Conference noted::bicycle

      I was at the N.E. mountain bike championships this past weekend
    at Mt. Snow Vermont.  On Thursday afternoon a group of us went on
    a trail ride through the valley south of the mountain.  The trail
    was fairly technical so we were not looking to far ahead but one
    time when I glanced up to see what was coming up I saw something
    big run up a tree.  It turned out to be a pair of bear cubs we had
    scared.  Charlie Kelly (recently inducted to the MTB hall of fame)
    who was first in line said he had scared the mother away so before
    anyone could remark on how cute the cubs were we were gone.  Mom
    was sure to be back soon.
    						Norm

    I saw one Bald Eagle this year, on rt 202 west of Hillsboro.  I see
    lots of Blue Heron.  I've seen a couple of raccoons and foxes, all at
    night.  There was deer crossing Bean Rd in Merrimack -- more habitat
    lost to new construction.
    
    In Capron, Ill., I saw something I had never seen before.  It was one
    one of my night laps the second night: a live possum.  I think he was
    eating a banana that had been dropped earlier.
    
    I ran over a woodchuck back in June (with my bike).
    
    Then there's always the Screaming Hooligans, I see lots of them. :-)
    
    ed

    re. -1
    
>    I saw one Bald Eagle this year, on rt 202 west of Hillsboro.  I see
    
    	It's all relative.  When I lived in Alaska this was a *common*
    site.  Most interesting sight I've seen in N.H. is a Sparrow Hawk
    dining on a baby mink (disgusting appetite).  This is one of the
    reasons I'm looking forward to getting into ATB's and getting back to
    nature.  On the down side, I'm hearing that a lot of the trails 
    in the State Parks are being closed to bicycles.  That's really
    going to hurt those that like to bike and enjoy nature.
    
    						Jerry

    My wife met a wild dog biting her leg yesterday.  Does this count?
    
    steve

Deer, porcupines, snapping turtles.... So NH.
                   

I've seen a deer and a porcupine. Once I saw a fox on the side of a hill during 
an overcast day. I stopped to watch it and it just sat there lookin at me. I
yelled because I wanted to see it move, and all it did was tilt its head to the
side like I've seen dogs do at funny noises. I've seen a lot of woodchucks, but
never a LIVE possum. 
        ====

Tom

Ps I usually ride with my head down looking for glass and I see a lot of money 
on the road. A dime here and there but I never stop and pick it up. Never seems
to be enough to stop for it. How much would it take for you to stop and pick it
up? What if you were doing a TT? 
	

     RE. 2
    Make a visit to Atlanta I used to trap possums in my trash can, the
    animal control people won't pick up possums because there are so
    many.
    
     BTW I saw all of this on asphalt I don't have an ATB.

    RE: .6
    
    I haven't seen much wildlife this year, but I did find 37 bucks
    (not male deer) on Rte 20 a couple of weeks ago.  I picked up a
    10, 20, 5, and two ones.  I didn't want to leave the area because
    I figured there must be more.  Eventually I mosied into work.
    
    Phil

    re: .8, and of course you asked everyone within shouting
    distance whether they had lost any money recently!  :-)
    
    ed

    RE: .9
    
    No, but I kept looking over my shoulder as I rode away.
    
    Phil
   

    2 weekends ago I was riding on a midnight ride on a deserted
    road near Jackson NH on my ATB. I passed this empty pickup 
    truck that was parked along the side of the road. As I rode
    along farther...I heard what I considered to be MoAnInnGGG
    noises comming out of the darkness in the thick underbrush.
    
    I think there was some "Wild Life" going on...but I didn't 
    stop to look. ;-)
    
    -Arthur

    Some critters that I've noticed along the roads are mule deer,
    pronghorn, bighorn sheep, foxes, coyotes, prarie dogs, pica, and
    hawks.
    
    Mark

At the Great Eastern Area Rally a few years ago in Shippinsberg, PA
I not only saw, but was chased by a huge bull.  You would never 
believe how fast 5000 pounds can move... or how fast it made me 
move.

However, even with all that adrenalin flowing, I couldn't out bike
it.  I was sure this was my last few seconds of life before being 
skewered or eaten alive with all that chrome moly.

Yes, I did survive.  All of a sudden the bull was gone.  Turned out 
it was on a long chain and it was stopped short just in the nick of 
time.

Never have looked at cycling in dairy country quite the same since.

	~Mike

    
    Armadillos in Texas.
    Moose in NH, one licking winter salt off the pavement (Kancamagus).
    Snakes, including one (live) black racer I ran over near Raleigh.
    Panting, dazed butterflies that have run into cars.
    Mountain goats within touching distance (Mt. Evans, Colorado).
    Plenty of deer, careening across the road (glad I wasn't in the way).
    Boar (Netherlands).
    Plenty of tentative turtles (whom I scoot across, when not in a TT).
    Plenty of sheep "owning" the road (Scotland).
    An enraged haggis (Scotland).
    Squirrels, rabbits, hares (England), chipmunks, field-mice.
    Vultures who look greedily (why?) at my egglike helmet.
    Worms, frogs, fuzzy tarantulas (Texas).
    
