Intended to go for a leisurely bike ride and killed a pregnant squirrel
03-07-11, 12:00 AM
#26
Я люблю суп
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Dude, she ran over the squirrel, so she blamed you to feel better about herself. Then you blamed the kids, the people, the dogs and the speedy cyclist to make yourself feel better. Both you and your girlfriend have problems. Get over it, it is only a pregnant squirrel and stop blaming other people.
03-07-11, 12:02 AM
#27
Velocommuter Commando
+
Okay I'm going to say it. Your girlfriend needs to grow up. I'm not going to go as far as to say get rid of her (but I'm sure that many here would think that would be my opinion), but if it were me I would have a discussion with her and make it crystal clear that I don't get off playing the "your fault" game. You didn't deliberately aim yourself at the squirrel and what happened was an unfortunate accident. Additionally, the impression I get is your girlfriend used the incident as an excuse to go out by herself with her "friends." I'm not sure if that's true or not but it sure smells like it from the way you described it.
I had a girlfriend that progressed all the way through to the ex-wife stage who would play this "it's all your fault" game even when whatever happened was an accident or rotten luck. The problem this is the sort of person begins to use the same line of reasoning even when it's something she herself has done wrong. It's a pretty miserable existence taking the blame for everything even when you're not responsible.
I had not been on a bike ride in more than a year. But today's weekend weather was so pleasant, my girlfriend suggested that we go on a short ride to the park for a late afternoon sandwich picnic. Sounded fun, so why not?
So I pumped up the tires, packed the bags, grabbed the helmets, and off we went. Everything was great at first, aside from a bug flying straight onto my left eyeball and another into my mouth. But really, the temperature outside was perfect and it was nice to back out on a bike. When we left the bike lanes of the streets and got onto the paved trail that leads to the park, we pedaled slowly, as there were quite a few groups of walkers, also out to enjoy the warm spring atmosphere.
Well, as I approached a wide bend, I had to veer left to pass a wall of five pedestrians (all walking side by side). After carefully passing them, I looked back and noticed that my girlfriend was a bit further behind, so I hesitated my pace to let her catch up. The mistake I made was not immediately getting back over to the right side of the path in front of the group of walkers.
Within moments, another bicyclist (in biking gear) came tearing down the middle of the path. He was riding so fast, I didn't have time to anticipate him and move back to the right. He yelled to us, "On your right, on your left!". Again, he rode so fast, the following actions happened all simultaneously in seconds: 1) To get out of his way, I coasted my bike to the left edge of the path. 2) My girlfriend stayed on the right side and reached my parallel position because I had slowed down to keep out of the middle of the path and let him pass. 3) The bicyclist shot down the middle, right between us.
As all of this happened, a grey ground squirrel looked up at me from a side bush, dashed in front of my bike (i hit my breaks), and ran directly into the path of the bicyclist and my girlfriend. This all occurred in fractions of a second and I could see the ground squirrel doing gymnastics as it tried to avoid both oncoming bikes. But it was too late. As I continued to roll forward, I immediately turned my head around and saw the poor squirrel jump into the air one last time and flip onto its back. My girlfriend had felt a bump under her rear tire and asked "Did I kill it?" The biker replied, "Probably!" and took off down the path. He had likely hit the squirrel too, but I couldn't see either hits in the blur of the wheels.
We still continued on with our ride for the intended small picnic at the park. But the entire mood was sullen, so we just quickly ate our sandwiches without many words and left. On the return ride home, the squirrel was still lying there on its back with arms, legs, and tail sprawled. I had desperately hoped it was somehow still alive.
My girlfriend blames me for the accident because if I had been on the right hand side of the path, the ground squirrel may not have been startled and bolted across. I certainly did not intentionly ride on the left hand side. But this was a path with many kids, dog walkers, and slow casual bicyclists. This is not a bike lane, but a multi-purpose path. I just happened to be on the left hand side at that moment to look back at her after I rode around the group of walkers. I was about to get back over to the right side until the racing bicyclist came zooming down the trail. This was supposed to be a leisurely jaunt to enjoy the recent sunshine...not to become an accomplice involved with innocent squirrel killings.
My girlfriend went out to dinner and clubbing with her friends as soon as we got back from the ride. I stayed home tonight after she blamed me for the squirrel's death. A couple of hours later, I drove back near the pathway and walked over to the spot with a flashlight. The squirrel was still there and definitely not breathing. To make matters worse, I could see a swollen belly and prominent nipples, so I knew the squirrel must be a pregnant female. So I'm not just responsible for one squirrel's death, but the potential lives of several baby squirrels that will never come to be. Great Karma, huh?
Amazingly, I could not find any signs of external injury, obvious broken bones in the limbs, or body flattening. So the cause of death must have been an internal bleed, a spinal cord injury, or perhaps both. I paid my respects and went home. Of course, I feel absolutely horrible about all of this, but I can't do a damn thing to change what happened. Now, why did I go biking again?
Anyone here have a similar experience or a related story?
