Close encounters with the wild kind!

[Karl]

Right after a few encounters over the last year or so I was wondering what, if any, strange encounters with animals people have had?

Most recent for me was last night when my rucksack got stolen by a fox. He dragged it 20 meters from my camp spot and ate my jumbo sausage and tried to munch through a ham sandwich but the packaging was too much. The rucksack was right next to where I was sleeping so he was brave little so and so to come that close.

The highland trail encounter with the charging cow was a scary moment. Still bothers me this.

And finally a sheep sniffed my bum (whilst I was 1/2 asleep - at the time I thought it was chickenlegs (Andy)). The sheep then walked around to the front of my bivvy bag and peered in. At this moment I awoke looking straight at the sheep. I panicked trying to get up quickly before realising I was stuck in my bivvy bag. Sheep just casually wondered off!

Over to you guys.....

[Scud]

I think my worst was doing a spot of climbing in Morocco at Todra Gorge, pulled myself up to a small ledge got to point where my eyes were level with the ledge only to see a snake of some sort basking in the sun, almost fell off, but wasn't going to hang around to identify whether it would actually have me done me damage...

Had a sheep eat right through the flysheet of old Force 10 tent, teach me to leave dirty mess tins in the bell.

Also accidentally took out a field of cows when given incorrect fire order when my job was lobbing shells at things, but that's another story........(and it wasn't in UK, so doesn't count..)

[slarge]

Was 10 minutes into a 12 hour race (Thetford Forest, Dusk til Dawn if anyone remembers that) with a new pair of lightweight wheels, when we could hear a rustling in the undergrowth alongside the stream of riders, then a deer broke cover, straight through my rear wheel, making it pringle shaped. The deer brushed itself off and ran off, then I had 20 minutes of jumping on the wheel to straighten it enough to go round. Went from about 10th to last on the first lap. Back at the van I was able to swap wheels and carry on - still got a 4th place which made me happy.

Had a deer leap across the path at head height as a mate and I flew down a descent on Bredon Hill. That was a worry as it missed him by a few feet.

Apart from that it's the usual chased by dogs, cows, horses. Never been chased by a woman though......

[fatbikephil]

There is a pattern emerging here Karl!
Woke up at Old corour Lodge a couple of months back and couldn't understand why my esi grips had big gouges out of them. On closer inspection it had been gnawed by a bloody meece, who had also chewed through the elastic draw cord on one of my feedbags and chewed through the lining of the other....

[In Reverse]

Karl getting absolutely RINSED by every animal he comes across

"It's had my jumbo sausage!"

[PaulB2]

I've been taken out by a deer on the outskirts of a town once - it came skittering out from an alleyway between two parked cars and went straight through my front wheel. I was on my road bike and going around 18-20 mph at the time so i went flying over the top, having enough time to think 'nice rack' and how soft and cool the deer's shoulder was before I bounced a couple of times and ended up sat up in the middle of the road. My bike ended up another 10-15 foot further up the road. Thankfully no car had been right behind me and the car on the other side of the road stopped in time. I ended up with just a few cuts and bruises, the bike's front wheel was completely taco'd but otherwise the bike was ok and the deer just ran off into the undergrowth on the other side of the road. A police car was only 2 or 3 cars further back and even made a chalk outline around the impact point where my handlebars had slammed into road - the accident report just in case i needed to claim off the deer's insurance had pride of place on my fridge door for years afterwards.

The others have been fairly mundane. One time I hurtled through a flock of large flightless birds that I didn't see until the last second but later I realised they must have been turkeys. The same ride I also ended up bunny hopping a 6-7 foot snake, which was most curious cos I can't bunny hop but I was clipped in and must instinctively have tried to get my feet as far away as possible. One very foggy ride near Point Reyes, I nearly rode into the biggest cow I've ever seen that was just straddling the gravel road I was on - it looked taller than I was, had great big horns and had a large ring through its nose but it just gave me a look and carried on chewing while I just decided to go a different route.

[Moder-dye]

Only thing of note was Shetland ponies raiding my tent and eating or destroying most food. Only recourse was cafe for breakfast

As a kid I did wake up in the tent one morning, when away with a friends family, to a dead rabbit in the entrance! The Dad had clipped it in the car in the way back from the pub and decided that I (about 13 at the time) would gut, skin and make a stew the next day. And that I did

[ScotRoutes]

I had a scary encounter with two owls while bivvying on a beach in North Uist. They were swooping over me close enough that I could have reached up and swatted them. I can only imagine my presence was attracting flying insects and that's what they were after. It was pretty unnerving but I eventually just pulled the bivvy bag over my head and nodded off to sleep

[RichinNW]

I was riding through wentwood forest one evening with Ruth. Having zipped down a nice section of single track I passed a couple on a quad bike. I was focusing on the trail and said hi on passing. Ruth caught up - ‘did you see that? I’ve never seen naked quadbikes before’.

