[NorCalTaz]

Ran into my 1st of the season the other day (thread link below), and apparently so has many others recently. Got me to thinking if anyone has been bitten or knows of someone bitten while riding ? Also, what have you done when you ran across one?

Other Thread: http://forums.mtbr.com/california-norcal/ran-into-my-1st-rattlesnake-season-today-907783.html

 

[solarplex]

We dont have them but i got bitten by a german Shepard while biking. It sucked. Cant imagine a bite and venom pumping threw you.

 

[Geek]

Mary Ellen got bitten by one last summer here in the Front Range at the top of Picture Rock Trail above Lyons, Colorado (a trail I rode twice this week).

I know the story second hand (one of my friends was with her when it happened).

https://www.google.com/search?q=mar...=mary+ellen+rattlesnake+bite&safe=off&spell=1

Out of all the stuff I learned after the incident, the one thing that stuck in my head was when you call 911 ask them to call the hospital they are going to take you to and specifically let them know a rattle snake bite is inbound because the anti-venom takes up to 45 minutes to prepare.

My "home trail" is on Rabbit Mountain which used to be named Rattlesnake Mountain (but they renamed it to be more public friendly)... so I definitely keep my eyes open when ever I stop and put a foot down.

 

[PretendGentleman]

I think it's august here when all the timber rattlers come out. They are everywhere at that point. southeast appalachians. I'm counting on being bitten by a smart snake that does not envenomate me....if I'm ever bitten.

 

[411898]

I've yet to see one this Spring and I do not know of anyone who has ever been bitten while riding or not. I do spend a little time with them whenever I encounter them, though. They deserve our respect. Please do not kill them if you are out in the wilds and have an encounter.

 

[29er4ever]

I have encountered 4 rattlesnakes in the past 6 months. If you are just riding along at a decent pace you will usually go past them before they can react. A few months back I rode past one that tried to strike when I rode by. I actually never saw it, but the rider behind me said it lunged at my back tire but was well behind me.

This was a speckled rattlesnake I saw last month. I rode past it and heard it hiss at me. It never did rattle.

This black tailed rattlesnake I came upon just last night. I was on a fairly technical and steep trail so I had been going pretty slowly. I came around the corner and he was coiled and rattling.

I have a doctor friend who went through training for remote search and rescue a few years back. I don't remember the exact numbers, but the statistics they quoted in the training for the state of Arizona were something like 596 rattlesnake bites in 2007. Of those, 592 were considered provoked. So your best bet is to just watch your step and leave them alone.

 

[Jayem]

Like bears, snakes generally want nothing to do with you and are aware of your presence. They are sensitive to vibration and can hear you coming, but they hope you won't notice them and won't come right for them. If you do, they may hiss, may rattle, may move off, may strike with no venom, or may strike with venom. The venom is usually last on their list, so it tends to happen when they perceive a real threat. I've ran into lots of snakes, quite a few rattle snakes, in my years of riding. I'd gladly take snakes over the voracious mosquitoes we have up north. Snakes aren't constantly trying to eat you...but mosquitoes are and they are bad here.

 

[rockerc]

I come across them often here near Tucson. Not been bitten tho, but have ridden over a few by unavoidable mistake. I hate to hurt them, but bunny hops over rattlers at the last minute is hard! I have learned not to mess with them. If you do, they will put every little muscle and sinew into trying to do you harm to warn you off. They are quick. I have tonged a few out of my yard, and when they want to envenomate they have a lot to use.
I do know a guy here who stepped on one walking thru long grass, he was alone and had to hike out of the hills. Said it was the most painful thing he had ever experienced.

 

[sandiego]

I have not come across one yet but a couple weeks ago my son and I were riding some local trails and we saw a California King snake. They are kind of pretty actually with their banding and coloring. Completely harmless though. We just stopped and watched it slither across the trail as we didn't want to stress it out.

 

[Galeforce5]

We are just getting into the season here, as spring has arrived, and they are starting to get active. We don't have rattlers, instead we have vipers. One area that we ride at night has them, as they feed on the mice and small mammals that live near the river and its tributaries. Last year, on a group ride, we must have scared or made one believe that it was threatened, and it tried to strike one of the riders. Fortunately for him, its head went into the front spokes while at a fairly good rate of speed, and the snake got torn up. I can tell you that in the spring and through early fall, I don't approach the grasses near the river, as I have seen them there quite a few times.

 

[juan_speeder]

Between hiking and riding, I see a few a year. I had two juveniles try to strike, but the were too short to have much reach. One fell out from under a rock and landed right between my feet while I was hiking. Scary stuff. I did bunnyhop one once, and my bike crashed on top of a bull snake that I thought was a rattler, when I encountered it stretched out mid-corner, and I bailed off the back - letting the bike keep on truckin'.

 

[John Kuhl]

I've seen about a 1/2 dozen snakes in the last 2
months. 3 were Southern Pacific rattlers.

 

[RIVER29]

I've heard of a number of people being bitten while on mountain bike rides but only one while the person was actually pedaling their bike:

Mountain Biker Tells Of Surviving Rattlesnake Bite - 7NEWS Denver TheDenverChannel.com

Most people who are bitten are carelessly off trail or antagonizing the snake... it's not a real problem despite all the fear filled threads you'll find on MTBR.

 

[juan_speeder]

Where's the fear?

 

[RIVER29]

Where's the fear?

Not necessarily in this thread but every spring it seems like there are a handful of threads that pop up where people go on and on about how they carry guns on the trail so they can kill rattlers and nonsense like that. If you look, it's not hard to find a lot of misinformation about the dangers of rattlesnakes on here.

 

[DIRTJUNKIE]

I see them all the time. And the trail I ride there were more sightings last year than anyone can remember. I came across a dog that had just got bitten in the spring last year. And also the year before a mountain biker was bitten. This is my trail I ride every week.
Here's a link to that bite.
Mountain Biker Tells Of Surviving Rattlesnake Bite - 7NEWS Denver TheDenverChannel.com

 

[NorCalTaz]

+1

Ran into my second one this year. Heard the distinct rattle about 6 ft behind me as I rolled by.... had to laugh .

 

[In-Yo-Grill]

I ran into my first one ever last week. It was half-way on the trail and I went ahead and stopped for a selfy. The snake didn't want to cooperate so I took some pics at a distance and got it moved off the trail.

 

[BDKeg]

Most people who are bitten are carelessly off trail or antagonizing the snake... it's not a real problem despite all the fear filled threads you'll find on MTBR.

I would suspect this. I bet more people are struck by lightning while biking in the high country.

 

[HitmenOnlyInc]

Last year one struck at me as I passed in Lory State Park in Ft. Collins. I surprised it as I came around a bend in the trail. Scared the **** out of me.

I also saw one on the trail a couple weeks ago on the Pemberton trail in McDowell Mtn Park near Phoenix.