Got my first squirrel this morning. Poor little guy ran right out of nowhere, barely saw it before it went thump, thump. I stayed up, squirrel went down, for good.
I once saw a squirrel run right between the two wheels of a rider in front of me. This one, not quite so well timed.
Ah, Squirrels…Natures little speed humps!
I figure, squirrels crossing roads are somewhat a natural selection type of issue. Eventually, the slow ones will be all killed, and the fast ones will continue to reproduce leading to a generation of super-fast speed-demon squirrels.
I remember a drive from the Central Valley to the coast one year. Squirrels all over the place, crossing the road. At one point, a deer cross, but for a split second, I thought “Damn, that’s a large squirel”.
Chris
It’s a dare thing with them. And they get extra props if you go down.
I think the natural selection is working around my area. This one section of path I took out 5 in one year and chopped the tail off of a 6th. Last year I only got one, and they scatter off the path when I come through. I think they are learning! My tactic is to just ride straight ahead. If you try and swerve around them you’ll just take a dive if you hit them.
Ha, at least it was the rubber and not the spokes that took him out. It’s the flying kamikaze squirrels (and rabbits and birds) that scare me.
Squirrels are dangerous. You were almost killed. If I see any squirrels I’m going to break their legs and rip their freaking buck teeth out!
Riding out in Columbia Ill when my buddy and I were riding side by side and one went thru his spokes and got sucked between his fork, then shot out my way and I went thump thump over it and then it shot off the other side of the road.
Crazy little guys
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Not one of my kills.
Chris
Not necessarily related, but when I was young, I somehow got into a pattern of running over squirrels on my way to go out on dates. It got to the point where if I ran over one, I seemed to have a good date and if I didn’t - not so good. Well, this lasted a few months (about 1/2 dozen squirrels). Well, on the 4th on my way to meet a friend of mine (not a date, just a mountain bike ride) I ran over a squirrel. So, I figured it would be a great ride…
Well, depends on how you look at it as to say if it was good or not. I’m not paralyzed and surgery doesn’t look like it will be necessary, but did break my neck and my season’s over and can expect a lot of nothing for about three months.
Anyhow, I remember after I fell (off a log I was trying to cross - don’t ask) I looked up and my comment was “Don’t worry, I ran over a squirrel, I’ll be OK and we’ll have a fine ride”. 
-Chris
‘Ya better hope those paired spokes hold up’, my LBS said when I showed them my new bontragers. I guess I know a squirrel who would beg to differ, well maybe not THAT squirrel but other squirrels who knew him or her or had seen the accident or…oh nevermind.
It’s best to run a disk on both wheels just to protect yourself
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Poor little thing… I’d feel awful - they are so cute. But I guess he had it coming for runnin’ out in front of a big, bad triathlete
Vehicles Vs. Cyclists
Squirrels vs. Cyclists
Squirrels vs. Vehicles
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5Txm4ohuYWk
It’s a battle ground out there!
Favorite moment of a marathon involved a squirrel. Just after start of Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego in 2005 a squirrel crossed from one end of the street to the other…through about 1000 runners all bunched together. All you saw was people jumping and stumbling. It made it though was like a Pachinko (sp?) ball off shins. We started discussing how that would suck to get DQ’d by this.
Consider yourself lucky, I got taken out by one earlier this year. He wedged into my front wheel and flipped me over the handlebars. Dangerous critters.
While on the bike I have scared one out of a tree onto the road - splat - dead squirrel.
I also stomped one while running - it darted out of the bushes and right under my midfoot.
Haven’t figured out how to get one while swimming.
How about eating it raw after that ?
Well this answers the question – what if it were a retriever:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/gallery/2007/jul/17/tourdefrance.cycling?picture=330211215
click on the image.