Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Advocacy & Safety
Reload this Page >

Hit in the chest by a bat

Notices
Advocacy & Safety Cyclists should expect and demand safe accommodation on every public road, just as do all other users. Discuss your bicycle advocacy and safety concerns here.

Hit in the chest by a bat

Old 10-19-07, 11:32 PM
  #26  
ChipSeal
www.chipsea.blogspot.com
 
ChipSeal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: South of Dallas, Texas
Posts: 1,026

Bikes: Giant OCR C0 road

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by evblazer
My wife becoming an animal control office scrapped plans to put up a habitat for bats. They are great for the health of the environment and all but they are the top rabies carriers, and yes rabies in humans is extremely rare but getting thwacked in the chest or face with them at high speed might be more risky then having them in the attic.
Looks like only 1% or so of bats but just be careful playing with the bats
A few quotes from Rabies.com
"Bats pose the biggest rabies risk to humans.
Also from Rabies.com:

"Of the 32 human rabies cases reported between 1990 and 2000, 24 were caused by contact with bats."

Um, with an average of 2.4 people out of 300,000,000 getting rabies from bats in any one year, I am going to have trouble sleeping tonight out of fear!
ChipSeal is offline  
Old 10-20-07, 04:20 AM
  #27  
CommuterRun
Conservative Hippie
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Wakulla Co. FL
Posts: 4,271
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by dobber
Even though they look like their flying under the influence, bats are usually pretty amazing in their avoidance abilities...
Yep, bats are incredible in both avoidance and intercepting bugs. The one that hit sg must have been on the cell phone.
CommuterRun is offline  
Old 10-20-07, 09:34 AM
  #28  
SSP
Software for Cyclists
 
SSP's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Redding, California
Posts: 4,618

Bikes: Trek 5200, Specialized MTB

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by dauphin
not long ago I came screaming around a corner and startled a buzzard feasting on a squirrel....it takes those big guys a few seconds to get up speed and take off.....we almost met face to face....those things are huge.
I had that happen to me one time...only there were three buzzards on the road kill.

But what most freaked me out was when I passed underneath them as they struggled to get airborne...I was really hoping that they weren't going to get scared a let loose with a barrage of buzzard crap!
SSP is offline  
Old 10-20-07, 12:14 PM
  #29  
East Hill
Lanky Lass
 
East Hill's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Take a deep breath, and ask--What would Sheldon do?
Posts: 21,434

Bikes: Nishiki Nut! International, Pro, Olympic 12, Sport mixte, and others too numerous to mention.

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Liked 6 Times in 6 Posts
Originally Posted by SSP

But what most freaked me out was when I passed underneath them as they struggled to get airborne...I was really hoping that they weren't going to get scared a let loose with a barrage of buzzard crap!
They do have a bad tendency to do that .

East Hill
__________________
___________________________________________________
TRY EMPATHY & HAVE LOVE IN YOUR HEART, PERHAPS I'LL SEE YOU ON THE ROAD...
East Hill is offline  
Old 10-20-07, 12:54 PM
  #30  
ChipSeal
www.chipsea.blogspot.com
 
ChipSeal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: South of Dallas, Texas
Posts: 1,026

Bikes: Giant OCR C0 road

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by SSP
I had that happen to me one time...only there were three buzzards on the road kill.

But what most freaked me out was when I passed underneath them as they struggled to get airborne...I was really hoping that they weren't going to get scared a let loose with a barrage of buzzard crap!
When startled or frightened, buzzards will, in their desperate attempt to get airborne and away, often jettison ballast. (As it were.) It is quite possibly worse than you imagine: They vomit whatever road-kill they were feasting on. It would be a long ride home if you ever had the misfortune of being covered in that!

I always give them space to flee in a leisurely manner.
ChipSeal is offline  
Old 10-21-07, 01:43 AM
  #31  
kendall
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Kentwood michigan.
Posts: 487

Bikes: too many

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Never got hit by a bat. Did get bruised up by a deer, coming up on a corner a car startled the deer and he came through the woods and plowed right into me, knocked me flying

saw the car go accross the intersection, then heard crashing in the woods, looked over just in time to yell out 'DEER!' and I was hit.

ken.
kendall is offline  
Old 10-21-07, 04:38 AM
  #32  
DickyJ
Sucks at loife
 
DickyJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Lundun Tahn
Posts: 380
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by buzzman
one night, while riding home, a rabbit leapt from the side of the road and was less than an inch from my face as we came remarkably close to a collision but a had a species to species whites of our eyes moment
Could've been worse dude..


Last edited by DickyJ; 10-21-07 at 04:43 AM.
DickyJ is offline  
Old 03-17-22, 11:41 PM
  #33  
Azrealwee
Newbie
 
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 1
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Mr

Originally Posted by sggoodri
- the winged kind.

I had just bought a set of front and rear lights for my 14-year-old niece and we were riding through a neighborhood after the sun set. In the twilight I saw some bats sweeping through the air near the treetops ahead.