[Ray Young]

Middle of winter in the dales, stopped at a gate and a female grouse rushed out of the undergrowth and started to have a right go at my boot. Could understand it in nesting season but in the middle of winter!

[johnnystorm]

Literally the day after I gave my can of bear spray to a Nobo rider I crested a hill on the Sapillo alternate to find a branch over hanging the trail with a bear on it.

Luckily my girly scream, rapid dismount and legging it, I mean, manly squaring up, scared the beast away. After that the worst things were giant millipedes making their way into the Bivi bag.

[Mariner]

On the SDW above Winchester cycling after dark something white rose up from the track beside me and flew just ahead above the light beam. The track was quite wide between fields with no hedges and the owl just flew at my pace for what seemed ages.
It had been tipping it down since Salisbury. Got lost climbing out of Winchester as the cycle route is not the walkers route.
So there in the dark as the skies cleared and the moon appeared I was privileged to share a moment in time with a Barn Owl.
Naturally I missed my turn off.

[Scattamah]

Dropping down Crane Mountain in Montana...came around a corner and got within 6' from the tail end of a running grizzly. That thing smelt bad...like rotting garbage bad. It was huge and pulling away from me with every stride. It ran into the bush and up the side of the mountain and still kept putting distance between itself and me. Etrex said I was doing somewhere near 40mph to give you an idea how fast this beast could move.

Greetz

S.

[darbeze]

I startled a male pheasant whilst riding past and it flew straight at me, hitting me right on the head. Nearly knocked me off....

They really are daft birds....

Si

[Charliecres]

Out night riding locally I was shat on from a great height by something unseen but with the ability to store and eject about half a pound of a loose meaty faecal paste. Pterodactyl? Condor? Howler monkey? I imagine I’ll never know.

[Lazarus]

came round a corner to be faced with a buzzard on the road that had killed a rabbit

It then set off towards and they are a big bird six inches from your face wings at full spread and talons out
Ditched the bike to avoid that interface

That is all I have faced.

[Blair512]

Cycling up into Glen Lyon from Killin at the tail end of last year I had to go through the middle of a herd of Highland cattle, one of the calfs bolted up the road in front of me and it's mum started to chase me, so began 2 miles of me chasing the calf and being chased by the cow until eventually the calf found a hole in the dyke and escaped into a field. Thought I was going to end up impaled on yon muckle horns!

[Single Speed George]

Got hit in the head and nocked off my bike in the dark early morning on the sand stone way a few years ago, by a phesent that i must have startled in the dark, took off and hit me on its way up haha

[AlasdairMc]

I had a baby squirrel crawl through my wheel when I’d stopped on the way home from work. Very cute and clearly stupid.

My scariest encounter was nearly pedalling over a rattlesnake in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Oops.

[Ian]

On the WRT this year I forgot to bring my ear plugs. I went to sleep early, and then awoke unexpectedly at around midnight. I could hear a rustling really close to my bivvy bag, so popped on my light in the direction of the sound. Nothing. Light off. Rustle rustle. Light on. Nothing. Light off. Rustle rustle. It was really annoying, and I eventually put it down to slugs crawling slowly through the leaf litter.

This one isn't an encounter as such, but A good few years back at the Bach to Bach I rode out to Pont Scethin for a bivvy by the bridge. This is quite a special place with a lot of history attached to it, and I recall a very vivid dream about drovers driving cattle through/ past my bivvy spot and over the bridge. I suddenly found myself completely awake as if the event was actually happening and was quite relieved to find it wasn't. Lovely night though - clear and with a moon lighting the surrounding landscape.

[slarge]

Out night riding locally I was shat on from a great height by something unseen but with the ability to store and eject about half a pound of a loose meaty faecal paste. Pterodactyl? Condor? Howler monkey? I imagine I’ll never know.

Sorry about that. It was an experimental phase.

[Charliecres]

Thank god! Closure

[Mart]

ha ha Karl - must be your animal magnetism One night I had a Bat get confused and go for my helmet mounted light.

[Pickers]

A good few years ago, riding the fine leafy lanes near Kinver. Freewheeling down a bit of a slope, there was a flurry of black and white fur from the hedge and some angry snarling!
Assault by badger (I should be so lucky!). He smacked the front hub, didn't quite bring me down but hit hard enough to pop the mudguard stays out of the clips on both sides. He looked a bit dazed but was up and away sharpish, I stopped 50 yds or so further on - the stays were pinging off the spokes so reclipped them before they brought me down.

[Dave Barter]

Does a tick on my bollocks count?