Did someone mention squirrels?

[VintageAmor]

Perhaps you've heard the warnings...  WATCH OUT FOR SQUIRRELS!  You can never be sure what they're thinking:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s320x320/292043_2311102410352_1033120262_2633139_356263287_n.jpg

 

(And if I knew how to get the picture to show, I would have.)

[Baz]

Perhaps you've heard the warnings...  WATCH OUT FOR SQUIRRELS!  You can never be sure what they're thinking:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s320x320/292043_2311102410352_1033120262_2633139_356263287_n.jpg

 

(And if I knew how to get the picture to show, I would have.)

Here you go....

[mxvet57]

The squirrels i can predict it's the walnuts there dropping on the road i have a problem with.

Today i hit a walnut in a corner and let's say the pucker factor went up a few notches.

[Baz]

Squirrel or Wallnut?  

[mxvet57]

Squirrel or Wallnut?  

Is that some kind of Canadian humor.  



Post fixed.

[landlover]

Your not kidding, squirrels around here think they own the road. It's happened more than once where was riding or driving and they just sit there until am right on top of them almost to a stop or a stop and then it moves.  

[chefc14]

They're kamikaze's up here in the north. I never hit my brakes for the squirrels and the funny thing is I've never hit one. They know what they're doing, most of the time. Here's a funny squirrel story. It's long but worth the read.


I never dreamed slowly cruising on my motorcycle through a residential neighborhood could be so incredibly dangerous! Little did I suspect? I was on Brice Street - a very nice neighborhood with perfect lawns and slow traffic. As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile suddenly shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of me.
 
It was a squirrel, and must have been trying to run across the road when it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but there was no time to brake or avoid it -- it was that close. I hate to run over animals, and I really hate it on a motorcycle, but a squirrel should pose no danger to me.
 
I barely had time to brace for the impact. Animal lovers never fear.  Squirrels, I discovered, can take care of themselves!
Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet.  He was standing on his hind legs and facing my oncoming Valkyrie with steadfast resolve in his beady little eyes.
His mouth opened, and at the last possible second, he screamed and leaped!  I am sure the scream was squirrel for "Bonsai!" or maybe "Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!" The leap was nothing short of spectacular...He shot straight up, flew over my windshield, and impacted me squarely in the chest. Instantly, he set upon me. If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn he brought 20 of his little buddies along for the attack.
Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothes, he was a frenzy of activity.  As I was dressed only in a light T-shirt, summer riding gloves, and jeans, this was a bit of a cause for concern. This furry little tornado was doing some damage!
Picture a large man in a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and leather gloves, puttering at maybe 25 mph down a quiet residential street, and in the fight of his life with a squirrel, and losing...
I grabbed for him with my left hand. After a few misses, I finally managed to snag his tail. With all my strength, I flung the evil little rodent off to the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb as I recoiled from the throw. That should have done it. The matter should have ended right there.
It really should have. The squirrel could have sailed into one of the pristinely kept yards and gone on about his business, and I could have headed home. No one would have been the wiser. But this was no ordinary squirrel. This was not even an ordinary angry squirrel.  This was an EVIL MUTANT ATTACK SQUIRREL OF DEATH!
Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands and, with the force of the throw, swung round and with a resounding thump and an amazing impact, he landed squarely on my BACK and resumed his rather antisocial and extremely distracting activities. He also managed to take my left glove with him! The situation was not improved. Not improved at all.  His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach him. I was startled, to say the least.
The combination of the force of the throw, only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars, and my jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right hand and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of a Valkyrie can only have one result. Torque.
This is what the Valkyrie is made for, and she is very good at it.  The engine roared and the front wheel left the pavement.  The squirrel screamed in anger.  The Valkyrie screamed in ecstasy.  I screamed in ... well ... I just plain screamed.  Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a slightly squirrel-torn T-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, and roaring at maybe 50 mph and rapidly accelerating down a quiet residential street on one wheel, with a demonic squirrel of death on his back.
The man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder.  With the sudden acceleration I was forced to put my other hand back on the handlebars and try to get control of the bike.
This was leaving the mutant squirrel to his own devices, but I really did not want to crash into somebody's tree, house or parked car. Also, I had not yet figured out how to release the throttle ... my brain was just simply overloaded. I did manage to mash the back brake, but it had little effect against the massive power of the big cruiser.
About this time the squirrel decided that I was not paying sufficient attention to this very serious battle (maybe he was an evil mutant NAZI attack squirrel of death), and he came around my neck and got INSIDE my full-face helmet with me.
As the faceplate closed part way, he began hissing in my face. I am quite sure my screaming changed intensity. It had little effect on the squirrel, however.
The RPMs on the Valkyrie Dragon maxed out (since I was not bothering with shifting at the moment), so her front end started to drop.
Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a very raggedly torn T-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, roaring at probably 80 mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffy squirrel's tail sticking out of the mostly closed full-face helmet.  By now the screams are probably getting a little hoarse.
Finally I got the upper hand ... I managed to grab his tail again, pulled him out of my helmet, and slung him to the left as hard as I could. This time it worked ... sort of. Spectacularly sort of, so to speak.
Picture a new scene. You are a cop. You and your partner have pulled off on a quiet residential street and parked with your windows down to do some paperwork. Suddenly a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a torn T-shirt flapping in the breeze, and wearing only one leather glove, moving at probably 80 mph on one wheel, and screaming bloody murder roars by, and with all his strength throws a live squirrel grenade directly into your police car.
I heard screams. They weren't mine... I managed to get the big motorcycle under control and dropped the front wheel to the ground. I then used maximum braking and skidded to a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at the stop sign of a busy cross street. I would have returned to 'fess up (and to get my glove back). I really would have, really except for two things.
 
