Spiders and their silky webs

TommyF

Well-Known Member
I have a bit of arachnophobia so being out on the trails early in the AM before anybody else has had time to blast through the pretty webs gets me, well... a bit unnerved. I've come across some pretty big webs with it's maker sitting dead center waiting for it's prey. After one or two encounters, (stops prior to running into them), I tend to ease up on the speed so I have some foresight. That sort of takes away the pleasure of riding on a cool early morning. How do you all deal with the silky webs and those nasty little creatures the stare at you as your approach them?
 

JimN

Captain Wildcat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I try to get my friends to ride with me and go first. Failing that, I just accept that I'm going to be clearing spider webs with my face. I ride pretty slowly, so sometimes I see the web with enough time to stop and then clear it with a stick. This year seems to be particularly bad, though I probably say that every year. Sticking to more popular trails generally helps, but if you're the first one out in the morning, you're still gonna be riding through them. I find they usually drop right off me, but on Wednesday I had 3-4 spiders crawling on my arms or chest after I cleared their webs. It's annoying, because I really want to ride less popular trails, but I can't even imagine how bad the spiders are on them right now.
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
I get individual preferences, but I see nothing wrong with spiders...
1958_AlfaRomeo_2000Spider1.jpg
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I’ve never gotten bit from going through a web. I have gotten bit once while laying on the ground after a crash (insult to injury). I felt it bite my back and when i slapped at it, I felt it under my Jersey. It was pretty huge from what I could tell. My back swelled up and I started feeling like I was having an allergic reaction. No webs shooting from my wrists unfortunately. I did have a huge rash for a week or so. Benedryl helped.

The moral is, you do have something to be unnerved about. Good luck!
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
B6C6ACEF-410D-45C9-821D-35A24F43EA56.jpeg

This is Bart, Bart build this web face height in the same place every night. I try to hit Bart with my hand before I go through the web, it doesn’t always work.

Webs are gross but what you need to deal with as an early rider
 

frug

Well-Known Member
Unfortunately the "first rider sweeps for spiders". It's the way she works. To be clear, I am also fairly phobic about spiders and bugs. My wife has to shoo the critters away in our home, and it eats away at my manhood every day - so I am not telling you this lightly. I've always felt it was one of the trade-offs to having the trails mostly to yourself in the early morning. We, the mid-day riders, appreciate all of the hard work you are doing out there for us.
 

BPaze

Well-Known Member
So here is mixed news, spiders known for weaving webs, Orb Weavers have a 12-month life cycle that comes to an end in late summer or early autumn. They are currently going to be at their biggest size over the next few months so good luck, but will soon no longer need to worry about them on the plus side.

How long does an orb weaver spider live?
https://animalcorner.org/animals/or...fe span is about,females are similar in size.
The life span is about 12 months. They mature in summer, mate, lay their eggs and die in late summer-autumn
 

Robin

Well-Known Member
I usually ride solo so I get all the webs. I just stop and wipe/fling off the web and hope the spider doesn't hate me for wrecking their hard work.

Ironically saw this at the start of my ride today.

PXL_20220812_112934642.PORTRAIT.jpg
 

one piece crank

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I’m always the web cleaner. I just go and try to drop my face down if I see one - the visor usually keep them off my face.
 

teabagger11

Well-Known Member
I dont like being the web clearer on rides but sometimes I feel like with enough webs you might be bullet proof on the trails
 
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