Close Encounters of a Wile Kind

Arastradero -- 5:00pm. Headed out on the fire road climb to test the legs and do a bit of a warm-up before the group ride. Thinking about the tour, see a turkey, see a bunny, see a what-the-hell-is-that? Yup! Right in front of me, sauntering toward me on the fire road is a coyote. Not that I've ever seen one before, but I knew it wasn't a mtn lion so I figured it was a coyote (it was).



So, I stop and look at her. And she stops to stare at me. I start thinking about what I should do. Turn around? No, I'm just starting my warm-up. Keep riding? No, what if she attacks me. I don't think coyotes are dangerous but I'm not sure. So, I make some noise with my bike hoping she'll run off.

She's kinda scrawny and sickly looking. But she's got a big bushy tail and a long powerful jaw. She starts approaching me again and as we're now only about 10 feet apart, I decide maybe I should turn around. And then she heads up the hill off the fire road. I ride on, watching her as I go. She squats and pees (and since I know girl dogs squat to pee, I assume she's a girl).


Back at the trailhead, I read the bulletin board -- apparently coyotes are more dangerous than I'd thought. One of the girls tell me they're like Velociraptors -- one of them will distract you while the rest of the pack circles in for the kill.

Lovely.

Oh, dead banana slugs look like over-ripe bananas (just in case you were curious). Do you think banana slugs were named for bananas or were bananas named for banana slugs?