a winding trail, a moving tail & a slithering tale

i must get some rest, or i'll be catapulted into a full-fledged flare (the last thing i need on the eve of the danskin). although i tapered my exercise this week, i did a leisurely bike ride along the rivanna trail sunday afternoon. but i cut it short. WHY? well...i'm pedaling along, feeling relaxed & euphoric. remember that bridge along the trail, which i recently posted a photo of? i pass under the bridge and come around the bend, where i spot a long, black piece of bike tire inner tube on the pavement ahead. so i think to myself that a biker must have had a flat tire. but as i'm closing in on it, my brain does a major shift, and instead, i'm now thinking:

"that's not what i think it is, is it?...no, NO. wait, don't be silly, M�what? no wait�oh my god it's a snake. SHIT, it's a snake! shit, shit, shit! it's a BIG. BLACK. SNAKE. oh god, what if i run over a snake?!

my fear is confirmed as i pass by and see its head. it's "harmless", probably displaced from the river after rain from the remains of tropical storm Cindy. so there i am, alone on that part of the trail. i'm too freaked out to finish the entire loop, so i turn around to head back. just ahead, i see it slither back into the grass, and feel relieved. (yeah, i know. sissy). further down the trail, near a fork in the road, a runner warns me he's seen another snake. i exit the park in a hurry. (ha! who said i ride slowly)?. i ride up a steep hill on a nearby residential street instead, for one last try at shifting gears going uphill. then, back down to my car to go home.

to my fellow cyclists: did you know that if you run over a snake, it could get caught and twisted in the spokes? that's right. i've read & heard that bike wheels can roll over a snake, only to have the reptile tangle into the tires and get dragged along, possibly causing a fall or crash. what's worse? sometimes the serpents flip around the tires as they turn, and try to bite your legs.

FINALLY, here's a true serpentine story: back in grad school, i used to read the university's main newspaper over lunch. university dorms have a "no pets" policy, as do residence halls at most colleges. one day, the front page noted that one hall was on alert for a snake on the loose. a freshman had brought a forbidden pet boa constrictor to school. it had escaped its cage and no one could find it, therefore, many hallmates were freaking out. the story made headlines for a while. then, one day, there was an article that said that the snake owner's roommate had noticed that the room smelled weird every time he played music. the smell worsened when he turned the volume up, or when stereo had been on for a while. the roommates were baffled. then one day by chance, the smell got so offensive when he was blaring his music that he took apart one of the speakers to find the source. apparently, the snake had slithered inside of a speaker�presumably in search of warmth�and been electrocuted and died there. there it was. charred and decomposing. hahaha--how gross is that?