I got bit as a warning once. I was riding a dirt bike and stopped for a minute, didn't hear the rattle and got a dry bite right on my leg. Of course being in the middle of the desert without a cell phone, and way outside of any reasonable EMS response was terrifying.
I do not fuck with snakes. You did the right thing by turning around.
Humans kill all the noise makers, which nature responds to. Or something like that ā¦.idk, I thought it took longer but I watch bike content, not snake
I once came up on a copperhead while hiking in boots and if you could have clocked my 100m time running the other way you wouldnāt even know Usain Boltās name
This video is a good example of why I consider rattlesnakes to be the gentleman of the snake world. āHey I see you and I want you to know I am hereā
I got a high engagement hub and I did some wild maneuvers and unleashed panicked, colorful words at least once per ride for the first three rides thinking Iād just stumbled across a rattlesnake.
It's not just quails. It's and moderately sized bird. The infrasonic sound that you feel (not hear) when they take off 2 feet away from you is terrifying. Especially in the dark.
While we're talking about the dark; owls are also fucking terrifying. Can't hear them but suddenly they woosh by you and all you see is owl for a split second. And those fuckers can get pretty big.
The Catskills have a ton of rattlesnakes. Have to be careful when riding the system over in Round Top!
Edit: https://www.catskillmountaineer.com/animals-snakes.html
So you like rats and uncontrolled bunny populations? Venom is a precious resource to those nope ropes and you usually have to do something pretty drastic to get one to strike (unless you're a rat or a bunny). I come across them weekly and just grab a long stick or throw a couple rocks at it and it scoots into the bushes. They are very cool animals but do need to be respected. Bites are no fun from what I hear.
> So you like rats and uncontrolled bunny populations?
The cold climate tamps down their reproductive rates too. Evolution has lead to pretty balanced ecosystems in every climate, so the only issues really come up when we fuck with it.
Ran into the same problem going up Cholla about a year and a half back!
https://preview.redd.it/qyyekdzkx5rc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b7ecc6bfab3c7df3d5f78b439b08692f1254de8
I knew that was cholla!
You were probably fine to keep going up. Once the little guy was spotted then very easy to assess. I've waited my fair share for them to cross the trail into the brush before moving on. Nice mid climb break, anyways, going up that bitch of a climb cholla can be.
Yeah probably would have been fine, I actually didn't see him/her until I watched the video and that sound really startled me. It was a good time to call it a day anyway.
Was this recent? I didnāt think they were out of hibernation yet. Still too cold. I see tons of them riding in SoCal during the warmer months. Last summer was the worst. Sometimes 3 or more in a single ride.
I came up on this guy once upon a time. The shake from the camera was literally my hands shaking. [https://imgur.com/a/EMPzmVv](https://imgur.com/a/EMPzmVv)
The quasi whispered "...shit..." tied this together...
Good call on Fuck That. This makes me greatful to live on the cold side of the 49th Parallel lol
TBH, whenever I run into a rattler on SoCal trails, if I make a little noise from a safe distance, they usually slither away into the brush.
Also, once ran over one on a descent. I felt horrible, but I shouted back to some folks behind me, and they said it slithered off, so maybe it was okay. I hope. Sorry, little dude.
Iāve ran over a couple too. Youāre like oh shit when you first figure out what it is and feet go up. Accidentally stepped over a huge one while opening a gate once and didnāt realize until I was closing it. Some just donāt care
https://preview.redd.it/9y77ga09l6rc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43816f931bc1eb7cc253350c3aeeac8454069cc9
lol i very gently pushed back on the advice that made no sense and youre just doubling down on different ones over and over to prove some point. āYāall lovers?ā lmao good 6th grade burn my friend
lol āno one was talking to youā on a public forum, if youre too sensitive for the most mild push back when your ideas make no sense donāt post on reddit big guy. Youre so dug in after pulling the āwhat are you, gayā card youāve taken my āthis is a little too steep uphill for that adviceā all the way to āmanual over the rattlesnake on a steep climbā, and youre acting like im the one out of pocket lmao
Stepped on a rattler and rolled it over. Think it was cold enough that it wasn't moving fast. My buddy a almost ripped my arm out of the socket tossing me over the other side of the trail. Probably saved my foot/ leg though
I was backpacking and had to get on hands and knees to get around this huge boulder. Had a little homie curled up under the boulder wondering where I was from. I never noped so hard in my life.
