update on the bee sting. The affected area was getting bigger. I had a red, secondary ring around the main area. My leg is infected, and I have to take antibiotics (bummer, I don't like taking those things). My doctor said there was a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine reporting that 50% or so of bees and wasps carry bacteria on their stingers. I always feel a bit like a hypochondriac when I go to the doctor about these kind of things, but I am glad I did.

The chipmunk story was a hoot!

[OakLeaf]

Ow, yikes! Hope it gets better soon!

[Aggie_Ama]

Update on the bee sting. The affected area was getting bigger. I had a red, secondary ring around the main area. My leg is infected, and I have to take antibiotics (bummer, I don't like taking those things). My doctor said there was a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine reporting that 50% or so of bees and wasps carry bacteria on their stingers. I always feel a bit like a hypochondriac when I go to the doctor about these kind of things, but I am glad I did.

The chipmunk story was a hoot!

My husband was stung by a yellow jacket a couple years back and his hand swole up. It seriously looked like the little Hamburger Helper guy! He went to the doctor because I was freaked out and worried the next time he would go into shock. The doc said no, he is just highly sensitive but he could see his concern. He gave my husband a shot of benedryl because the swelling was so extreme they thought his wedding band would need cut off. So no, you didn't over react in my opinion.