So I pumped up the tires, packed the bags, grabbed the helmets, and off we went. Everything was great at first, aside from a bug flying straight onto my left eyeball and another into my mouth. But really, the temperature outside was perfect and it was nice to back out on a bike. When we left the bike lanes of the streets and got onto the paved trail that leads to the park, we pedaled slowly, as there were quite a few groups of walkers, also out to enjoy the warm spring atmosphere.
Well, as I approached a wide bend, I had to veer left to pass a wall of five pedestrians (all walking side by side). After carefully passing them, I looked back and noticed that my girlfriend was a bit further behind, so I hesitated my pace to let her catch up. The mistake I made was not immediately getting back over to the right side of the path in front of the group of walkers.
Within moments, another bicyclist (in biking gear) came tearing down the middle of the path. He was riding so fast, I didn't have time to anticipate him and move back to the right. He yelled to us, "On your right, on your left!". Again, he rode so fast, the following actions happened all simultaneously in seconds: 1) To get out of his way, I coasted my bike to the left edge of the path. 2) My girlfriend stayed on the right side and reached my parallel position because I had slowed down to keep out of the middle of the path and let him pass. 3) The bicyclist shot down the middle, right between us.
As all of this happened, a grey ground squirrel looked up at me from a side bush, dashed in front of my bike (i hit my breaks), and ran directly into the path of the bicyclist and my girlfriend. This all occurred in fractions of a second and I could see the ground squirrel doing gymnastics as it tried to avoid both oncoming bikes. But it was too late. As I continued to roll forward, I immediately turned my head around and saw the poor squirrel jump into the air one last time and flip onto its back. My girlfriend had felt a bump under her rear tire and asked "Did I kill it?" The biker replied, "Probably!" and took off down the path. He had likely hit the squirrel too, but I couldn't see either hits in the blur of the wheels.
We still continued on with our ride for the intended small picnic at the park. But the entire mood was sullen, so we just quickly ate our sandwiches without many words and left. On the return ride home, the squirrel was still lying there on its back with arms, legs, and tail sprawled. I had desperately hoped it was somehow still alive.
My girlfriend blames me for the accident because if I had been on the right hand side of the path, the ground squirrel may not have been startled and bolted across. I certainly did not intentionly ride on the left hand side. But this was a path with many kids, dog walkers, and slow casual bicyclists. This is not a bike lane, but a multi-purpose path. I just happened to be on the left hand side at that moment to look back at her after I rode around the group of walkers. I was about to get back over to the right side until the racing bicyclist came zooming down the trail. This was supposed to be a leisurely jaunt to enjoy the recent sunshine...not to become an accomplice involved with innocent squirrel killings.
My girlfriend went out to dinner and clubbing with her friends as soon as we got back from the ride. I stayed home tonight after she blamed me for the squirrel's death. A couple of hours later, I drove back near the pathway and walked over to the spot with a flashlight. The squirrel was still there and definitely not breathing. To make matters worse, I could see a swollen belly and prominent nipples, so I knew the squirrel must be a pregnant female. So I'm not just responsible for one squirrel's death, but the potential lives of several baby squirrels that will never come to be. Great Karma, huh?
Amazingly, I could not find any signs of external injury, obvious broken bones in the limbs, or body flattening. So the cause of death must have been an internal bleed, a spinal cord injury, or perhaps both. I paid my respects and went home. Of course, I feel absolutely horrible about all of this, but I can't do a damn thing to change what happened. Now, why did I go biking again?
Anyone here have a similar experience or a related story?
Okay I'm going to say it. Your girlfriend needs to grow up. I'm not going to go as far as to say get rid of her (but I'm sure that many here would think that would be my opinion), but if it were me I would have a discussion with her and make it crystal clear that I don't get off playing the "your fault" game. You didn't deliberately aim yourself at the squirrel and what happened was an unfortunate accident. Additionally, the impression I get is your girlfriend used the incident as an excuse to go out by herself with her "friends." I'm not sure if that's true or not but it sure smells like it from the way you described it.
I had a girlfriend that progressed all the way through to the ex-wife stage who would play this "it's all your fault" game even when whatever happened was an accident or rotten luck. The problem this is the sort of person begins to use the same line of reasoning even when it's something she herself has done wrong. It's a pretty miserable existence taking the blame for everything even when you're not responsible.
Last edited by Sirrus Rider; 03-07-11 at 12:04 AM. Reason: spelling/grammar
03-07-11, 02:53 AM
#29
Senior Member
Get a new girlfriend.
03-07-11, 02:25 PM
#30
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you're dating sarah Palin??? ew
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You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. That's great...if you want to attract vermin.
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. That's great...if you want to attract vermin.
03-07-11, 03:57 PM
#32
Pedaled too far.
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Don't blame yourself. Squirrels are insane. I've seen them wait through a long gap in traffic then suddenly dash across when a group of cars comes by, with fatal results.
No one made that squirrel run into traffic.
No one made that squirrel run into traffic.
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03-07-11, 04:51 PM
#33
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It was clearly the squirrel's fault. MUPs are meant for walkers and cyclists (ok, rollerbladers if you must) and should be traversed longitudinally.
Any animal which doesn't understand this deserves what it gets. I've seen squirrels act as if the rules don't apply to them: crossing without looking or stopping, swerving and dodging around other MUP users without even the courtesy of an, "on your left/right!", never checking over their shoulders or signalling.