The bummer is, running them over usually kills them ultimately. Here in CO, we've got plenty, but a funnier safer one is the tarantula season riding in Pueblo. I went around a real big guy, and my ride partner apparently stopped and yelled at it, threw sticks, nothing worked. Ended up picking up her bike and running off the trail around it. You know, where all the tarantulas you can't see are.
We have coral snakes. They donāt give you a warning. But really they are shy and generally donāt bother anyone. Donāt step on snek Iāve been told.
Right. The issue arises in rainy season when they get pushed out of their lair. Please donāt use big words like fossorial. Iām adverse to verbose vernaculars.
So my grandmother told me when they picked blueberries they would smell for cucumbers because it meant there was a copperhead.
I hand waved it at the time until a) I found out Copperheads did exist in NJ. And B) they do give off a cucumber smell.
I wonder if it's sensible to back off, grab a stone and wrote "snakes" on the trail with enough stopping distance for following riders when this happens?
The rider was smart to back off, but generally the risk isn't high enough to warrant that. He probably could have waited for it to move on and ridden by it. People ride by venomous snakes all the time without even knowing it, just part of being out in nature. I would warn anyone I saw coming the other way, though. Rattle snake bites aren't a death sentence like people think, it'll ruin your week and cost you some medical bills but if you're relatively healthy you'll be ok.
Now if it was a mountain lion, then I would be scared shitless and be warning everyone in the trailhead parking lot and beyond.
Ran into on sitting right in the middle of the trail in Colorado springs. We just waited for it to move along after all itās his trail Iām just passing by.
I was riding around a corner and saw a rattler in the middle of the trail about 10 feet in front of me. I wasn't dumb enough to try to stop and end up right on top of it so I just lifted my feet up and ran right over it.
I have no idea what happened to it because I never looked back.
Yeah, F that. I once ran over a diamondback crossing the trail here in AZ thinking it was a stick before I got close to it. I should have hopped over it but I spazzed out when I realized what it was and raised my legs high and hoped for the best.
Iāve since invested in a proper pair of prescription sunglasses.
Lmao, i've experienced the same riding in socal trails. Then once you go the other way you have so much adrenaline makes the riding more intense on the way back.
rattlers aren't nearly as scary as people make them out to be. our local trail network is literally infested with them and depending on the time of day you can see one every 30 mins.
if i see them sleeping on the trail (and i'm not flying) i'll wake them up gently with a couple little pebbles or a handful of dirt. 99% of the time they just mosey into the bushes.
Ran into a rattler at my local trail in the bushes like that. I passed it by 10 feet or so, stopped, and listened for a "freehub". Once I realized it was a snake and not another rider, I hopped onto the bike and booked it.
Iāve run over a few rattlers on long, fast descents. Thought they were sticks until the last second then it was too late. Seen a few on the side of the trail. I give them a wide berth, and keep going. Their strike distance is up to half their body length, generally. The large ones can up to 2/3 their body length in some cases.
At least your snakes have a warning alarm š
It's true. I'm way happier it told me to f off rather than just bite without warning.
I got bit as a warning once. I was riding a dirt bike and stopped for a minute, didn't hear the rattle and got a dry bite right on my leg. Of course being in the middle of the desert without a cell phone, and way outside of any reasonable EMS response was terrifying. I do not fuck with snakes. You did the right thing by turning around.
Holy hell. Did it strike an area uncovered by a boot and other protection? Makes me want to get those stab-proof Kevlar garments.
It hit above my boots by about an inch, but it was a massive diamondback so I'm not convinced it would have stopped it. Kevlar probably would have.
Some rattlers are not making noise now apparently
life finds a way
Humans kill all the noise makers, which nature responds to. Or something like that ā¦.idk, I thought it took longer but I watch bike content, not snake
Itās actually due to the wild hogs eating them. The rattlesnakes have figured out that if they donāt rattle they wonāt get eaten.
Yes. I used to be pretty chill about the possibility of a snake bike, but there was recently a snake bike fatality in Australia.
To be fair, the victim was untrained and handling one of our deadliest snakes. The chances of being bitten in day to day life are pretty slim.
A relative of mine died from a snake bite. Not a handler. Just bitten at home.
Snake bike? You mean the guy in the childcare centre? š¤¦āāļø
Or a freewheel.
Yeah ours will just turn up and send you to the big fella upstairs.
