Most rides start with a thrill and a smile regardless of destination, length of ride, weather or time of day. Riding is pure pleasure. And I know there are risks associated with the experience that I work to keep in mind. Some are obvious like other vehicles, roadway obstacles, deficiency of skill, deer, weather and a host of others. But on this day I was reminded of an unexpected riding risk that’s just plain creepy.
At one point during the weekend ride I parked in a thick green carpet of plants along a creek and proceeded to wander around to make some pictures and just enjoy the outdoors. I didn’t realize the danger I was in until later in the ride when I was sitting in a soft armchair in Cafe Lemont.
I was holding a cup of steaming hot chocolate in both hands, enjoying the warmth of the cup and thinking about the unfolding day. I was looking at my hands, my thumb actually, when I saw a small brown spot moving across it. It only took a second for my brain to recoil with “tick”. Some people are afraid of bears or snakes. For me it’s ticks. There are few things creepier save for perhaps bedbugs.
After dispatching the monster my entire body was tingling from little tick feet walking on my now hypersensitive skin. A few minutes later I plucked on from my cheek. And before leaving another from my wrist. That stop along the creek was the only place I could have picked them up and now that I think about it a perfect place for deer. Deer and ticks — they go together like milk and little chocolate donuts.
The entire way home I imagined dozens of ticks climbing up my legs searching for places to hide. Those creepy little bastards. I work with a woman who used to raise mosquitoes and bedbugs for research at Penn State. She told me she never told people what she did for a living lest they shun her. Her husband begged her to not bring home bedbugs. She described the smell from so many insects drinking so much blood. Real blood. You don’t want to know.
Speaking of work — I’m in trouble. Forgot to attend the 25 year service award ceremony today where my boss and another colleague were honored. I was in a meeting, no one told me, there was wind, my dog ate my calendar, it wasn’t my fault. But I was told later that my boss is keeping a list. I’ll need to keep a low profile for a few months. I’m not alone in my crime — another colleague failed to attend as well. And sadly for him, his office is just a few feet away from her while I’m at a distance on another floor. If this is the last post to Scooter in the Sticks you’ll know why.
So riders beware — ticks are everywhere in the verdant, lush green landscape. And they are relentless. At home I found two more wandering on my but so far none have embedded into my tender flesh.
I almost don’t want to ride anymore. So on my list of riding dangers that bother me:
- Ticks
- Alligators
- Deer
I’m safe from number two…
Hate the creepy buggers too. Fortunately, even though they’ve increased around here, I don’t run into them much. Maybe because I spend more time ON the scooter. What worries me even more are deer ticks. Heard of enough Lyme disease stories…..
We were in northwest Wisconsin with my family a few years back. Half of us went for a walk, the rest of us laid on the grass to wait. When we got back in the vehicle, I felt something crawling on me and discovered a tick. Set off a frantic tick-hunting party-even my modest 10 year old niece was stripped down to her underwear. I felt crawly the rest of the day. Fun times.
When you have a group of people together searching for ticks it can set off a whole different energy bomb.
Lyme Disease is just one of many tick borne diseases waiting to get you. It just sucks…
Ugh. You just experienced my worst nightmare. Here on Long Island ticks are a big problem. Sadly it keeps me out of the woods on my bicycle all summer long because I get totally paranoid about it.
Did you ever see the Star Trek movie The Wrath of Khan? There’s a scene where Chekhov gets a creeptacular larva -thing put in his ear. That’s what I imagine will happen if a tick is on me. It will burrow in my ear, feeding on my brain until I finally lose my mind.
No Bigfoot on the list? Tsk tsk. Naive man.
Nothing like finding a fully engorged tick on your body. On the one hand it’s sort of amazing something can hang on unnoticed for so long to fill up with blood. And on the other hand it’s terrifying that something can hang on so long unnoticed…
I’ve seen the Wrath of Khan many times. While the larva in the ear scene with Chekhov is creepy, the show that scares me more was Night Gallery where an earwig got into a guy’s ear and laid eggs in his brain. Ugh ugh ugh.
