You will remember that I did a lot of cycling. I rode 47 000 km from 1984 to 2019. All the riding was done on the trail system in this city. Starting in 1984 trails were put in . The original trails have aged and a lot of shrubbery and trees have grown up along the edge of the trails. There are sharp turns and with the shrubbery growth visibility is limited in some places.
You will know that from time to time we have moose in the city. Sometimes lots of moose. Now moose don't give anybody consideration. They do what they want. Moose have found that it is very comfortable to stand on the paved trail and stick their head in the shrubbery and eat until their belly is full. Then they come back the next day and do the same thing.
Okay. in my cycling prime I kept up a steady pace of at least 20 kph. Most of the time it was above 20 kph except on the hills .
Well you know where this story is going.
Twice I came around a sharp turn to find a moose with his/her head well in the shrubbery and the whole rear end out on the trail. If I put the breaks on I may disturb the moose. Worse yet I may bash into the moose. Both times I swerved to miss the moose and went within arm's length of the back side. All you can think of is those long back legs kicking out behind him/her
When you get by sigh of relief would be an understatement.
I'm not sure if the moose knew I had ridden by them. I'm not sure if they even cared.
That sounds like those were close calls! While it is so interesting to see these animals, I imagine they are capable of doing a lot of damage.
ReplyDeleteIt was too close for comfort. Moose are unpredictable.
DeleteI'm sure the moose knew you were there, but they probably didn't consider you a threat, for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy that they thought I WAS NOT A THREAT. Don't take Olga near a moose. They think dogs are wolves.
Delete...I've never seen one here, so keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteThat's it for my moose topics unless Lynette runs into more moose.
DeleteHello, I love the moose, they are awesome. Great photo! Enjoy your day and weekend.
ReplyDeleteThey are kings here.
DeleteThis is so much fun. Not at the time, of course, but moose are amazing.
ReplyDeleteMoose certainly catch my attention.
DeleteThe main thing of course is that you survived the encounters unscathed.
ReplyDeleteI've survived quite a few encounters unscathed, but I didn't do anything to get out of the situations...a whole lot of luck.
DeleteYou can never have too much moose! Glad you missed that backside, Red. :-)
ReplyDeleteI really don't think they knew I was there.
DeleteIt makes me realise that i live in a country and on an Island with almost no wild animal that would not have run away at the mere scent of a human.
ReplyDeleteSurprising. I thought an island like Lewis would have some critters.
DeleteGood that you and that moose crossed paths without trouble. Nice close encounter with beautiful wildlife.
ReplyDeleteI write about these things but the bird population is in free fall.
DeleteI have seen so many moose crossing signs in Minnesota but never a moose. I see on pbs shows that they do come out in the winter onto the highways as it is easy walking for them.
ReplyDeleteMoose also like the salt on the roads.
DeleteThey are very tall animals those moose. When we lived in Alaska, we lived on the top of a very big hill. To get up the hill in the wintertime, you really had to speed up to make it all the way up the hill and if you don't you won't make and then you'll be sliding down backwards (I know that from experience). I always worried about a moose crossing the road when I was going up. It never happened but I did see a mmose on the side of the road that was hit. It can be scary as you know.
ReplyDeleteMoose are dangerous to hit as they are taller and end up going through the windshield.
DeleteThey are such magnificent animals.
ReplyDeleteMajestic beasts!
DeleteThe best moose post yet! I don't know how you could top this story, Red :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess I could just run into a moose but then I might not be able to tell the story.
DeleteSometimes I see rabbits or hares on my country walks but I have never seen a moose. It must be quite a shock to encounter one of those guys! How brave of you to swerve round 'em!
ReplyDeleteWell, yes , I must admit that I was brave. But I did run over a gull one time and I ran over somebody's dog and thought that I would be sued!
DeleteYikes! That's trail hazard we don't have here.
ReplyDeleteOn another topic, we are very fortunate to have a very well designed trail system in our city. the trails are connected.
ReplyDeleteWow Red. You've had some very close calls with the moose.
ReplyDeleteThey are so big to pass, I would have turned around too.
ReplyDeleteFantastic pix.
ReplyDeleteWow, talk about close calls!
ReplyDeleteYou can't get too much moose ... but as you prove, you CAN get too close to a moose.
ReplyDeleteI remember one of our teachers in Illinois who was 5 days late coming back after winter break. She said she and her husband were driving back from Canada and they hit a moose. Their vehicle and the moose unfortunately died. It's always amazed me when we saw such a huge animal.
ReplyDelete