Rattlesnakes

Holy crap Greg, don't tell my wife that story. As if I need another reason to ride my road bike... That must have been scary as hell. The only time I have seen a rattlesnake has been driving on Old Mine Road by the DWG. He was crossing the road and I thought it was a small log. I was sad that I clipped him once I knew what it was, but he seemed ok afterwards.
 
Been in the NY woods all my life and never saw a rattler till I moved here. I've seen 2 in the past 10 years. Will be more aware next time I put my foot down. Thanks for sharing your story & glad you're OK.
 
WOW! Thanks for sharing that story. Glad you're doing fine. After seeing one in person I'm afraid of riding alone in NJ. I think I'll stick to Sprain or Blue for solo rides.
 
SpartaBard said:
Holy crap Greg, don't tell my wife that story. As if I need another reason to ride my road bike...
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I was out at SBCU in Cali this past March and was on a group road ride, bombing down an awesome switchback and saw what I thought was a huge pile of dog poop on the white line... it was a big rattler coiled up.... the one instructor was right in front of me, as he passed by he agitated it I guess, and it sprung almost straight out at me almost getting my foot/ankle...
We got to the bottom of the hill and I asked him if he saw it, and he was all "oh yeah, I see them all the time out here"
And I was worried about the the cars.... 🙄
 
ok, this would be worse than poison ivy for sure


damn GT... glad you're ok
there are vipers in NJ too?


mtbdawgjeff and I saw a snake at sourlands like a month ago. It was orangey and black. Maybe some white strips? Hope they are harmless.
 
THATmanMANNY said:
ok, this would be worse than poison ivy for sure


damn GT... glad you're ok
there are vipers in NJ too?


mtbdawgjeff and I saw a snake at sourlands like a month ago. It was orangey and black. Maybe some white strips? Hope they are harmless.
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milk snake.....nj version (i don't think we have coral snakes) - i've saw one in lower ny state at field edges.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_snake

CompareCoralSnake.jpg
 
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gt_heller said:
Hey Johnny. Yep it was me. I was in a nice size group of guys riding thru roly poly,early evening at the beginning of june.we hit a techy little rock face climb and got jumbled up a bit.I had a rider on my right,so I dabbed left,off trail. As soon as my foot touched down I knew something was wrong,like i stepped in something weird,at that exact moment I saw stars,and dropped off my bike. Its whats called a reaction strike. I stepped right on him and he nailed me. I saw him moving thru the brush,kinda slow. He was in intermediate stage coloring,,black,silver,and grey.they turn more brown,gold later in summer. So I thought i was toast!We were seven miles in and my calf was totally blown! I had always been told you only had like 20 minutes to get the anti venin. Lucky for me,in the group was an Emt,,who also was a wilderness specialist! So he looked at the bite and told me it was a dry bite and i was gonna be ok. He knew for sure.because if i was injected, the bite would look really bad...see internet photos...So i rolled down the mountain,with the guys helping me, and someone drove me to newton hospital. There the put me on an iv for about 10 hours and made sure i had no reaction to the small amount of venom i may have been exposed to. I was off the bike for about a month maybe two,and limped around for a couple weeks. I am the rattler authority now! I learned everything there is to know about them. Never dab! I think thats it,,,if you have any questions just lemme know
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A mutual friend of ours, Cris, has told me this story a few times. As I had stated before.....Timber Rattlers are what really scares the sh!t out of me when in the woods because of your encounter.

Glad it was a dry bite!!!
 
gt_heller said:
Hey Johnny. Yep it was me. I was in a nice size group of guys riding thru roly poly,early evening at the beginning of june.we hit a techy little rock face climb and got jumbled up a bit.I had a rider on my right,so I dabbed left,off trail. As soon as my foot touched down I knew something was wrong,like i stepped in something weird,at that exact moment I saw stars,and dropped off my bike. Its whats called a reaction strike. I stepped right on him and he nailed me. I saw him moving thru the brush,kinda slow. He was in intermediate stage coloring,,black,silver,and grey.they turn more brown,gold later in summer. So I thought i was toast!We were seven miles in and my calf was totally blown! I had always been told you only had like 20 minutes to get the anti venin. Lucky for me,in the group was an Emt,,who also was a wilderness specialist! So he looked at the bite and told me it was a dry bite and i was gonna be ok. He knew for sure.because if i was injected, the bite would look really bad...see internet photos...So i rolled down the mountain,with the guys helping me, and someone drove me to newton hospital. There the put me on an iv for about 10 hours and made sure i had no reaction to the small amount of venom i may have been exposed to. I was off the bike for about a month maybe two,and limped around for a couple weeks. I am the rattler authority now! I learned everything there is to know about them. Never dab! I think thats it,,,if you have any questions just lemme know
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That is an amazing story ! wow !!!
 
Dam them!

Last few times I rode down at Batsto I came across some. Like two on one ride, I know I yelled or something and nothing came out. I really didn't know if they were rattlesnakes or what but I treat any snake I come across as it is poisonous.
 
Rocks & Water said:
Last few times I rode down at Batsto I came across some. Like two on one ride, I know I yelled or something and nothing came out. I really didn't know if they were rattlesnakes or what but I treat any snake I come across as it is poisonous.
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I saw a pretty large snake last Saturday. I am pretty sure it was a Northern Pine Snake. It was probably 4 feet long. I did not bother him, he did not bother me.
 
Thanks everyone,,,yeah it was quite an experience,,,im fine now,,,just a weird little scar on my calf.Bobe, there are alot of variables to how much time you have to get to the hospital,like where you get bit,how much venom was injected,youre health,etc..but if you do get a venomous strike you are in real trouble,and theres really not alot you can do other than get to a hospital fast,,,one major point i learned is to never aproach a rattler that is injured or otherwise distressed,they will use venom everytime they strike in those conditions!At the hospital they told me of the last rattler bite that was venomous,,,a guy thought the snake run over in his driveway was dead and tried to pick it up,bad move,,,it bit him,with venom.he spent a long time in the hospital. The vipers in new jersey are copperheads and timber rattle snakes. That happening to me was very rare,and im not to concerned about it happening again,,what are the odds right!? Haha.
 
This is also something to keep in mind when you let your dog off the lease in some of these parks. My sister is a vet and she said that she has seen quite a few snake bites on dogs.
 
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