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Critters - Creature Hazards
I hope no one objects, but I would like to comment on the dangers of "trail" riding. The "trail" I ride is 8' wide blacktop and follows a river, winding through about 5 miles of forest, across two nice wooden bridges, circles a college campus then returns, on the outskirts of town. (My typical 10 mile, ebike, "jaunt".)
I see deer, in the occasional fields, most every morning. They aren't really a danger, they stay on one side of the trail because the river is fairly tight to the other side, with steep banks, and there are plenty of small streams for drinking water.
Rabbits seem fairly scarce, might see one, maybe two, a day. They take one hop and are in the brush. No problem!
Squirrels! Dozens of them, sometimes 50, or more, on the trail, lots of oak trees. They play it close, always running at the last second, but, almost always, directly toward the nearest tree. Maybe, ... I ran over the toes of one squirrel, once, it was close, but he was still running. The one exception happened with a large gray squirrel, he ran straight up the trail directly ahead of me, for about 50 feet, I was able to clock him at 14.8mph!
The most annoying critters would have to be gnats, and other swarming bugs. Especially in the occasionally sunlight forest region, almost invisible clouds of microscopic pests pummel your eyes and mouth. I wear gradient sunglasses, full wrap around, and take great care not to exert myself to the point of becoming a "mouth breather". I also wear a baseball cap, with large brim, and go "heads down" into the fray!
Which bring me to the most horrific, tragic, suicidal creatures imaginable. I call them "The Kamikaze"! ..... This creature will watch you approach, step to the left, hop to the right then desperately throw himself under your tires. Do not try to avoid him, he can hop, skitter and zig-zag faster than you can imagine. There's no possible way to out maneuver him. I've seen 5 re-directions in 2 seconds. Just to confuse, he will run in circles in front of you, getting warmed up for his death plunge. You don't have a chance, there is no defense! Not much larger than a mouse, this fierce-some creature has certainly earned his racing stripes. Beware! the chipmunk.
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