Where the Wild Things Are

As mountain bikers and in general, all cyclists know, we deal with not only changing trail/road conditions and environmental factors, but also mother nature and all her creatures while out on the trails.

This past week has been rather eventful for us and while I do not have photos to share, I will encourage readers to use their imaginations as you read along. My day begins by greeting my two girly-girls, i.e., cats, with "Good morning's" and hugs. Jeff always gives the girls their treats in the morning and evening. It is a routine now and if Jeff forgets, they do not. They pester him until they get their treat. Outside of our own pets, our neighbors harbor many stray cats and these cats often wander into our yard. I have names for them which describe their demeanors/physical features -- there is "mean kitty," "Oreo cookie kitty," and "hurt kitty." It is "hurt kitty" that breaks my heart every time I see her. She is a muted calico cat with a hurt front leg. It appears that it might have been broken at one time and never properly cared for. Like most animals, she seems to have adapted and gets along quite well, but I do worry about her inability to move quickly to protect herself.

The weather has been quite damp and soggy in this part of New York and last weekend, Jeff and I decided to go for a hike on a set of trails we often ride. At the slower hiking pace, we noticed these brightly colored little orange creatures about 3 inches in length. I thought they were some kind of reptile, but Jeff knew that they were some kind of newt. (Not sure if a newt is a reptile?) I squealed with delight like a small child and wondered if they could hear us? see us? The trail was littered with these little creatures and we carefully stepped around them to the best of our ability. As soon as we got home, we Googled this creature and found many images to back up Jeff's opinions.

The day before, Jeff was on a mountain bike ride and grazed by a nesting grouse. The creature must nest close to the ground and when Jeff came by, he must have startled the creature. Of course, Jeff was just as surprised and claims that the grouse almost went into his front wheel. Jeff and I always laugh about the one time years ago when New York had a mild earthquake. That day, I went for a road ride and I, too, was nearly taken out by a grouse that jumped on my back and in an attempt to swat the thing off my back, I almost took myself out. For some reason, I think that the animals were still recovering from the earth quake and perhaps, the sound of my bike startled this traumatized creature?

Last week, I rode into campus for all day meetings. I left the house at 7 a.m. and going down the road, I was greeted by a rather large German Shepherd dog. Now, this guy has a routine and I know it! During the day, he is never out, but his owners must let him out early in the day and he runs around in the farmer's fields. The week before, he completely came upon me out of no where, but this week I was looking for him. Once again, he saw me and came sprinting across the field. I let out a few dog commands, which seemed to slow him down, and he eventually crossed the road and went home.

Just yesterday, we were riding at Chenango Valley State Park and it was very wet and soggy. During our ride, we were met by a large brown lab with a big smile, big tongue, and low ears. We was very friendly and I would endearingly consider him a big goof-ball. He wanted to hang with us mountain bikers more than stay with his owner. He was dirty and wet, but so were we.....

Other animals sightings this past week include a red fox and many baby geese. The fox acted rather odd and Jeff indicated that we should keep moving. As for the baby geese as cute and fuzzy-wuzzy as they are, the parents are very protective and there's absolutely no way you can get close to them. Again, we just kept on moving.

If you are an animal lover, I hope you enjoyed our tales and if not, stay posted for more cycling-related posts. The lull in our racing is over and we will be back on the road for about the next month. We will do our last Park Ave. Training race tomorrow night and then compete in the first NYS series race and an H2H race in preparation of nationals.

I've got a lot of miles in my legs and have been very proactive with my stretching to care for my back.

Togehter, we are Jeffina, crankin' out the miles, crankin' out the love for Crankskins.com.