Squirrels and the CU factor

I think that just about any part of the country (or the world for that matter) where people ride bikes there are going to be those specific, local challenges that make riding there, well, special.  One of those local challenges to riding here in Central Florida is wild animals.  No, I don’t mean wild animals as in lions and tigers and bears.  I mean wild animals as in, you know… squirrels.

How can squirrels affect a bike rider you ask?  Well, I admit, a squirrel isn’t big enough to throw you off your bike.  And they’re not tall enough to bite your ankle.  And they’re not mea n enough to bite your ankle even if they were tall enough.  But they’re just distracting enough to take your concentration off of your riding, and when you’re not concentrating on riding you can very easily end up riding into things that you wouldn’t ordinarily ride into, like a hole in the road, or another cyclist.  The thing about squirrels is what one cyclist here calls the CU factor (Crazy Unpredictability.)  The only thing you know about what a squirrel is going to do next is that you have no idea what a squirrel is going to do next.  I’ve had a squirrel run in front of me from the left side of the trail, all the way across, make it safely to the right side of the trail, and then change his mind, turn around, and run back the other way only to end up right under my front wheel.  (I think he kind of bounced into the back wheel a little bit too.)   And there was absolutely nothing I could have done about it—I was cruising at close to 20 mph, and when you get a road bike going straight at 20 mph you can’t really turn on a dime.  If I would’ve tried to dodge him I would no doubt have ended up in his position—under my bike with a really bad road rash.  No thanks.  I’d rather stay on top of the bike.  Squirrels, know now that you’re on your own if you start running back and forth in front of a cyclist.

And I’m not sure if it’s because spring is in the air or what, but right now it seems like the CU factor in squirrels is somehow intensified.  This weekend the squirrels were in full bizarro mode—running around full speed ahead, stopping in a heartbeat, first one way, and then another...  Go.  Stop.  Go again.  Run like crazy.  Stop.  Run back.  Stop.  Who can keep up with a squirrel?  I think even the other squirrels were confused.  I think they all need to get little bikes and just go for a nice easy bike ride.  I think it’d do ‘em some good.