Then I feel something soft bounce off of my hand on the handlebar and strike me in the chest. I look down just in time to see the bat flapping and flying off.

I had no scratches, so no concern about rabies. [Edit: After the ride I took off my jersey and looked carefully for any break in the skin, and found nothing. Take bats seriously!]

Anybody else ever run into a winged mammal or bird?
Hello.
I have encountered at least on 3 seperate occasions and different locations a Bat has flown into me connecting my Chest at all 3 occasion. This happened at least 1.5 years after I was Medically pronounced dead.....but I am ok and all good now again. So I don't know if perhaps that had anything to do with the Bat flying into me, or did it simply just not see me?
Azrealwee is offline  
Old 03-18-22, 04:48 AM
  #34  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by Treespeed
Still, up close and personal they are quite alien looking and would startle anyone not expecting to find one on their chest. It's so strange that something could hunt a moth by sound and then run into something as large as a person on a bike. I've only seen one up close and personal that I found sleeping in a woodpile. What an amazing example of natural selection at work.

Maybe there was a moth on the path?
livedarklions is offline  
Old 03-18-22, 06:56 AM
  #35  
Paul Barnard
For The Fun of It
 
Paul Barnard's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Louisissippi Coast
Posts: 5,844

Bikes: Lynskey GR300, Lynskey Backroad, Litespeed T6, Lynskey MT29, Burley Duet

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2131 Post(s)
Liked 1,640 Times in 822 Posts
I have been stung a number of times and have had a squirrel run across hit my front spokes and stagger off. Glad he bounced off! I hit a buzzard on my motorcycle one time. Glancing blow. The ammonia like stench was seriously nasty.
Paul Barnard is offline  
Old 03-18-22, 07:12 AM
  #36  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Speaking of the undead, I just responded to a 15 year old post....
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 03-18-22, 03:39 PM
  #37  
CliffordK
Senior Member
 
CliffordK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Posts: 27,600
Mentioned: 217 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18320 Post(s)
Liked 4,489 Times in 3,338 Posts
Originally Posted by dobber
Even though they look like their flying under the influence, bats are usually pretty amazing in their avoidance abilities (I've had to capture / eliminate several in the house).
Bats are certainly different from birds.

Birds see windows as transparent. Bats sees them as opaque. So, it may be easier for a bat to find an escape than a bird.

I keep the cat rabies vaccines current, just in case they manage to catch a sick bat.
CliffordK is offline  
Old 03-19-22, 11:41 AM
  #38  
JanMM
rebmeM roineS
 
JanMM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Metro Indy, IN
Posts: 16,217

Bikes: Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 653 Post(s)
Liked 345 Times in 225 Posts
Okay, this Zombie Thread is closed!
Oops, I don’t have superpowers to close a thread. 😃
Have never had a close encounter with a bat - I always ring my bell if I see one coming at me.
__________________
Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
JanMM is offline  
Old 03-19-22, 12:39 PM
  #39  
tomato coupe
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,879

Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3906 Post(s)
Liked 7,182 Times in 2,905 Posts
You can't close this thread like you would a zombie thread. It's a vampire thread - you have to expose it to daylight.
tomato coupe is offline  
Likes For tomato coupe:
Old 03-19-22, 01:05 PM
  #40  
work4bike
Senior Member
 
work4bike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Atlantic Beach Florida
Posts: 1,926
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3743 Post(s)
Liked 1,018 Times in 768 Posts
I've had close calls with birds, especially the long-legged water birds and I've been hit in the front tooth by a large bumble bee (or something of similar mass). However, the closest I've come to an experience of being hit by a bat is running face first into a Dragonfly.

Dragonflies around here swarm by the hundreds on any section of road during the summertime. They are normally very good at getting out of your way, albeit, at the very last second. Although, there was this one time when one zigged when it should have zagged and hit me directly in the face. All I remember were the feeling of those spindly legs dancing on my face and the flapping of the wings. I don't know how I kept the rubber side down....


work4bike is offline  
Old 03-19-22, 02:46 PM
  #41  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by work4bike
I've had close calls with birds, especially the long-legged water birds and I've been hit in the front tooth by a large bumble bee (or something of similar mass). However, the closest I've come to an experience of being hit by a bat is running face first into a Dragonfly.

Dragonflies around here swarm by the hundreds on any section of road during the summertime. They are normally very good at getting out of your way, albeit, at the very last second. Although, there was this one time when one zigged when it should have zagged and hit me directly in the face. All I remember were the feeling of those spindly legs dancing on my face and the flapping of the wings. I don't know how I kept the rubber side down....



I've posted this story too many times, but I was once charged by a woodchuck while riding my bike. It would've been even easier to swerve around her if I hadn't been laughing so hard. A woodchuck trying to look scary is very, very funny.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 03-21-22, 06:08 AM
  #42  
noimagination
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 721
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 362 Post(s)
Liked 415 Times in 244 Posts
Hit a butterfly on a descent, once, in the upper left chest area. That sucker hurt! Glad it wasn't anything bigger.