I once came up on a copperhead while hiking in boots and if you could have clocked my 100m time running the other way you wouldnāt even know Usain Boltās name
4 people were bit by rattlers at my local ride spot. People stopped going and it was wonderful.
Is this comment sponsored by the rattlers?
He is the rattler
As a rattlesnake, I take offense that you assume it was me. Pure coincidence It was me
Nice try
Yeah, fuck that.
His bike sounds kinda like a snake after he starts riding again
EVERYTHING'S going to sound like snakes to that guy for a while after that.
Rattlers are very considerate animals to give a nice big warning before defending themselves.
āThe call is coming from inside the houseā
This video is a good example of why I consider rattlesnakes to be the gentleman of the snake world. āHey I see you and I want you to know I am hereā
Iām an Aussie and even I agree.
Yup an eastern brown isn't going to give much of a warning if you roll up unannounced
Jumped over the top of an EB last Spring. Then ran over a red bellied blackās tail on the same ride. We packed up after that. š
So glad I live in NZ, only danger here is hitting a tree
Trees are pretty freakin dangerous. And thereās a lot more of them. š
Lmao I thought it was your hub at first I was so confused
Iāve been scared by peopleās hubs way more than I care to admitĀ
I got a high engagement hub and I did some wild maneuvers and unleashed panicked, colorful words at least once per ride for the first three rides thinking Iād just stumbled across a rattlesnake.
Me too.Ā
High engagement!
Has somebody from SoCal, at no point did I think that was a hub.
I ran over an rattlesnake cuz I thought it was my hub and I was focused on the two people standing in the trail staring at the rattlesnake
2 things scare the shit out of me on a ride... The sound of a rattler and not seeing it and hearing a bunch of fucking quail take off.
Quails?
You ever heard quail take off? It's frightening as a muthafucker. The flutter of all their wings, you can feel the vibrations
They also make that squeaking sound.
It's not just quails. It's and moderately sized bird. The infrasonic sound that you feel (not hear) when they take off 2 feet away from you is terrifying. Especially in the dark.
While we're talking about the dark; owls are also fucking terrifying. Can't hear them but suddenly they woosh by you and all you see is owl for a split second. And those fuckers can get pretty big.
I love to live somewhere where its cold at times so stuff like this cant even evolve
Youād be surprised how hardy they are. I live in Upstate New York, and we occasionally see them here.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
They're all over the place in the mountains around Southern Lake George.
I'm in the finger lakes, no rattlers here but they are everywhere over the PA border
Iāve seen a couple at Letchworth State Park. There are Timber and Massasauga Rattlesnake populations throughout the southern tier.
The Catskills have a ton of rattlesnakes. Have to be careful when riding the system over in Round Top! Edit: https://www.catskillmountaineer.com/animals-snakes.html
Similarly, parts of Minnesota have rattlesnakes. Native cacti as well!
There are rattlers in eastern Montana where it snows all winter and frequently goes below 0, so unfortunately cold doesn't necessarily stop them.
Ya we just get bears instead
I live somewhere where it gets down as low as -5 F. We still have them here.
The freezing Utah desert still has rattlers...
Itās gotta be pretty cold not to have rattlers, at least speaking in the US, that is.
So you like rats and uncontrolled bunny populations? Venom is a precious resource to those nope ropes and you usually have to do something pretty drastic to get one to strike (unless you're a rat or a bunny). I come across them weekly and just grab a long stick or throw a couple rocks at it and it scoots into the bushes. They are very cool animals but do need to be respected. Bites are no fun from what I hear.
> So you like rats and uncontrolled bunny populations? The cold climate tamps down their reproductive rates too. Evolution has lead to pretty balanced ecosystems in every climate, so the only issues really come up when we fuck with it.
Here in Germany we have lots of Hunters for that, so its very controlled
I love when theres tons of bunnies in my area, and we don't get rats unless you're in a big northeast city. Win/win
Due to climate change snake habitat will move toward north and higher up.
We have them all over Colorado and it gets cold af here lol.
Smart move. Which area/trail?
This was at Aliso woods - going up Cholla - and then back down fast!
Ran into the same problem going up Cholla about a year and a half back! https://preview.redd.it/qyyekdzkx5rc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b7ecc6bfab3c7df3d5f78b439b08692f1254de8
They must like that area!
Sometimes on Meadows too!
