During the time I’ve been a triathlete I’ve had more flat tires than I care to remember and I thought I had experienced every possible cause of one. Until my most recent training ride that is…
So I was riding a long at the Angeles Crest highway today and everything was great. The sun was out, the wind was at my back, I was getting back into shape and the gals from the slotwitch camp had finally gone home Anyway after a while I spot this roadkill laying in a puddle of blood further up the road. Just as I’m about to go around I hear a car is about to pass so I have to go by the roadkill pretty closely. Just as my front wheel is passing by it turns out the little bugger wasn’t actually roadkill just yet. He uses his last ounce of life and willpower to lash out at my front tire slashing it halfway across and through the innertube blowing out the tire completely. With a dollar bill between the new tube and the tire I was able to ride home without any further problems happy it didn’t bite me in the leg instead. The raccoon or whatever it was didn’t fare as well though and it was a bit sad to see it suffer like that but another car hit it shortly afterwards and ended his pain at least.
My dad hit a live groundhog running across the trail. The impact sent him over the handlebars, but no flat. The grounhog ran away - dad limped away with a pulled groin and a funny story.
Had a buddy bend a riin on an Opossum. Were mountain biking on some single track, there were 4 of us pretty close and I was leading. Saw him, but too late, my back wheel caught him when I tried to bunny hop over him. #2 did the same, #3 managed to avoid him, but wiped, and #4 hit him dead on being his front rim slightly and wiping out.
We go over to him and poked him with a stick. Didn’t move a peep. Upon thinking he was dead we start to moved him off the path with our feet. We got back on our bikes and as we started to take off we hear this rustling. Evidently we were fooled by the ol “playing possum” trick.
I remember riding across a live snake in the middle of the road. Boy did that send chills thru me. I circled around to see what kind of snake it was but it was long gone. I’m sure he was a little sore around the waist line.
Had a seagull fly into my front wheel once but he missed the tire. Fortunately for me (not for him) my bladed spokes shredded his wing before he managed to get jammed in my fork.
Had a somewhat similar experience running, but first, as to flat tires - I use Slime® liners in my tires and normally flat once every 8-10,000 miles. It is soooooo worth it to me to not have to stop and change flats, unless I’m helping out someone that I’m riding with. It adds a little weight to the wheel, but for training purposes, you’re fast enough that the little bit of weight might allow you to ride with others for a change!! But as to the critter…
Must have been a possum. They lay perfectly still until the last minute like that. Worst ankle sprain of my life happened when I was running along railroad tracks just outside of Baltimore. I saw this critter that had apparently run afoul of train wheels. I was running on the ties, carefully spacing my footfalls so that was landing right in the middle of each tie. Suddenly this half-mashed creature comes to life, rears his head and bares a set of teeth reminiscent of the little African doll from Trilogy of Terror (if you haven’t seen it, it’s a cool sci-fi movie from about twenty-five years back…). So I’m in midair trying to jump to avoid this hellish monster. I managed to clear him, but landed between two RR ties and twisted my ankle so badly I thought I’d still be there to get hit by the next train…
“He uses his last ounce of life and willpower to lash out at my front tire slashing it halfway across and through the innertube blowing out the tire completely.”
Dude, that sounds like something from Pet Cemetary!
Yeah, the big problem with those critters is that when they hear you coming they don’t scurry instead they just stop in their tracks. Shocked you didn’t lose it. Nice job.
I have run over a squirrel, out at UBC. He decided to sprint across the road and I nailed him with my front wheel. BUMP. He took off like a shot, seemed fine but who really knows. AP
This is why there are so many Bjorn fans on the forum. How many pros (or even age groupers) post these types of off the cuff “lifestyle” training stories.
thanks for sharing…too bad for the raccoon…but in the end, we all end up in the same place (not roadkill but no longer alive…enjoy the ride)!
Anyway after a while I spot this roadkill laying in a puddle of blood further up the road. Just as I’m about to go around I hear a car is about to pass so I have to go by the roadkill pretty closely. Just as my front wheel is passing by it turns out the little bugger wasn’t actually roadkill just yet. He uses his last ounce of life and willpower to lash out at my front tire slashing it halfway across and through the innertube blowing out the tire completely. With a dollar bill between the new tube and the tire I was able to ride home without any further problems happy it didn’t bite me in the leg instead. The raccoon or whatever it was didn’t fare as well though and it was a bit sad to see it suffer like that but another car hit it shortly afterwards and ended his pain at least.