    -john

    Since I've been riding here in the past 3 months I've seen:
    
    Peregrine falcons - downtown Minneapolis where they were reintroduced
    Several hawks soaring on the thermals over the Mississippi
    Herons and ibis and many other water birds I can't identify in the 
    waterfowl sanctuary by the Minnesota river
    Several deer - they seem to think people on bicycles are interesting
    rather than something to be afraid of - I've had them stand by the path
    and watch me ride by
    Muskrats and beavers along the river
    Turtles sunning on logs
    Prarie dogs? that I think escaped from the zoo
    One big green snake that scared the heck out of me when it slithered
    out in front of me.  But, I didn't hit it!
    One fox that disappeared into the woods.
    And, of course wonderful birds of all kinds.
    But, no bears here in the city.
    Dave

re. .14
    
>    Armadillos in Texas.
 
    	Isn't the *proper* terminology for 
    	these criters TEXAS SPEED BUMPS ?
    
    						Jerry

    
    RE: .14
    
    > An enraged haggis. (Scotland)
    
       The trick to foiling a haggis is to get to level ground
    as quickly as possible. As we all know, a haggis has legs 
    of unequal length. That is, the legs on one side of it's
    body are shorter than those on the other side. This allows
    the haggis to remain on an even keel while negotiating the
    steep Scottish slopes on which it makes it's home. There
    are actually two different species of haggis; There is the
    clockwise haggis whose right legs are shorter than the left,
    and there is the cou.., er, anti-clockwise haggis which has
    the shorter legs on the left. If you can get to level ground
    in time the haggis is helpless. It can only run in very tight
    circles and they tend to fall over a lot.
    
               8^)            8^)           8^)
    
    
                                           Steve (Notes-lurker)

    Most dangerous wildlife seen this past month:
    
    Teenagers behind the wheel.
    Pickup trucks on remote country roads.
    Blue haired ladies in land yachts.

On my commutes from Framingham to Marlboro, MA, the only animals I've 
seen are a woodchuck and various loose dogs.

But I have noticed the following birds:  goldfinch, male pheasant,
meadowlark, barn swallow, hawk, as well as the usual crow, robin,
mourning dove.

-DB

    While arrowing a bike route from my car in Concord, MA I came across
    one tough turtle.  I saw a BIG turtle, probably a snapper, slowly
    crossing the road in front of me.  I drove up closer to get a closer
    look.  The turtle turned to me and stopped.  I got the message,
    put the car in reverse and gave him some space.  He turned to face
    forward again and slowly crossed the road into the grass.
    
    Patrick

    OK.  I gotta ask.  I just looked in my American Heritage Dictionary and
    it doesn't know either.  
    
    		WHAT THE HECK IS A "HAGGIS"?  
    
    I thought it was some kind of pie.  And do they really have uneven legs
    from living in mountains?

    
    RE: .-1   Ahhhh, ok, looks like we can't fool you... yes, haggis
              is a dish which some consider edible, but which in all
              fairness I've not evaluated myself.  More interesting
              than the concoction are the many myths about the haggis
              creature.  :-)
    
    -john

    Saw a Red-winged Blackbird by the Pepperell Airport last night.
    
    

    Foxes
    Possums
    Chickadees (ever been paced by a chickadee?  It's wild!)
    and once,
    	on a dark night,
    		a bat!
            	

  Re: -.1  I got paced by a bunny rabbit this morning.  That was wild, too!
  I'm not sure which of us was more surprised.

  A couple of weeks ago, I rounded a corner in Lexington (MA) and came 
  within 10' of a doe, maybe 3.5' tall.  She clip-clopped off into the 
  woods.  I guess we weren't meant for each other...

  I told a friend in my office about it, and he kept asking me strange
  questions - 'did it bark much? did it try to bite?  did it run after me?'
  I said no, and he said he wasn't sure why I was bringing up the subject.  

  After some further questionning, I realized he thought I'd said I'd
  encountered a dobe (doberman).  'No,' I said, 'DOE, a deer: a female
  deer!'  Then all the other jokers in the office joined in with 'RAY: a drop 
  of golden sun,' etc.  

  I still find myself humming it when I round that corner...

>  Re: -.1  I got paced by a bunny rabbit this morning.  That was wild, too!
>  I'm not sure which of us was more surprised.

I got paced by my dog once; that was different! Mainly odd because he 
was a miniature dachshund (about 2" legs) and I was riding about 17 or 
18 mph! I didn't realize he was following me for about 1/3 of a mile, 
then I looked over, there he was, moving his tiny legs at an INCREDIBLE 
rate and his whole body hyper-extending - he was covering maybe 8-10 
FEET per stride. Quite comical (and amazing!), then I yelled something to 
him and he looked over at me, lost track of where he was running and did 
a splendid 17-point triple somersault crash&burn..... I thought for sure 
he would break something, but he was an awfully durable dog!
                                             ken

    Last Sunday, as I rounded a corner and glanced in the barn to my
    left, I had to take a double take.  Yes it is an elephant!  Next
    I noticed strange creatures behind the fence; Zebras and llama?
    Yes!
    
    I had come up on the back road to a "pet-a-pet" zoo.

    I nearly ran over a porcupine on my mountain bike, and have crept by a
    couple of skunks before.
    
    I've been lucky so far, but I was a bit nervous with both!!
    
    Robb