Blogging Marathon Day #3
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| Copperhead! |
Deadly Encounter
While my knees are preventing me from running, I have discovered that I can ride my bike as long as I don't push down on the pedals at a particular angle. So I was riding my bike through Umstead Park this morning, on my way to work, when I had a near death experience. This is what happened:
I was climbing up a hill, and a woman was running down it, coming towards me. She was waving her arms frantically and screaming at me:
"COP-O-ROB-O-POPA! ON THE TRAIL UP AHEAD ON THE RIGHT!"
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"COP-O-ROB-O-POPA!", she repeated.
I stopped and turned around. "I'm sorry, what?"
"COPPERHEAD! ON THE TRAIL UP AHEAD ON THE RIGHT!"
"Oh my god! Thanks!", I said.
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This actually happens quite often. About 4 or 5 times a week, when I am out walking the dogs, running, biking, or driving my car down the freeway, a passerby will warn me of a dreaded COPPERHEAD! up ahead.
I am lucky and grateful for this these warnings because I am very bad at identifying copperheads. The ones people point out to me I would have mistaken for a black snake, or a garter snake, or a turtle. But copperheads come in many different colors and shapes, and are in fact, the only snake that exists in North Carolina.
I have included some pictures of copperheads here that are mistaken for other types of snakes.
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Anyway, the only sane option was to ride back and take another trail about 7 miles out of my way to avoid riding by the snake. But I was late for work and really tired. So instead I continued up the hill, and hoped that maybe the snake had already moved on and bitten some other park visitor.
I scanned ahead, ready to turn around at the first sight of it. But when I did see it, it was too late.
It was directly to my right. Coiled up and staring at me, 14 inches of certain death. I was about 10 feet away from it, and moving fast, but I knew that would not save me. Copperheads are known to spring at lightning speed up to 25 feet through the air and bite people right in the face.
I closed my eyes and waited for it to strike...
But it didn't! Copperheads are insanely aggressive and will attack 99% of time, but I guess I was the lucky 1%.
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So runners and bikers, be careful out there this summer. Always assume that there is a copperhead on the trail ahead, and that it will kill you.
The best way to deal with them is to buy a treadmill and run indoors. I recommend a Tigram Trail Treadmill. (Of course, do not order the deadly snake option).
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| Here we see Laurent Fignon, a French cyclist who was bitten in the face by a copperhead while leading the Tour de France in 1983 |
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| Copperhead! |
I kind of want that copperhead costume.
ReplyDeleteOne of the guys I run with on Saturdays is 1. very afraid of snakes and 2. runs without his glasses. Needless to say, I love pointing out every stick on the path yelling, "SNAKE!"
PS I'm the one yelling "SNAKE!," not the stick on the path. That would be trippy.
yeah, I hate when those sticks yell " SNAKE " at me on the trails. I'm running in place in my living room because i can;t afford a treadmill.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there would probably be no need to point them out if they were yelling "Snake!".
ReplyDeleteOne of the runners here told me I should not be running when I go to northern Michigan because they have bears. So many good reasons NOT to run.
#200 Copperhead Snakes
#333 Bear Attacks.
Missed you Anthony - Glad you are back.
I took my kids to Eno River yesterday and we saw a giant COP-O-ROB-O-POPA! snake in the river. It was eating one of the smaller kids in the YMCA camp group who were there at the same time. Good life lesson for my kids. I told them "See, you don't have to be the fastest kid in the group to escape from the COP-O-ROB-O-POPA! snake, just faster than at least one of the other kids!"
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, AC.
Ha! I am laughing my asss off, AC! As a bit of a snake nerd, the tendency for many people to identify any snake as a copperhead in this state is one of my all-time pet peeves. You're a genius!
ReplyDeleteAsh - thanks. I was worried that most NC readers would not realize I was kidding. There seems to be such an irrational fear of snakes here. You're probably 100 times more likely to be killed by a car than a snake.
ReplyDeleteEspecially cars driven by snakes.
ReplyDeleteSnakes actually drive better than most people.
ReplyDeleteUnless the snakes are texting.
I swear, if I see one more snake texting while driving I'm going to bite it in the face.
ReplyDeleteI imagine that you'd only be killed by a car if the driver is swerving to avoid a copperhead, in which case, one could place blame on the copperhead for the death. And, given that everything that slithers in NC is a copperhead, we are all in great danger. They really are a menace, copperheads.
ReplyDeletedude, that was a stressful read! Geesh! Glad it turned out ok! LOL Joey!
ReplyDelete