There are a lot of “best” things about mountain biking, but one of the best things about mountain biking is getting deep into nature and seeing wildlife from your saddle. With the ever-expanding urban environment, it often seems that our connection with the wild world is always shrinking, making it an even better proposition to get out of the city.
Even in North America, there is a nearly endless variety of wildlife you can see on a ride; everything from deer and eagles, to alligators and wild cats. When you start heading to Central or South America, or on the Eastern Hemisphere, your opportunities expand even more. Whether you’re sucking wind on the climbs or crashing on the downs, spotting a beautiful bird or elusive cat can make the ride entirely worthwhile.
What’s the coolest wildlife you’ve seen from the trail?
A very majestic owl. A truly amazing sight to see during the day. Amazing aminal!! 😀
Can your beloved tubeless survive a porcupine?? We have em and they move rather slowly. Haven’t hit one yet although, have run across them on the trail.
Having the privilege of riding in the country of Mongolia for many years, I’ve seen some pretty cool wildlife, including wolves, a fish eagle (white headed eagle of Asia), a hawk owl, black woodpecker (larger cousin of the pileated woodpecker), golden eagles, massive vultures, camels (not exactly wildlife but pretty wild – don’t mess with them), the Przewalski wild horses, Siberian elk, various water fowl, various types of deer, among others. Maybe the coolest of all though was a Siberian ibex (see photo on the Nukht to Zaisan Trail page. He was standing tall and proud on a rock precipice hundreds of feet over the valley below. Also, two wolves darting across the trail about 20 yards in front of me chasing after a large buck was a pretty crazy experience.
That’s so cool!
I was coasting down some singletrack a few years ago. I came around a bend and almost ran over an adolescent mountain lion. I hit the brakes and skidded to a stop. The kitty jumped off the trail. That’s when I saw the mother about 50′ ahead. She looked back at me and didn’t move. I lifted my bike over my head to appear bigger and started yelling, but I’m pretty sure it came out more like squawking. After a few seconds she ran down the trail. I turned around and got some PRs on the climb back up.
Beautiful animals. Good idea to head the other way. I bet that was an adrenaline packed encounter.
By far the most unusual was an albino doe. It was a ways off but it interrupted my ride for quite a while.
Second would be wild horses in the Owyhee Mountains in Idaho.
Others include: moose, javelina, badgers and burrowing owls.
Awesome question. The best encounter I had was with a very healthy coyote in a strip of woods between Shaker Heights, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights. So beautiful.
The most surprising was hard to tell but it wasn’t a raccoon or skunk. I swear it was a fisher or badger. It was dragging another animal across the trail and down to a creek but it was a blur.
Looking at the range of different animals, badger is the only plausible answer but still hard to believe. Location was Medina, OH.
One of my favorites this year was a wild burro on the west side of the Tucson mountains. He had an old grizzled muzzle—who knows how long he’s been out in those mountains for?!
Lived in Tucson 55 years and never heard of burros there! Ridden there a bunch.
I’ve seen Gila Monsters several times while riding in Arizona.
Came around a sharp corner and a rather large tortoise was slowly lumbering down the trail. This is in eastern LA County. Did not like me taking pictures. Also, there is a bobcat that likes to run in front and next to us riders. Always in the same location. Sprints for about 100 feet then darts up into the woods. One more. I came around a wide turn and there were two large bucks on the trail. No way I could stop in time so I rolled between them with speed. Instead of running away, they galloped next to me for about 50 feet. One on each side. Powerful animals. I could feel their hoofs thud under me as they ran. The one on my right charged ahead, crossed my path and darted with the other off the trail. It was quick, scary, but really cool.
On the trails I ride, it’s not uncommon to see rabbits, particularly in the springtime. I’ve also seen road runners, but infrequently. One time, I came around a turn in the trail and almost ran into a group of turkey vultures chowing down on something that had died on the trail.
I know they’re not rare but I think coyotes are pretty neat. And fast!
Once I turned a corner on a nearby trail and almost ran over a skunk, that was exciting.
A Fisher!…. It was just sitting in the middle of the trail. I thought it was some freakishly large house cat until it spotted me and took off at warp speed. It was then I could see the body was weasel-like in shape. Haven’t seen one before or since – though my sister who lives in suburban Rochester, New York, says one has been spotted in her neighborhood this spring, prompting warnings to keep cats and small dogs indoors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cchjKC87p4Y
Seen Gila Monster lizards several times but on one ride there were 2 of them. Several Western Diamondback rattlesnakes, too. Arizona Sonoran desert. One moose ran by me 5′ away in Montana, right after a brutal 2900′ climb.
Ran into a Wolverine climbing out of Boise on up to Bogus Basin on a bike on a weekday without much bike traffic.