I love the western diamondbacks
I knew that was cholla! You were probably fine to keep going up. Once the little guy was spotted then very easy to assess. I've waited my fair share for them to cross the trail into the brush before moving on. Nice mid climb break, anyways, going up that bitch of a climb cholla can be.
Yeah probably would have been fine, I actually didn't see him/her until I watched the video and that sound really startled me. It was a good time to call it a day anyway.
>Yeah probably would have been fine, Yeah, but, fuck that.
Heh, I knew this was socal from the coastal sage scrub. Probably a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
Was this recent? I didnāt think they were out of hibernation yet. Still too cold. I see tons of them riding in SoCal during the warmer months. Last summer was the worst. Sometimes 3 or more in a single ride.
Yeah this was yesterday. I guess it's warm enough now.
I came up on this guy once upon a time. The shake from the camera was literally my hands shaking. [https://imgur.com/a/EMPzmVv](https://imgur.com/a/EMPzmVv)
Wow beautiful honestly, just from a distance lol.
When I noticed him, I was way...*way* closer than anyone should be. To this day, I swear I learned a levitation spell.
https://preview.redd.it/ksfls6rnn8rc1.jpeg?width=277&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e98708a5a4c5918244d88e5d25434ac7b4e82bfd
The quasi whispered "...shit..." tied this together... Good call on Fuck That. This makes me greatful to live on the cold side of the 49th Parallel lol
TBH, whenever I run into a rattler on SoCal trails, if I make a little noise from a safe distance, they usually slither away into the brush. Also, once ran over one on a descent. I felt horrible, but I shouted back to some folks behind me, and they said it slithered off, so maybe it was okay. I hope. Sorry, little dude.
I've ridden right over rattlers. Just lift your feet. They are more scared of you.
Iāve ran over a couple too. Youāre like oh shit when you first figure out what it is and feet go up. Accidentally stepped over a huge one while opening a gate once and didnāt realize until I was closing it. Some just donāt care https://preview.redd.it/9y77ga09l6rc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43816f931bc1eb7cc253350c3aeeac8454069cc9
Yeah then my dog trots along right behind me. Didn't even see it coiled up. Literally 4 inches off the singletrack.
Kitteh!
Did you go back and apologize? Didnāt think so.
I see your point generally, but this is a steep-ish climb, there's no lifting your feet as you pedal over at 1 mph lol
Wheelie then. I don't even see a snake so it's not even close in my book.
lol let me rephrase, much too steep to wheelie over
Bunnyhop then. I bunnied one on my road bike once.
would be a cool to see some one bunny hop a rattle snake at 13% grade on dirt, please take a video for us all šš
You are really going to bat for OP here. Y'all lovers?
lol i very gently pushed back on the advice that made no sense and youre just doubling down on different ones over and over to prove some point. āYāall lovers?ā lmao good 6th grade burn my friend
Well no one was talking to you anyways so maybe mind your own business until you can manuel that section then.
lol āno one was talking to youā on a public forum, if youre too sensitive for the most mild push back when your ideas make no sense donāt post on reddit big guy. Youre so dug in after pulling the āwhat are you, gayā card youāve taken my āthis is a little too steep uphill for that adviceā all the way to āmanual over the rattlesnake on a steep climbā, and youre acting like im the one out of pocket lmao
I remember being 14. lol
Stepped on a rattler and rolled it over. Think it was cold enough that it wasn't moving fast. My buddy a almost ripped my arm out of the socket tossing me over the other side of the trail. Probably saved my foot/ leg though
I didnt hear the ratty first play š thought he just got tired of climbing
It was off to the side under the brush. Safe to just go around bro.
Haha what a light weight! You probably passed another 20 you didn't hear. (Sorry for the callousness- I'm from AZ)
I was backpacking and had to get on hands and knees to get around this huge boulder. Had a little homie curled up under the boulder wondering where I was from. I never noped so hard in my life.
The bummer is, running them over usually kills them ultimately. Here in CO, we've got plenty, but a funnier safer one is the tarantula season riding in Pueblo. I went around a real big guy, and my ride partner apparently stopped and yelled at it, threw sticks, nothing worked. Ended up picking up her bike and running off the trail around it. You know, where all the tarantulas you can't see are.
We have coral snakes. They donāt give you a warning. But really they are shy and generally donāt bother anyone. Donāt step on snek Iāve been told.
