The short ride I went on right after my last post turned out to be one of the most "critter-filled" I've ever had.

For starters, I met with three very fast, persistent doggies that chased me down a previously-untried road (never to be again) that was the general smoothness as something out of Paris-Roubaix.....I found myself looking from the road (trying to pick my line through the millions of potholes) to the dogs, all the while growling just as loud or louder as they were!! I can pretty honestly say that it was the worst dog-chase ever, and I thought I was a gonner when I saw the road turn to the left, with nowhere else to go and one dog still giving chase. Lucky for me, he tired before I had to turn. It apparently didn't occur to him that he could just cut the corner and get me that way. Ugh. Had to laugh though, after catching my breath. I was in completely the wrong gear for all of that and still hit 25.5mph...heart rate got up to 193!! Oh my!

The second critter experience was rounding an s-curve, I spied two very fleet-looking, almost wolf-like dogs up on an irrigation bank about 50 yards ahead. I'm pretty sure they saw me, because as soon as I came into view, they scampered off. Now, I am a dog person, and I've also watched many a wildlife documentary about hyenas, etc. These two looked very fast and very possibly wild. For the first time in my biking life, I stopped dead in my tracks. Every little instinct was telling me not to go any further or closer. I knew I had to keep moving, though, and be ready for anything, so I circled in the road a couple times, trying to figure out what to do and maybe see where they went. A car came around the corner just then from that direction, and I flagged it down and asked the driver if the dogs were still up ahead. Getting a "yes" confirmed my suspicion that those dogs DID see me and I was going to be ambushed as their next plaything. Needless to say, fading sunlight and all, I turned around and went the way I came.

Now, you'd think that would be enough excitement for one ride (saw two more loose dogs too), and just as I relaxed and stopped looking for critters, I looked down at the pavement under my wheels just in time to see myself missing a little tiny (rattle??)snake by about a centimeter. Yikes!

Geez...what a ride. All that in only 21 miles.

You gals be careful....don't take chances, either. If I had tried to be "brave" and just go down that road, thinking I was being chicken, I probably would have been laying in it a moment later.

To open roads with no critters....
-BikeMomma