Cycling is Wild! - Even in New England... blog post by Mike

Cycling is Wild! - Even in New England...

Cycling inherently places us in contact with the outdoors and anything that runs, slithers, or flies around out there. While you're almost guaranteed to come across the occasional stick or broken glass, it is the fauna (that biological stuff that walks around) that seems to give us primary concern when riding on a wooded road. Little did we know that even in New England, the roads can be a little wilder than we think.

So, let's begin our bike-related animal safari.

1) Rodents (this includes chipmunks, mice, and the bane of all rural and suburban cyclists; squirrels)

Sciurus carolinensis - scourge of the roadways. 

These frantic critters have a wonderful habit of blindly running across roadways and paths, directly in front of bicycles and vehicles. On a short ride with Yale Cycling Captain, John Wen, we had an unfortunate run-in with a squirrel that crossed the road, saw a car, and sprinted all the way back across the street, only to be met by my back tire as it ran beneath me. Generally, the cyclist merely feels a bump when he hits a squirrel (and some remorse), but we can only hope the squirrel felt nothing.   

Animalia muerte - reminding us to stay alert

2) Roadkill (generally the unluckiest of the animal kingdom, including skunks, opossums, rodents, lagomorphs, and the occasional bird or fox).

Animals that have met a cruel fate often litter the shoulders of highways and present an unfortunate obstacle for cyclists that may join the critters along the roadside if they do not remain alert while passing them. Sad to see... 

3) Deer (T-bone venison)

Odocoileus virginianus - mobile roadblock 

A little over a year ago, riding home at dusk, I road my bike through a suburban neighborhood in Ithaca,

NY, and came across a family of deer (a doe with four fawns) huddled together in a front yard. One may think the best defense to avoid danger would be to run away from it, or hide... but deer beg to differ. Upon seeing my bicycle, the deer quickly reacted by scattering in all directions, one in particular dashing into the road before me.

T-bone! As my front wheel collided with the deer's side, it was repelled to the right of the bike, and in one smooth motion, the deer was wedged between my right handlebar drop and the frame. Amazingly, neither of us fell, but as the deer ran, its wedged backside pulled me along like Santa's sleigh. All I could do was coast (to avoid hitting its legs) until I slowed enough for the deer to pop loose and run away. I stopped my ride, confused, thankful that I didn't fall, and hoping that the deer wasn't too badly injured, while "silently" cursing its poor judgment.

Ursus americanus - fuzzy harbinger of death

4) Bears (they're waiting for their dinner)

During a pre-race course ride of the ECCC Black Moshannon road race in Pennsylvania, MTB boss Molly Oakley and I were within meters of a joyful little black bear playing in a forest clearing. I yelled to her as she left the car, unaware of the creature off in the distance. It wasn't the little guy I was wary of, but of the potential aggressive mommy, hiding in the bushes nearby.

5) Peacocks! (Yes, an actual peacock; not a ring-necked pheasant)

The peacock: These highly venomous, native birds of Connecticut have a strong taste for leaping out in front of bicyclists, challenging them by waving their brilliant plumage in the rider's face as they fly.

Racing along, I hear rustling and squawks from a nearby bush, only to find a rather large peacock leap in front of me, gliding and fluttering as I cruised, pacing the bird. It's brilliant blue neck shown bright as its extravagant tail trailed behind, like an ornate kite. As it moved off to a nearby yard, I watched to ensure I wasn't crazy. My initial reaction was indeed "What the #%&$?" and my bewilderment stayed with me minutes after. I would guess it was someone's pet, seeing as peacocks are native to eastern Asia and the Indian subcontinent...Last Sunday was the CT State Time Trial up in Durham, CT. Most of the course actually overlapped the Yale Saturday ride by several miles. However, with three miles to go in the race, I found myself in the wooded section of the course where, to my reality shaking surprise, I nearly collide with... a peacock.

6) Humans (Homo oblivious)

Potentially the most dangerous and most often encountered of the wild beasts, this half organic, half mechanical creature (whether on a bike or in a car) is well known for its prolific breeding, invention of the tootsie roll, and terrible driving. These creatures are to be carefully watched and respected, as you may never know when one decides to turn right, from a stationary position, into a CVS, without a turn signal or checking the mirrors, cutting you off as you ride on the shoulder so that you impact the side of the vehicle (Too specific? Well, it happens).
 

Revelations on riding a bicycle, not racing. By Elif.

1- Anything I thought I knew about cycling from three years of collegiate road racing is practically negligible in the context of navigating the streets of a foreign city by bike. Ie, I'm learning how to ride a bike all over again.

2- Anything I thought I knew about a bike is practically negligible in the context of navigating Tokyo on a second hand, single speed, basket-and-rack-laden cruiser that likely weighs more than a tugboat. Ie, I'm learning how to ride a bike all over again. 

3- The point of cycling so far, for me at least, had been primarily athletic: getting into something slightly closer to race shape than the your-endurance-pace-is-me-wheezing shape I'd been in most winters. 

I've realized how drastically the reason I ride a bike has changed once I became a commuter, that getting from point A to point B has become my main goal now (okay, and maybe passing a few people with lighter bikes on the climbs). My bike, previously a tool for self-inflicted torture interspersed with scenic escapes from New Haven and the campus bubble, has suddenly become the most essential functional component of my daily routine, my means of getting to work every morning and back home at the end of every day.

Granted, the mechanics of biking are the same in either case; the number of hours I spend on the saddle are likely the same and I spend no less time thinking about the next season of ECCC races and missing the last, but my relationship with my bike and identity as a cyclist has shifted (pun maybe intended) entirely. It's a weird feeling and I like it.

4- Riding in left-hand traffic (and especially making right turns) takes a few close calls to get used to, but has ultimately tuned up my awareness of surrounding vehicles to a level of CONSTANT VIGILANCE!

5- The fact that it's legal to ride on the sidewalk in any direction, combined with the fact that most roads have no bike lanes and there is only so much space before you're riding in the gutter, results in a hectic crisscrossing of cyclists, walkers, schoolchildren and grandmas that turn Tokyo sidewalks on rush hour into a bike handling skills clinic that would make any race promoter jealous. 

6- Since my bike is now my only means of getting home at the end of the day, I've realized that any excuses I previously had for ditching bike rides ("it's raining," "it's dark out," "there's a biblical thunderstorm," "my brakes are making a weird sound," "I'm still drunk," "I haven't done laundry yet," "my handlebars aren't pointing the same direction my front wheel is," "my shoes are still wet," "I have too much homework," "I didn't eat enough," "I ate too much and now can't move," "it's 3.00 am," "when's the last time I pumped my tires?" "I can't find my gloves," "I haven't charged my garmin," etc.) are entirely invalid. If it has wheels and they spin, it's good to go. 

7- The bike I'm riding right now is worth 1/80 of the bike I currently have locked up in New Haven, is probably 80 times heavier and makes the slightest incline feel like a cat 1 climb, fits me more awkwardly than the red corduroy pants my mom got me in second grade, and yet I love it just as much, simply because it's my dependable friend and irreplaceable travel companion. 

8- I'm glad I had to give up being a road cyclist for the three months I'm spending in Tokyo and became a bike commuter instead, because I'm falling in love with cycling all over again. Riding bikes is amazing, in any form or size or shape, for any reason, anywhere on the planet.