Bigfoot. We had a Bigfoot costume produced with air bladder face controls and everything for a video project. Looked just like the one used in Harry and the Hendersons. For years it was in a warehouse and I had planned to get it out to play a trick on a friend’s son. Seems the young man is obsessed with Bigfoot AND also has an active trail camera near his house to photograph wildlife. We were going to get the suit out and walk past his trail camera some night. Alas, the suit was disposed of before I could get around to getting it.
Will probably be the same thing with a Triumph…
Congratulations on you 25 years of service. Hopefully your absence didn’t tick too many people off.
I’m way past 25years of service Robert — that was my boss. I’ll be hitting 42 years in a few weeks…
One time I took my dogs for a walk on a trail where we had not been before. When I got home I sat down for a coffee and felt a small movement on my arm. I went on to find more than a dozen ticks on my legs and torso. Ya, creepy.
Happens all the time. And it’s always creepy.
FWIW I spent a lot if time in the woods of Fort Bragg, NC while in the Army…ticks galore but also learned of one product that seemed to keep them away: “skin so soft”….ticks and most other bugs seem to hate it. Apply near entry points…
I’ve heard that the Avon product works but it’s hard to get. I have Deep Woods Off with DEET but it’s not so great. It does do a good job cleaning the haze off of plastic headlight covers though.
OMG, I hate ticks, too. Just seeing one makes me feel buggy for hours.
Most people think of ticks as summer problems, but they’re often more active than ever in the Fall, before the hard freeze, as fewer wild critters are around for them to feed AND it’s sort of their last chance to gorge themselves before winter really sets in.
I don’t get super-freaked very easily, but Rachael mentioned one of the few things from movie/TV that has stuck with me for years… that horrible Star Trek ear worm. Talk about oh em gee.
The ticks used to go to sleep during the winter here but for the past five years or so they’ve kept busy all winter. Climate change means more ticks?
Wifie, Little Dog and I went hiking on Mt. Nittany this weekend, and sure enough I found a tick on my clothes later. As you probably know we live in one of the worst parts of the USA for ticks.
BTW if you go down Axemann Road between Pleasant Gap and Bellefonte, you might see a ‘gator.
A real gator or a carved gator?
That hike up Mount Nittany is a steep one isn’t it?
A steelie one.
Have to agree with you regarding ticks They can find the darnedest places to home in on.Can get downright embarrassing!!Can sympathize with your dislike. Safe walking!!
Thanks John. I’ll try to walk carefully and check for ticks often.
I have a few acres around the house and wooded areas border the property. As much as I try to stop them the dogs plummet into the brush and I inevitably find a tick on one sooner or later. I even found one stuck to my Black Lab’s ear the other day. Hate the little creeps. One dog has the anti-bodies for Lyme but is vaccinated to dull the effects.
Junior has twice been treated with doxycycline for Lyme disease. Both times he tested positive and had symptoms. He’s been vaccinated as well but hasn’t seemed to help. And seems like every couple weeks we find one — no small task on a long haired dog.
Ah, you have discovered yet one more reason to use the buddy system when riding!
Someone to check your hair and back for ticks…
Creepy, nasty, things. I’ll be trying the ‘Skin So Soft’ product. Thanks!
I’m out of luck since I ride alone. I’ll have to try and do more tick checking selfies!
To coin a very bad phrase: your boss and co-worker have every reason to be ticked off by your non-appearnce at the ceremony; right in line with you being invaded by tiny brown bloodsucking ticks. What you don’t know may kill you…
Your boss may come disguised as a tick, to confuse or drive you mad.
I’m fortunate to have a supportive and understanding boss and coworker. Neither have tick like qualities or drive me mad. I take care of that myself.
With me, it’s spiders. I park the scooter under the deck and while it’s safe from the elements there I need to check for those telltale gossamer threads and eight legged creatures anywhere near where my hands are going to be. I shudder to think of what I might do in traffic if I should see any sort of arthropod climbing up to get a better view.
I’m not wild about spiders and some will cause a start but they don’t generate that lingering uneasiness that a tick will do. And a spider bite is far worse than a tick. Makes no sense but I’ll take spiders over ticks any day.