Darting squirrel havoc: Part III

Well there I was on a recent ride, pedaling down a short descent, when I saw a big gray squirrel fidgeting on the right bank near the trail up ahead. As I closed the gap toward the squirrel, he made a last minute dart in front of my bike. I reacted similarly to the way I did once before to an almost identical scenario: doing a tuck and brake, which was instinctive, but turned out to be not the best way to react.

While doing this tuck and brake, I pushed my right heel into my spinning back wheel, far enough to lock it up. I skidded about 25 feet. At the end of the skid I kicked out my left foot from the cleat, then dislodged my right heel from the spokes of the back rim.

Of course, Mr. Squirrel made his journey across the path unscathed and long gone.

But the last time this nearly identical squirrel avoidance happened to me, my heel broke a couple of spokes irreparably out of the back wheel, rendering it not only hopelessly out of round, but useless junk! I had to call a friend and walk to a nearby park carrying my bike. I bought a new wheel set, and upgraded from the $300 pair I’d been riding on (which had come with the bike) to a $700 pair of Shimano Ultegras, which can also handle tubeless tires.

So this second time, the thought of this second squirrel inducing another blown up back wheel was a little unsettling. But happily, this time the damage was less severe. The wheel was a little out of round, it scraped a bit against the brake, but was still rideable. That was a big relief, since I was about 25 miles from home. So I turned around and rode back with the scraping wheel, muttering about the wish that darting squirrels go dart somewhere else. Permanently!

But I also knew it could have been a lot worse. Could have been like the last time, where the wheel was blown up with no other option than to hoof it to get help. Could have been like my first and worst squirrel encounter, where I ran over the darting critter while turning on a slight decline going about 18 mph, causing the front wheel to go sideways and me to go flying like Superman over the bike, and skid to a stop on the asphalt on the bone and skin of my left forearm. Bike was fine, but my arm took some major road rash!

This last time, I don’t know if the higher grade wheel kept the spokes from dislodging, but at any rate, they took the knock and held their moorings. I’d like to train myself not to pull my right heel into the wheel on a panic stop, but don’t know how to do that, since it’s been a snap reaction devoid of any thought! Need to practice non-wheel damaging panic reactions, I think. That may be a tough one! But it could save money and injury so maybe that’s something to figure out how to do.

The bike shop mechanic said he’d probably be able to true the wheel by adjusting the spoke, but he thought there may be a small vertical hop in the wheel after his adjustments. Turned out he was able to true the wheel perfectly. Yes, that was truly welcome news!

Meanwhile, he reminded me how shot my chain was and how dirty my cassette was. Turned out I’d put about 6K miles on the chain, and it had worn down the cassette pretty thoroughly. Still, shifting was fine on the old chain and cassette. But I figured I was pushing it not to replace both of them.

So I bit the bullet and replaced them. So this time, the darting squirrel ended up costing me $300 instead of $700, but it was on worn out parts that needed replacing anyway. So, all ended well after all. Still leery of the damn darting squirrels though!

Happy trails, bro

Marc, a great riding buddy with whom I’ve done many amazing rides in Northern California and Nevada in recent years, is moving to El Paso, Texas. His passion is to help wounded returning veterans rehabilitate their minds and bodies with cycling programs, and he’s been volunteering for those events for the last five years. Now, after doggedly pursuing this as a new career, he’s been hired by a program run out of Fort Bliss in El Paso. He’s now got a new future as a professional in this niche of cycling, and he’s stoked about it. Pat, PJ, David and myself, his main cycling pals, are all cheering him on, even though we won’t be able to ride together as often as we have.

No problem, though. This is Marc’s dream and he did everything he could for a long time to finally make it happen. PJ and yours truly sent him off on St. Patty’s Day. I turned out corned beef topped with a marmalade and Irish whiskey glaze, roasted carrots, and Elena contributed small smashed potatoes, a salad and homemade Irish soda bread. All was washed down with black and tans (Guinness and Sierra Nevada), and car bombs, which are glasses of beer with a full glass shot of Jameson’s Irish whiskey dropped into them. Smooth!

Here’s PJ’s farewell toast with a trumpeted close:

We watched the 1939 John Ford classic “Stagecoach,” the movie that made The Duke -- a guy whose vocal delivery we like to imitate on rides -- a big star, Mister! 
Way to go, Marc! We’re all happy for you. And you know what this means, dontcha? Cowboy boots and a 10-gallon hat are in your future!

Til next time, remember to always put on a helmet before you get on the bike. And then, do everything you can to keep the rubber side down!

-- Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelfHis blog of personal essays is at: http://marksmuzings.blogspot.com/