Nutty Squirrels

Have you ever had a squirrel dart out in front of you, as if on a suicide mission?

Of course you have. Squirrels seem to get a bizarre kick out of playing chicken with cars.

Have you ever had a squirrel dart out in front of you, as if on a suicide mission, while you were biking?

You probably have not, but I have.

I was riding through campus and there were no cars or people around (a truly strange occurrence) when this little black squirrel with a brown and black striped tail appeared on the other side of the road. He very cautiously crept across the lane starting and stopping many times as I approached. I stopped pedaling when I first saw him and was prepared for any necessary evasive maneuvers, I am familiar with their shenanigans.

This guy was stalking me.

I figured I was safe when at about 10 feet away he was stopped in the middle of my travel lane and I was a foot to the right of the white line in a "bike lane". I assumed I would just slide on by and maybe scare him to the other side of the road.

You know what happens when you assume right? You make A$$ of You and Me.

This little bugger faked left and then darted toward my front wheel. I tapped the brakes and he was within an inch of getting run over by the tire. Or more appropriately flipping me over the handlebars. Literally, if you made a vertical line from the leading edge of the tire to the ground, he was between that line and the tire. Much too close for comfort.

As the saying up North goes;
"Brake for squirrels, It could save your life"

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