Local Trail Encounter

[jessmarimba]

I'm glad the speedo guy is gone, too!

I was driving back from the airport with my SO and we came around a turn in his neighborhood and saw two guys holding 3 bikes while a woman behind them was squatting beside the road. He and I were cracking up - we both know better than to go further into those woods with all of that poison ivy!

I used to work in archaeology, and we usually figured the middle of the woods (no trails) was pretty safe if the coworkers weren't around...Til the rangers told us that our site was a panther habitat and the motion detector cameras had gotten a shot or two of our crew using the bushes.

[solobiker]

Oh yeah...I almost forgot, I was walking across the parking lot at 330pm..not 330am to go to the grocery store and I saw this guy standing next to his car then open his door as if he was going to get in. Well, he did not get in. I saw him reach in front of himself and kind of shift around then begin to pee I don't live in a bad or rough area. I could not believe it. After I was done shopping I was talking with the cashier and mentioned to her in a light hearted way and she started to appologize and told me she would have someone go right out and wash it off. I laughed to myself. Can you imagine trying to find a pee puddle in a parking lot.

[Aggie_Ama]

It amazes me how many people I hear mountain biking that don't know what poison ivy looks like. I can only imagine there are a lot of accidental infections. When I got active I learned what poisonous snakes, poison ivy and poison oak looked like.

[crazycanuck]

I've no idea what poison ivy looks like..

[OakLeaf]

Do you have poison ivy there? I actually saw poison ivy on display at the botanical gardens in Valencia, Spain. Guess they don't have any native there! Big sign not to touch it.

I'll bet you know what all your local poisonous snakes and spiders look like, don't you?

My DH refuses to learn what poison ivy looks like no matter how many times I keep him from stepping in it. But he's not much of an outdoors person. I'll bet the first time he gets poison ivy, he'll learn!

[Aggie_Ama]

I couldn't find that poison ivy grows in your neck of the woods. I don't know what poison sumac looks like in nature because we don't have it. Poison ivy is really bad here so they actually point it out at a weekly ride I do. I meant I am amazed at the number of people I ride with here that know poison ivy is bad here but don't know how to identify it. They will take a break standing in a patch! And yes, I will point it out if I see it.

Here's a little drawing of the leaves. You can find lots of pictures in Google Images if you are concerned, I found I only learned once I saw it enough. Oh and I still don't know all our poisonous spiders, I learned the snakes so I wouldn't panic every time I see one. I hate snakes so I had to learn that some are okay.

[Crankin]

I am not quite sure about poison ivy... but since we have tons of it around here, I assume all of those 3 leafed plants are it.
When I first moved here, DS #2 got a terrible rash after about a month. I rushed him to the pediatrician, as no OTC things had helped and he was in agony. She was quite incredulous that I didn't know this was poison ivy. I had to explain it was not exactly common in the desert.
I played in the woods constantly as a kid and never have had it. I suspect i might be immune to it, as DH has had it many times from working on our landscaping in the past couple of years, and I have had nothing.

[OakLeaf]

I had horrible poison ivy on both wrists, oh, four years ago I guess. It was right when I went to the retreat where I rediscovered cycling.

I think what it was, I was clearing multiflora rose and poison ivy that were growing all together. The rose thorns must've broken the skin and gotten poison ivy underneath. I don't know how else I could've just continued to break out in new blisters under the blisters I already had.

I've had little spots of PI since then, but nothing like that. Yikes, it itches even thinking about it.

[crazycanuck]

Oak..yes on the snakes & spiders. Dugites, Tiger Snakes, King Browns...Red Backs, White Tails..

I've only seen a few snakes on my rides & let's just say I become alberto contator all of a sudden...

We're heading into the oo so lovely time of year called " magpie mating season"