Strange things attacking cyclists

New Zealand Keas!

These guys are so curious and unafraid of people. I was no longer amused though, when one of them started trying to get a piece of my tire!

BTW, Being from Mexico I would have never expected to see "parrots" on the top of a snow-capped mountain!

 

I have a carload of teenage girls slap me on the butt as they passed one day on a ride. Sadly, that was the highlight of my day, heh.

Dogs were really bad in Missouri but I could usually outsprint them. One time the mutt got too close and I soccor-kicked him harder than I intended with my size 44 Diadoras. When the way the dog yelped, I may have done some serious damage that I didn't intend Another time I saw the pittbull sprinting towards me and I was ready with the Halt spray and nailed him in the eyes. The dog whipped his head back so hard his entire body did a 180. That's how you learn Mr. pittbull.

I've had soft drinks flung at me. Never any bottles. I've felt a spray as the car passed, almost certainly spit. Missouri was the most hostile place to ride I've ever experienced. I've stopped at small town places to get food while on a ride and felt the hatred so thick you could cut it with a knife. New Mexico is much better. When in remote areas the locals comming the other way in a car at 60 mph often hold up one finger off the steering wheel to wave. In Missouri they held up a different finger.

 

been attacked by squirels, the suckers got into the wheels

 

Attacked by a hawk... repeatedly. You can't outrun a hawk, even in your 53 X 11... don't both trying.

fallensparrow

 

I am sorry if this is a bit long-winded (handed).

my grandmother used to live on a long, flat country road in Sharps, Virginia and I used to ride down to the post office everyday to pick up her mail. The road was about 3 miles long and about halfway down there was a dog that always chased me right to the edge of his property. The owner always had the dog on a long leash and after a while I knew where the leash ended...until one day. THAT day I was doing my usual ride to get the mail and here he comes...and he kept coming, and coming, and coming. Well after realizing that he was now at the roadside I put in the afterburners and pedalled my 14 year old a$$ off, while constantly looking at the dog behind me. This chase kept going for a good while and I didn't notice I had passed the post office until I ran off of the end of the road and me AND my bike were sailing through the air and into the Rappahanock River.

After crawling out of the river and walking back to my grandmother's house. I noticed the dog had lost interest and looked at me with a goofy "I gotcha look." My grandmother and my brother laughed at that for over 29 years, but the funniest thing is that the dog never chased me after that day. Like he had always wanted to do that to someone just once.

I love dogs.

 

On a group ride going down a road we called "the tunnell" since it was completely covered by a canopy of trees. You come out of bright sunshine into this shadowy road, not bad if you take your glasses off or if you are gong slow...or not chatting while going relatively fast! Anyway one of the first guys somehow clips a snake slithering across the road in a way that flung it up in the air, hit another rider and sent the rest of us on serious bike handling skills courses! Nobody got hurt, but to this day, almost 20 years later when i see one of those guys we still laugh about it.

 

I've been attacked or chased by ...

1. An evil swarm of locusts (may have been gnats)
2. a Chicken Hawk
3. Jehovah's Witnesses with a copy of The Watchtower

 

we have a very similar trail here in the philippines we call " the Tube".
its a very technical off road trail we blast downhill on our mountainbikes. Its like a giant rut about 7 feet wide at its narrow points and slightly deeper and on top is a canopy of small trees or bushes. No sun penetrates here even during high noon! In some parts in the "tube" is a rut, filled wiht rocks (within the giant rut)2 feet wide and 2feet deep and there are ledges on either side of this central rut. to go fast you ride on top of either ledge and even have to bunny hop between the ledges as one or the other thins off into unrideable strips. There's more,... you have to avoid the sizeable rocks littered all over the bottom and the water buffalo poo and dog poo and goat poo. All this takes about 10 minutes to finish at speed! sawed off handlebars work best here so you are less likely to hit the inner wall of the giant rut or "tube". the bottom surface of this tube is rocky in some parts, sandy, muddy, and hardpack in other portions.
And all this terrain changes after it rains, and sometimes it rains a lot. whew..

 

I wouldnt do this trail without mud guards installed

.

 

In the summer when its dry theres not much mud, but the mudguard would still be a good idea because of all the dog, buffalo, and goat poo!

 

I've been attacked, chased, and had to avoid all of the above. Whether it's a dog chasing me, a skater who falls on the bike path right in front of me, a woman who isn't paying attention to the outside world, or a squirrel playing "chicken," there's always something to watch out for. The latest was a dog ambush. Ridin along when all the sudden I see a furry, snarling blur race up to me in .25 seconds flat.

 

I was chased by a mad rooster down the road and also had a small bird put a hole in my helmet with its beak.

 

Not too strange I guess, once I was riding and being blessed with allergies couldn't breath through my nose. So, I'm finishing a twenty mile ride and in a hurry to get home panting with my mouth hanging open when almost in slow motion I see a big hairy bumble bee headed right for my head . Sure enough, he flies right into my mouth, my natural reaction was to spit him out which I did but not before he zaps my lip as he's exiting. My lip swelled up to the diameter of a road tube- not pretty.


Digi

 

This girl walked out in front of me in NYC once and she didn't look before crossing the street. I ended up laying her out on the street going about 18mph. Luckily she wasn't hurt, but man, did she fly through the air. Silly humans.

 

That reminds me of the magazine ads that Nalgene used to run for these:
http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/store/subcategory.asp?categorysubcategorycode=16
They showed a grime splattered bottle with the cap up to show a clean drinking spout. The caption was, "For everything you ride through that's not mud."

 

My wife almost killed me when she found out how much I spent on my bike...

 

I'm not sure if that qualifies as strange.

 

I have been attacked by the same parked car twice...There is this one particular spot where I always see this incredibly smokin hot chic and everytime I stare at her this damn parked car jumps out in front of me and I run into it. The first time was a total over the handle bars and roll off the side of the trunk hit and second was a much slower slide off the seat into the handlebars crack nuts on top tube kind of hit. Both equally devestating to the ego...Damn parked cars...watch out for them in proximity to hot women, especially ones that are also riding...the parked cars really protect female riders!!!

 

I had a snake that was crawling around in my neighborhood turn to strike at me (missed). I've had tree limbs attack me, a teenage girl and her car try to clip me-I bunnyhopped and landed a few inches from her bumper, and then, standing still, fell into the gravel on the corner-she took off. My brother was hit in the face by a bat on a night ride. I often have deer crossing my path both on and off road, along with rabbits. I will swerve for frogs.

 

ive nearly run over an opposum once and my own dog as I was coming in from a ride. The only thing i ever hit though was a jogger. I was riding along a line of parallel parked cars and this woman jogger comes out from between 2 of the cars and makes a left hand turn while looking at her watch and i NAILED her. Unfortunately I was hurt more than she was.