Makes you appreciate the concept of momentum a bit more. I can understand why NASA et al get concerned about even small bits of junk flying around at orbital speeds. If v is large, even if m is small it can cause serious damage.
noimagination is online now  
Old 03-21-22, 11:28 AM
  #43  
gpburdell
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Georgia
Posts: 654
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 236 Post(s)
Liked 196 Times in 130 Posts
Originally Posted by noimagination
Hit a butterfly on a descent, once, in the upper left chest area. That sucker hurt! Glad it wasn't anything bigger.
Junebug to the chest at 60mph leaves a welt, even through a leather jacket. (motorcycle)


Makes you appreciate the concept of momentum a bit more. I can understand why NASA et al get concerned about even small bits of junk flying around at orbital speeds. If v is large, even if m is small it can cause serious damage.
Yep. Kinetic energy = 1/2 * (mass * velocity ^2)
gpburdell is offline  
Old 03-21-22, 11:41 AM
  #44  
Mark Stone
Tractorlegs
 
Mark Stone's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: El Paso, TX
Posts: 3,185

Bikes: Schwinn Meridian Single-Speed Tricycle

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 119 Post(s)
Liked 60 Times in 42 Posts
Originally Posted by sggoodri
- the winged kind.

I had just bought a set of front and rear lights for my 14-year-old niece and we were riding through a neighborhood after the sun set. In the twilight I saw some bats sweeping through the air near the treetops ahead.

Then I feel something soft bounce off of my hand on the handlebar and strike me in the chest. I look down just in time to see the bat flapping and flying off.

I had no scratches, so no concern about rabies. [Edit: After the ride I took off my jersey and looked carefully for any break in the skin, and found nothing. Take bats seriously!]

Anybody else ever run into a winged mammal or bird?
AAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!! I thought by your title that someone
ad come out and hit you with a baseball bat. Glad to hear it was an aminal!
__________________
********************************
Trikeman
Mark Stone is offline  
Old 03-21-22, 11:59 AM
  #45  
79pmooney
Senior Member
 
79pmooney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,830

Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder

Mentioned: 128 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4746 Post(s)
Liked 3,861 Times in 2,510 Posts
Originally Posted by Treespeed
Still, up close and personal they are quite alien looking and would startle anyone not expecting to find one on their chest. It's so strange that something could hunt a moth by sound and then run into something as large as a person on a bike. I've only seen one up close and personal that I found sleeping in a woodpile. What an amazing example of natural selection at work.
I suspect bikes are an issue for bats because in their million years or so of development, they've never had to deal with an animal that moves like us. So they've never had the need or opportunity to develop the brain skills to identify us. Now, when we get off out bikes, they can fly in close quarters with us all day. I used to watch them at the 4th of July Waterfront Blues Festival where they would come out every evening to eat all the insects we attracted. (Well, not all. The swifts and dragonfly took out hundreds/thousands while the light was good.) Those bats would fly through the crowd, sometimes below waist level. Never saw a hit.

Edit: just saw I answered a 15 year old post. Oh well. In bat evolutionary history, that's milliseconds.

Last edited by 79pmooney; 03-21-22 at 12:21 PM.
79pmooney is offline  
Old 03-21-22, 12:11 PM
  #46  
mr_bill
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 4,529
Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2111 Post(s)
Liked 663 Times in 443 Posts
According to my dad, if you keep fly fishing past dusk you won't catch any fish, but you will catch a bat.

Never sure if this was one of his "fish" stories, but he told it regularly.

Along with never sneak up on a fly fisherman, especially if you his older brother. You might get caught. At least for this one there was physical evidence (a scar). If not true, good cover story.

Edit:

Fifteen years? Argh, even “real” zombies expire after a decade.

But, two years ago, shopping list:

Vampires: Wooden stakes, Lots of Garlic
Werewolves: Silver Crosses, Lots of Wolfsbane
Zombies: Shotguns, Lots of Shotgun Shells
Corona Viruses: Cases and Cases of TP

-mr. bill

Last edited by mr_bill; 03-21-22 at 01:46 PM.
mr_bill is offline  
Old 03-21-22, 01:13 PM
  #47  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Was the bat using a cell phone?
livedarklions is offline  
Old 03-21-22, 01:17 PM
  #48  
Juan Foote
LBKA (formerly punkncat)
 
Juan Foote's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Jawja
Posts: 4,299

Bikes: Spec Roubaix SL4, GT Traffic 1.0

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2208 Post(s)
Liked 960 Times in 686 Posts
This is honestly one of the longest late resurrections I have ever seen. Surprised there were enough parts still sticking together to be mobile.
Juan Foote is offline  
Old 03-21-22, 01:26 PM
  #49  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by Juan Foote
This is honestly one of the longest late resurrections I have ever seen. Surprised there were enough parts still sticking together to be mobile.

We're all stalling until someone comes up with a good guano joke.
livedarklions is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.