And none of them pay their taxes, so they've no right to be on MUPs anyway. Who do they think they are?
Any animal which doesn't understand this deserves what it gets. I've seen squirrels act as if the rules don't apply to them: crossing without looking or stopping, swerving and dodging around other MUP users without even the courtesy of an, "on your left/right!", never checking over their shoulders or signalling.
And none of them pay their taxes, so they've no right to be on MUPs anyway. Who do they think they are?
03-07-11, 07:05 PM
#34
Single-serving poster
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It was clearly the squirrel's fault. MUPs are meant for walkers and cyclists (ok, rollerbladers if you must) and should be traversed longitudinally.
Any animal which doesn't understand this deserves what it gets. I've seen squirrels act as if the rules don't apply to them: crossing without looking or stopping, swerving and dodging around other MUP users without even the courtesy of an, "on your left/right!", never checking over their shoulders or signalling.
And none of them pay their taxes, so they've no right to be on MUPs anyway. Who do they think they are?
Any animal which doesn't understand this deserves what it gets. I've seen squirrels act as if the rules don't apply to them: crossing without looking or stopping, swerving and dodging around other MUP users without even the courtesy of an, "on your left/right!", never checking over their shoulders or signalling.
And none of them pay their taxes, so they've no right to be on MUPs anyway. Who do they think they are?
03-07-11, 08:46 PM
#35
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Wow tough crowd today - and I don't even like squirrels - unless they're smothered in gravy.
03-07-11, 10:21 PM
#37
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ewwww! don't post that picture again!
I know, deer are HUGE...people think they're like bambi or something but they're BIG.
I know, deer are HUGE...people think they're like bambi or something but they're BIG.
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You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. That's great...if you want to attract vermin.
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. That's great...if you want to attract vermin.
Deer are huge? Wait until you see a moose?!
03-07-11, 10:29 PM
#39
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Preggers or not, it's a squirrel. A rodent that lives in trees. Rodents are designed by nature to be disposable. Laying a guilt trip on you for such an insignificant event is a form of abuse. Tell the GF that you're not buying it, and if she can't accept that, then good-bye.
03-08-11, 09:06 AM
#41
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
03-08-11, 12:39 PM
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You probably did someone a favor. Those nasty little tree rats wreak havoc on my friend's gardens.
I'm not so fond of them myself. I haven't killed one, but I did have to remove bits of his tail fur out of my RD.
I'm not so fond of them myself. I haven't killed one, but I did have to remove bits of his tail fur out of my RD.
03-09-11, 10:40 AM
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My wife is more commonly know as Karen the snake killer. She has ridden over more snakes sunning themselves on the trail than anyone. She has to be averaging at least six or eight a season.
03-09-11, 12:15 PM
#45
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03-13-11, 08:52 PM
#46
well hello there
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You two make a good couple.
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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
03-14-11, 05:13 AM
#48
Pedaled too far.
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It's not a matter of liking squirrels or not, I do. It's a matter that his girlfriend is blaming him unnecessarily. Unless he purposefully drove straight for the cute little critter, it's not his fault. It's squirrel nature.
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"He who serves all, best serves himself" Jack London
03-14-11, 07:18 AM
#49
Commuter
I hope not to meet anyone like your girlfriend any time soon - because I would be in serious trouble.
If you are going to spend any amount of time on your bike, you are going to kill some animals, and hopefully if you're a reasonably decent person you will feel some sort of regret or upset about it. You can't place blame though.
Here's my list of Australian wildlife no longer alive due to my 2 wheels.
- Kookaburra
- Brown Snake
- Carpet Python
- Possum
And a similar incident involving an oncoming cyclist and I passing ways next to a small puppy, who flipped out and ran onto the road where it got hit by a car.
Let's not even go into the short list of animals that have met their end under my four-wheeled vehicles.
I feel pretty upset about all of the above, but that's the nature of the beast. Accidents happen. If you did not intentionally aim at the squirrel, you've done nothing wrong, and your lady friend should be supportive. Not angry.
- Brad
If you are going to spend any amount of time on your bike, you are going to kill some animals, and hopefully if you're a reasonably decent person you will feel some sort of regret or upset about it. You can't place blame though.
Here's my list of Australian wildlife no longer alive due to my 2 wheels.
- Kookaburra
- Brown Snake
- Carpet Python
- Possum
And a similar incident involving an oncoming cyclist and I passing ways next to a small puppy, who flipped out and ran onto the road where it got hit by a car.
Let's not even go into the short list of animals that have met their end under my four-wheeled vehicles.
I feel pretty upset about all of the above, but that's the nature of the beast. Accidents happen. If you did not intentionally aim at the squirrel, you've done nothing wrong, and your lady friend should be supportive. Not angry.
- Brad
03-14-11, 07:27 AM
#50
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Well, she shouldn't have been Karving her initials on the møøse
with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given
her by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and
star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo
Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of Horst
Nordfink"...
with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given
her by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and
star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo
Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of Horst
Nordfink"...
Last edited by z90; 03-14-11 at 07:30 AM.