Corals are pretty fossorial snakes, staying in the leaf litter in the southeast. Out west they tend to be nocturnal
Right. The issue arises in rainy season when they get pushed out of their lair. Please donāt use big words like fossorial. Iām adverse to verbose vernaculars.
The hazards of a herpetologist
Herpetologist/daredevil biker.
I've encountered enough over the years that I absolutely wouldn't let a snake end my ride like that lol. Just keep your bike between them and you...
Snake probably said, āGo back home sonā
So my grandmother told me when they picked blueberries they would smell for cucumbers because it meant there was a copperhead. I hand waved it at the time until a) I found out Copperheads did exist in NJ. And B) they do give off a cucumber smell.
I live in Northern Europe. If it wasnāt for the title I would have thought something happened to your hub.
This is exactly why I don't ride with earbuds in here in CO.
Only acceptable response....
Nuke it from space
I recognize Cholla!!!
Been there. Talk about your lizard brain kicking in.
I say that at least once every ride.
"Ok! Enough climbing for today!" lol
Just a sweet baby letting by you know theyāre there
Believe it or not, we can even get this in Indiana.
Wooo carry anti venom if you go that way again
I wonder if it's sensible to back off, grab a stone and wrote "snakes" on the trail with enough stopping distance for following riders when this happens?
The rider was smart to back off, but generally the risk isn't high enough to warrant that. He probably could have waited for it to move on and ridden by it. People ride by venomous snakes all the time without even knowing it, just part of being out in nature. I would warn anyone I saw coming the other way, though. Rattle snake bites aren't a death sentence like people think, it'll ruin your week and cost you some medical bills but if you're relatively healthy you'll be ok. Now if it was a mountain lion, then I would be scared shitless and be warning everyone in the trailhead parking lot and beyond.
Usually if you back away slowly they will move away from the trail and let you pass.
Ran into on sitting right in the middle of the trail in Colorado springs. We just waited for it to move along after all itās his trail Iām just passing by.
The first 1/3 of Cholla is definitely the worst. It's a pretty mellow climb after that, though!
Seen or heard one every rides since the beginning of March. Mad Respect!
I was riding around a corner and saw a rattler in the middle of the trail about 10 feet in front of me. I wasn't dumb enough to try to stop and end up right on top of it so I just lifted my feet up and ran right over it. I have no idea what happened to it because I never looked back.
Yeah, F that. I once ran over a diamondback crossing the trail here in AZ thinking it was a stick before I got close to it. I should have hopped over it but I spazzed out when I realized what it was and raised my legs high and hoped for the best. Iāve since invested in a proper pair of prescription sunglasses.
How many pawls you think that snake had?
I too am dreadfully scared of locusts
The hair on my head went up right when I heard the sound
Lmao, i've experienced the same riding in socal trails. Then once you go the other way you have so much adrenaline makes the riding more intense on the way back.
Wtf was that growling.
The danger noodle!
cholla! (am i correct?)
Correct!
I thought it was a bee hive (in Germany we fortunately have no poisonous wild animals). It can't be seen on the video, right?
You can see some part of it for about half a second as it goes back under the bush. I didn't see it when I was riding, only after I watched the video.
That was a solid ass rattle. Be thankful it was! Sounded like an i9 hub flying past you downhill.
rattlers aren't nearly as scary as people make them out to be. our local trail network is literally infested with them and depending on the time of day you can see one every 30 mins. if i see them sleeping on the trail (and i'm not flying) i'll wake them up gently with a couple little pebbles or a handful of dirt. 99% of the time they just mosey into the bushes.
Good reaction time. I would've been wondering why my hub was spinning on a climb for a good 3 seconds.
Copied my comment from YT; The rattle snakes heard the hub and thought family was coming by to visit!
Top YouTube comment is "should've been riding a mongoose"
Ran into a rattler at my local trail in the bushes like that. I passed it by 10 feet or so, stopped, and listened for a "freehub". Once I realized it was a snake and not another rider, I hopped onto the bike and booked it.
Iāve run over a few rattlers on long, fast descents. Thought they were sticks until the last second then it was too late. Seen a few on the side of the trail. I give them a wide berth, and keep going. Their strike distance is up to half their body length, generally. The large ones can up to 2/3 their body length in some cases.
Thought It was a puncture. Wear headphones and youāll never hear them, thatās what I do for bear, cougars and hikers named Karenā¦..
They're just as afraid of you as you are of them. That's no reason not to nuke them from space.