First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit concerned about me at the moment. When I looked back, the doors on both sides of the patrol car were flung wide open. The cop from the passenger side was on his back, doing a crab walk into somebody's front yard, quickly moving away from the car. The cop who had been in the driver's seat was standing in the
street, aiming a riot shotgun at his own police car.
So, the cops were not interested in me. They often insist to "let the professionals handle it" anyway. That was one thing. The other?
 Well, I could clearly see shredded and flying pieces of foam and upholstery from the back seat. But I could also swear I saw the squirrel in the back window, shaking his little fist at me. That is one dangerous squirrel. AND NOW HE HAS A PATROL CAR. A somewhat shredded patrol car ... but it was all his.
I took a deep breath, turned on my turn signal, made a gentle right turn off of Brice Street, and sedately left the neighborhood. I decided it was best to just buy myself a new pair of gloves, and a whole lot of Band-Aids.

[coho]

[VintageAmor]

Here you go....

So, if I would've used the "image" brackets instead of the "hyperlink" brackets...  is that what you did?  

[VintageAmor]

And chefc14, the story is a good one.    I've wondered before if it's true or who the author is...  

[Meemuh]

They're kamikaze's up here in the north. I never hit my brakes for the squirrels and the funny thing is I've never hit one. They know what they're doing, most of the time. Here's a funny squirrel story. It's long but worth the read.


I never dreamed...

I don't care how much of that story is a lie...that's some funny stuff.

[chefc14]

And chefc14, the story is a good one.    I've wondered before if it's true or who the author is...  

I'd love to know if it's true but it definitely is well written. I looked on snopes to see if they had it but nothing.

[chefc14]

I don't care how much of that story is a lie...that's some funny stuff.
agreed.

[garry]

Normally, they seem to get out of the way pretty well. I had one fake left, then go right this past weekend, but unfortunately, I took the fake and went right too. Thump Thump...

I really don't like hitting furry woodland critters and have been known to stop for turtles (Turtle Kharma!). I felt bad for the little guy...

[iowabirdbrain]

Author of the Evil Mutant Attack Squirrel of Death is Daniel Meyer.  Website is  http://lifeisaroad.com/

[Mr.Black]

They're kamikaze's up here in the north. I never hit my brakes for the squirrels and the funny thing is I've never hit one. They know what they're doing, most of the time. Here's a funny squirrel story. It's long but worth the read.


I never dreamed slowly cruising on my motorcycle through a residential neighborhood could be so incredibly dangerous! Little did I suspect? I was on Brice Street - a very nice neighborhood with perfect lawns and slow traffic. As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile suddenly shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of me.
 
It was a squirrel, and must have been trying to run across the road when it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but there was no time to brake or avoid it -- it was that close. I hate to run over animals, and I really hate it on a motorcycle, but a squirrel should pose no danger to me.
 
