skunk cross

Ever get stuck in the road by a skunk that will not let you pass?  I did today and I was glad I was on my cross bike.

Ryan and I went for a ride after church.  We rode from his in-laws house north of Wooster and were able to cover some roads I have not been on in a while.  It was mid 30's and overcast and I was having an unexpectedly hard time staying warm.  I seemed to be rapidly swinging from warm to cold.  Come to think of it, the leaky water bottle in my gear bag that pre-moistened my base layer may have been the culprit.

We pedaled together for two hours and Ryan had east while I headed west to the Overton Valley.  I was coming down Armstrong Road and spotted something in the road up ahead.  Just last week I was taking pictures of frogs and a turtle in the spring weather.  What was this today?  A cat in the road?  Strange, it's walking in circles right in the middle of the road.  I stopped about 20 yards short of the animal and realized it was a skunk.

A truck approached from behind, pulled up beside me and put the window down.  "I really don't want to get sprayed by that skunk" I said.  We talked for a few moments and he pulled forward hoping to scare it off.

Meanwhile another car pulled up and stopped beside me.  This guy diagnosed the skunk as rabid and said they often spin in circles with such disease.  The skunk continued to walk in about a 10' circle right in front of the stopped truck.

Hoping to see a skunk dart out from in front

of the truck... or the truck run him over.

With the stalemate situation continuing I decided to take action.  I rode through a small ditch, into a field, and bypassed the trunk / skunk stand-off.  The guy in truck yelled over, "is it still in front of me?"  Yep, still circling and half under his truck for a portion of the loop.

My view from the field.

The car behind went around on the left.  The truck backed up and, waiting for the skunk loop to start the right half, also went around on the left.  There was no skunk spraying and I rode off amused.

The rest of the ride was not so eventful.  I rode pretty steady down Overton Rd in my own time trial and arrived home slightly cross-eyed.  It felt good to sit in front of the fire when I got home, and it was an added plus to not smell like a skunk.