Today's Ride

[FairfaxPat]

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Today-Tuesday-Feels like summer out today-84 F. and sunny. I almost ran over this Garter Snake on the way up on Iron Springs fire road, so I stopped, took a pic, and shooed him off the road before he did get run over. Sweating like crazy at the top of the climb 900' up today...

 

[26er]

Way too many snakes in that garden of Eden for my liking...

 

[FairfaxPat]

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Garter snakes aren't poisonous-they eat mice and such-the only snake we have that is poisonous around here is the Rattlesnake. My spotting 2 snakes in a month is kinda unusual. The only other critters in California besides the Rattlesnake that are mildly poisonous are the Tarantula in the Southern Desert area and Black Widow Spiders and Scorpions. Those three can make you sick but not dead. The Rattlesnake can kill you, but anti-venom for it's bite and for the Black Widow's bite is used to treat them. I read that 800 people in California a year get bitten by rattlesnakes, with about 5 deaths. So, out of a population 0f 39 million residents, plus millions more visitors-it's pretty safe here-compared to the South Eastern and Midwest US, where they have many kinds of poisonous snakes that crawl and swim-plus alligators...

 

[Mr Crudley]

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The Rattlesnake can kill you, but anti-venom for it's bite and for the Black Widow's bite is used to treat them. I read that 800 people in California a year get bitten by rattlesnakes, with about 5 deaths.

Ticks with lyme disease, rattlers, mountain lion and bears is what worries me about riding in your fine country.

We have snakes popping up for time to time. The Red Belly Blacks are mostly timid as long as your don't startled or corner them. They will usually run away. You mostly survive a bite of one of those.

The brown snakes can be pretty nasty and will go you if provoked. They can get you to meet your maker pronto and have potent venom. don't mess around with those guys

Plenty of fine snake stories here.
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthr ... 286-Snakes

 

[The History Man]

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The nettle rash around here can be pretty severe if you don't watch your step.

 

[FairfaxPat]

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The Rattlesnake can kill you, but anti-venom for it's bite and for the Black Widow's bite is used to treat them. I read that 800 people in California a year get bitten by rattlesnakes, with about 5 deaths.

Ticks with lyme disease, rattlers, mountain lion and bears is what worries me about riding in your fine country.

We have snakes popping up for time to time. The Red Belly Blacks are mostly timid as long as your don't startled or corner them. They will usually run away. You mostly survive a bite of one of those.

The brown snakes can be pretty nasty and will go you if provoked. They can get you to meet your maker pronto and have potent venom. don't mess around with those guys

Plenty of fine snake stories here.
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthr ... 286-Snakes

There haven't been any fatal bear attacks in California in at least the last 40 years or so, and only 15 mountain lion attacks, with one fatality in the last 30 years, so I don't really worry about them. Rattlesnakes are the one poisonous snake we have here-just like you have only one in the UK, the Adder. So don't worry, ride happy...

 

[Mr Crudley]

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Rattlesnakes are the one poisonous snake we have here-just like you have only one in the UK, the Adder. So don't worry, ride happy...

I'm down south in Sydney Australia.
Everything here tries to kill you :roll:

 

[FairfaxPat]

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Yeah, Mr. Crudley, I've seen nature shows on TV of all the critters you have down there. Just remember to keep a sharp lookout and step lightly...Today-Wednesday-Beautiful out, about 76 F. and a bit windy. We rode up Eldridge Grade on Mt. Tam to about the halfway turnoff at about 1000' or so. Last week, Joe Breeze gave me a NOS Breezer jersey from 1995, when he was still making some bikes with the Soft Ride Beam suspension-today was my first ride in it...

 

[dalecooper]

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Nice Breezer jersey! Great colors!

 

[FairfaxPat]

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Today-Thursday-About 74 F. when we left, with storm clouds rolling in over Tam and the ridges West of town, we went up Iron Springs Road to Tamarancho at the top. It started to sprinkle, then rain lightly at the top, so we ducked under the trees and waited about 20 minutes until it was sunny again for the descent back home. We noticed a patch of Lavender growing near the top, kinda unusual as it's from the Med, not here. I guess somebody planted it up there-smells good...