[Bikemusher]

Just a typical after work ride on Tuesday. Had my 2 dogs with me going to get in a ride on the local trail system. Warmer than it had been as I was just cruising along settling into a bit of a climb.

As I was pedaling up the sustained climb in a low gear, I heard the dreaded, no the terrifying sound down by my feet. I looked down and spotted the snake inches from my crank. The snake was moving and rattling and pissed! As there was nothing I could do, I just kept pedaling and tried to get away as quickly as possible. The initial thought was, "oh **** I am about to get bit!" As I did not feel any impact I then focused my attention to my dogs behind me. Dixie, is cautious of snakes and steered clear as she went by the rattling, angry snake. Zoey, was extremely curious and looked much closer at the snake as she went by.

After the dogs and myself cleared the range of the snake I set the bike down, told the dogs to "stay" and went back to investigate the situation. My heart was racing! I hate snakes as I have been terrified of them my whole life. I've had nightmares about snakes since I was a kid. This was such a close call... Adrenaline had certainly kicked in.

As I approached the snake I could see a good bit of it. I tossed a rock and struck the snake. The snake then moved a bit but it moved oddly, or so I thought. I then cautiously proceeded to get a better look. Seeing the snake in it's entirety I was confused as the head looked smash. No, it wasn't smashed but rather the head was missing! Holy ****! What happened to the snake? How did it get decapitated? I was a bit nervous as I was looking around for the rest of the snake knowing very well that a decapitated snake can still bite and inject venom.

I continued to search the area and tried to make sense of what had happened. Ultimately, I had this thought that there was only one thing that could have decapitated a snake that was just inches from my foot as I pedaled by. It had to have been my drivetrain as that was the only thing that made sense but seemed like such a crazy circumstance that it was hard to believe, at first.

Well, I walked back to the bike and was intently studying the ground and looking for the rest of the decapitated snake. Low and behold, the snake's head was jammed up in my rear derailleur's lower pulley. I had ridden past the snake 40 or so feet, lowered the bike to the ground (drive side up), and then walked back to initially view the snake and then picked the bike up and moved it again before I thought to take a picture.

I'm not exactly sure what happened in that moment but I do know that the snake was killed by my bicycle. I was not bit, my dogs were not bit, and it was apparently the luckiest day of my life! Freaky!!

Why am I posting this on the Fatbike Forum? Well, bc I was riding my Kona Wozo and I've been saying for years that "Fatties Just Don't Give a ****!" That big, beautiful, beast of a bike just kept on rolling and did something I never thought I would ever see let alone believe was possible in killing that snake.

Anyone else ever see some crazy **** like this?

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos.

 

[pelts79]

Wow, That's crazy!

 

[Rodney]

Wow, that is nuts! You beheaded it! :O

 

[KingOfOrd]

That’s a great tale you tell, hope you grabbed the rattle and grilled that snake for dinner.

 

[chazpat]

That is crazy. How long did you wait to get the head out of your derailleur?

 

[Shark]

That's a great tale you tell, hope you grabbed the rattle and grilled that snake for dinner.

No kidding!
Awesome

 

[CanuckMountainMan]

If you had that sequence of events recorded on a GoPro
and posted to YouTube... it bet it would have gone viral. :thumbsup:

 

[Dawgprimo]

wow!
Heck of a story and the picture prove it.
I was wondering also how long it took to get the head out........

 

[Bumpyride]

Just a warning to be very careful, those snakes can be very snakey.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/severed-rattlesnake-head-bites-man-who-decapitated-it/

 

[MendonCycleSmith]

^Holy crap, that's nuts! Full load of venom dump too, damn....^

That sir, is a crazy story, and your bike shall now be known as The Snake Slayer!

 

[CanuckMountainMan]

By chance, is your bike a Mongoose?

 

[CanuckMountainMan]

oops, double post

 

[Savageheartland]

Nutso.....but lucky. Dealing with a rattler head can be dicey and dangerous. And where to dump it so a dog won’t catch it on the nose? I’ve discovered that snake heads don’t float so you can dump them in water (unless, of course, you’re in the desert). Good the hear that you didn’t catch it.

 

[jonshonda]

That is insane! Make a belt out of that SOB.

 

[Bikemusher]

Looking at the head in the derailer I thought about just riding it and let fall off wherever. Then thinking about my dogs or any dogs, I didn't want them to deal with getting themselves hurt. I picked up the rear of the bike and let it bounce off the ground several times before the head finally fell off. Coincidentally, it landed with the top of the head flat on the ground revealing the missing lower jaw exposing the fangs. I grabbed a stick and got it out of the trail and hid it under a bush. Thought about taking the rattlers and decided I didn't want any bad mojo with any other snakes and left it where it lay. Thought about the next rider that came up and saw the severed snake with all of the blood and wondering what happened and figured may as well and let them have a story, as well and continued on with the ride.

 

[mikesee]

Awesome.

P.S. I told you we needed to use burly spokes on that build!

 

[LyNx]

Wow, that is an incredible story to have and be able to tell, a bit slower and things could have been a lot different

Don't think it is, but does look like a Surly and they're tough

By chance, is your bike a Mongoose?

 

[slapheadmofo]

Awesome!

 

[Jayem]

That’s amazing. One of these days this will happen with the winter snow-snakes.

 

[KThaxton]

Nice!