I barely had time to brace for the impact. Animal lovers never fear.  Squirrels, I discovered, can take care of themselves!
Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet.  He was standing on his hind legs and facing my oncoming Valkyrie with steadfast resolve in his beady little eyes.
His mouth opened, and at the last possible second, he screamed and leaped!  I am sure the scream was squirrel for "Bonsai!" or maybe "Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!" The leap was nothing short of spectacular...He shot straight up, flew over my windshield, and impacted me squarely in the chest. Instantly, he set upon me. If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn he brought 20 of his little buddies along for the attack.
Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothes, he was a frenzy of activity.  As I was dressed only in a light T-shirt, summer riding gloves, and jeans, this was a bit of a cause for concern. This furry little tornado was doing some damage!
Picture a large man in a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and leather gloves, puttering at maybe 25 mph down a quiet residential street, and in the fight of his life with a squirrel, and losing...
I grabbed for him with my left hand. After a few misses, I finally managed to snag his tail. With all my strength, I flung the evil little rodent off to the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb as I recoiled from the throw. That should have done it. The matter should have ended right there.
It really should have. The squirrel could have sailed into one of the pristinely kept yards and gone on about his business, and I could have headed home. No one would have been the wiser. But this was no ordinary squirrel. This was not even an ordinary angry squirrel.  This was an EVIL MUTANT ATTACK SQUIRREL OF DEATH!
Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands and, with the force of the throw, swung round and with a resounding thump and an amazing impact, he landed squarely on my BACK and resumed his rather antisocial and extremely distracting activities. He also managed to take my left glove with him! The situation was not improved. Not improved at all.  His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach him. I was startled, to say the least.
The combination of the force of the throw, only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars, and my jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right hand and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of a Valkyrie can only have one result. Torque.
This is what the Valkyrie is made for, and she is very good at it.  The engine roared and the front wheel left the pavement.  The squirrel screamed in anger.  The Valkyrie screamed in ecstasy.  I screamed in ... well ... I just plain screamed.  Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a slightly squirrel-torn T-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, and roaring at maybe 50 mph and rapidly accelerating down a quiet residential street on one wheel, with a demonic squirrel of death on his back.
The man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder.  With the sudden acceleration I was forced to put my other hand back on the handlebars and try to get control of the bike.
This was leaving the mutant squirrel to his own devices, but I really did not want to crash into somebody's tree, house or parked car. Also, I had not yet figured out how to release the throttle ... my brain was just simply overloaded. I did manage to mash the back brake, but it had little effect against the massive power of the big cruiser.
About this time the squirrel decided that I was not paying sufficient attention to this very serious battle (maybe he was an evil mutant NAZI attack squirrel of death), and he came around my neck and got INSIDE my full-face helmet with me.
As the faceplate closed part way, he began hissing in my face. I am quite sure my screaming changed intensity. It had little effect on the squirrel, however.
The RPMs on the Valkyrie Dragon maxed out (since I was not bothering with shifting at the moment), so her front end started to drop.
Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a very raggedly torn T-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, roaring at probably 80 mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffy squirrel's tail sticking out of the mostly closed full-face helmet.  By now the screams are probably getting a little hoarse.
Finally I got the upper hand ... I managed to grab his tail again, pulled him out of my helmet, and slung him to the left as hard as I could. This time it worked ... sort of. Spectacularly sort of, so to speak.
Picture a new scene. You are a cop. You and your partner have pulled off on a quiet residential street and parked with your windows down to do some paperwork. Suddenly a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a torn T-shirt flapping in the breeze, and wearing only one leather glove, moving at probably 80 mph on one wheel, and screaming bloody murder roars by, and with all his strength throws a live squirrel grenade directly into your police car.
I heard screams. They weren't mine... I managed to get the big motorcycle under control and dropped the front wheel to the ground. I then used maximum braking and skidded to a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at the stop sign of a busy cross street. I would have returned to 'fess up (and to get my glove back). I really would have, really except for two things.
 
First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit concerned about me at the moment. When I looked back, the doors on both sides of the patrol car were flung wide open. The cop from the passenger side was on his back, doing a crab walk into somebody's front yard, quickly moving away from the car. The cop who had been in the driver's seat was standing in the
street, aiming a riot shotgun at his own police car.
So, the cops were not interested in me. They often insist to "let the professionals handle it" anyway. That was one thing. The other?
 Well, I could clearly see shredded and flying pieces of foam and upholstery from the back seat. But I could also swear I saw the squirrel in the back window, shaking his little fist at me. That is one dangerous squirrel. AND NOW HE HAS A PATROL CAR. A somewhat shredded patrol car ... but it was all his.
I took a deep breath, turned on my turn signal, made a gentle right turn off of Brice Street, and sedately left the neighborhood. I decided it was best to just buy myself a new pair of gloves, and a whole lot of Band-Aids.

Huh? Wha?

[VintageAmor]

Normally, they seem to get out of the way pretty well. I had one fake left, then go right this past weekend, but unfortunately, I took the fake and went right too. Thump Thump...

I really don't like hitting furry woodland critters and have been known to stop for turtles (Turtle Kharma!). I felt bad for the little guy...

Been there...    My sadness never lasts very long, though.  

[mojohn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ficbQEu5BBY

[zilla]

I had an encounter with one mid corner on Stagecoach Trail. Squirrel was sitting on the center line, so he had a 50/50 chance. Well, it chose wrong. I caught it with the front wheel. It got my attention that's for sure!

[bomber]

Neither squirrels nor chipmunks provide much traction.