AM post.

I'd like to believe that I have a sixth sense. Some may call it superstitions, esp. Call it what you will, it all filters into the same bucket. Rarely do I see police on Seminole Hwy but when I do I attempt to follow some sort of traffic laws. Falling in behind Landon who was already in line with Mike we passed the officer and his prey. Both Mike and I commented on how rare it was to see someone pulled over. Thinking nothing of it we headed out Vroman to Fitchburg to Borchert. By this time the officer finished up with his last job and little did we know he was following us. We cruised the stop sign as we rode up M before Borchert. It was on M that he drove by and took our left on Borchert before turing on the lights, pulling over, and jumping out. He looked nervous, possibly new. It reminded me of a SNL Farley skit. He may have been sweating or eating, it was hard to tell as the adrenalin pumped. In typical old man form Mike says "what?" The thought of running the stop sign didn't enter my mind until the officer reminded us. Stuttering over words he eventually let us know why we were at risk. People die because of us. "Last week we had a rider crash and get a concussion." Ok, we're at fault. Sorry. The fact that we were reprimanded by the officer didn't bother me as much as being interrupted on the perfect day. Sunny, 80 degrees, open roads.

Up the road we're approaching the Schaller and Fritz intersection. The cluster consists of a four way stop with a free right turn if your traveling north. The northbound stop sign comes after the free right so if your traveling west and are planning on turning south it's a good idea to stop. Rarely do cyclists follow these rules. With the amount of tree growth and foliage this time of year it's hard to see unlike our fall rides. With Mike up front Landon and I cruise through. The last minute SUV crests the hill at what looks to be illegal speeds. I cut right and brake as Landon cuts left into the path of traffic while unclipping, and fishtailing into the shoulder around the vehicle. I saw his life flash before my eyes. I caught a glimpse of the driver as she looked like she just lost ten years of her life. It was quiet. No screeching, no yelling, no honking. We were at fault.

One flat later somewhere near hay hollow we're in the drops at 35-40mph. Mike and Landon are 20 meters up the road when things got weird. It's a bit blurry but the blanks can accurately be substituted. My helmet slams down over my eyes knocking my glasses to my chin. I quickly adjust in time to catch the shadow of a wing span.

WTF? My first though was that a branch fell from a tree and hit me in the head. The descent was tree covered and the wind was blowing. Was the wing span a figment of my imagination? I was so rattled that I rode it out to the bottom before stopping Mike and Landon. "Yeah right!" We come to a stop and I remove my helmet. New helmet, fresh talon holes less than an inch from my skull (pic).

After decompressing from the bird attack I had work to do. Clean the race bikes, gear calculations, Big ring planning. I smashed my recalled helmets which released some pent up nerves from the days activities before grilling my dinner. Mmmmm, grilled bird.

Comments

[Devin]

Never heard of a bird going after a skid lid before.. At least it was that and not you shoulder.

[djonnymac]

must have thought yer head was an egg. weird. don't think I've ever seen a cop out in the basco regions. equally weird.

[Caffeine Powered]

And just when you thought you were at the top of the food chain.

Redwing Blackbirds target ROAD cyclists regularly. The talon marks in yer lid look more like a raptor made them.

[scotch]

probably a trained hawk the cop sent after you