I did not manage to get up early enough to ride on Thursday morning. I waited until 8 or 8:30 pm to do my ride for 30 Days of Biking. It turned out to be perfect timing to see a young red fox.* There was just a bit of eye shine in the weeds on the side of the road in the distance ahead. I was wondering if it would be a raccoon or a cat or (hopefully not) a skunk. As I rolled slowly in that direction, it emerged from the weeds and started jogging down the road directly toward me and into my headlights. It just kept moving toward me, probably blinded by my light, until I started talking to it. “Hello fox. Do you see me? You might want to run away.” It was only about 10 feet from me when it turned off the road and slipped in to the high grass in the ditch.
It was really humid and had been hot all day, but the temperature was probably down to 75 by the time I rode. It was the kind of weather that seems to draw frogs into the road for some reason. There were a lot of frogs, though not so many that I couldn’t easily avoid them. There were a couple that looked like leopard frogs, and lots of tiny green ones (maybe peepers), and one or two american toads.
It can be really nice riding at night around here. You definitely need to be well lit for the few cars that do pass but for the most part you’re out in the quiet dark without traffic. The view is simple, dark silhouettes of trees and terrain, against a dark sky. Though I spend more time keeping an eye out for frogs and potholes than I do looking at the scenery.
*I’m starting to wonder if it really was a fox. It might have been a young coyote. It was kind of tall and didn’t have a bushy tail. It seems like it had black on the rims of its giant yoda ears. I have looked up pictures of both foxes and coyotes but I haven’t seen any perfect matches.
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