April 22, 2007

On Thursday, I did the 40-mile loop out at the trail. The scariest part of the ride is usually sharing the road on Otis Road, US 301, and county roads 121 and 119. This past week, the most danger I saw was after I got off the roads and on the trail. The first snake I saw was a harmless racer, but then I came up on a water moccasin that was lying across the trail. I aimed for the tail end and hammered past, not wanting to slow down for a second look. A litle farther down the trail, I encountered this booger. As I went past, I thought it was a king snake. I decided to circle around for another look. Coral snakes are pretty rare. To my surprise it really was a coral snake. He was a little guy, and much like the description I have heard. He was kind of floundering around on the trail, not sure where to go. He wasn't fast, and didn't appear able to see very well. I was able to get close for a photo, something I wasn't willing to do with the cottonmouth. The coral snake was the last snake I saw on the trail that day. Despite stopping for the snake, it was a fairly fast training ride, finishing the 41-mile loop in 2:01.