Tar Snakes and Far Horizons

The open road calls to me almost constantly these days and I'm virtually powerless to resist the songs of this Siren.

The far horizons I seek tend to find me trekking through the pits of the deadly Tar Snake.

For those unfamiliar with this particular reptilian genus; it's habitat spans the width and breadth of North America and may be found in a hosts of countries around the globe.

Even Ireland has not escaped the infiltration of the Tar Snake.

For most of the year the Tar Snakes are dormant in North America but when the ambient temperatures climb near and into triple digits Fahrenheit they become active, and with this activity comes their appetite and need to feed.

These deadly serpents feed almost exclusively on unaware Riders. I say ''almost exclusively" due to the fact that sometimes Riders that have had previous exposure to them still fall prey to their bite.

Their feeding behavior is predictable and while understood, still claims victims every year.

The Tar Snakes are opportunistic feeders and when on the hunt lie completely motionless awaiting their prey to pass over them before striking.

As with most things found in nature Tar Snakes are subject to natural selection as well. The ones found on the straight aways are much less successful hunters than those found hunting the feeding grounds of the curves.

Some have attributed their success in hunting the curves to the fact that the Rider's feet are closer to the Snakes while in a curve, and while their is no data to support this supposition the anecdotal evidence of the number of bites per year in Curves is much higher than bites received on Straight Aways.

Every bite that occurs in a Curve does not produce a kill but is capable of it. The determining factor as to whether the bite is deadly or just a scary close encounter seems to be roughly confined to those Riders who are not anticipating the bite when it happens.

As I indicated previously; the behavior is understood so all it takes is situational awareness and the realization you are in their pit and you better prepare for and expect them to strike when you are the most vulnerable.

I'll offer a personal experience from a past summers trip, "Ride About 2005" out in the Western US:

While en-route to Mt. Zion National Park in Southern Utah; we, my buddy James and I, were passing through Hurricane Utah at mid-day in 117 degree F. heat.

Sorry for the poor quality of this photo. The Camera had problems with the heat and would not auto-focus.

Utah Road 9 snakes through Hurricane and makes several sweeping turns along the way to the entrance to the park. While executing a Left Hand turn at slower than the normal traffic speed the Tar Snakes lurking in the curve tried to take a bit out of me without success and then snapped at James who was following at a safe distance.

In this example the bite took the form of the front wheel losing traction in the curve and sliding outward before regaining traction. Had we not been "Situationally Aware" and prepared for this we both could have easily been traveling at a higher speed that "could" have caused a Low-Side in lunch hour traffic and possibly severe injury to one or both of us.

Situational Awareness and being prepared for what may be ahead is the key here and knowledge of how to deal with hungry Tar Snakes always helps.

So if you find yourself chasing Far Horizons, keep an eye on the pit as you pass over, they'll be watching you!

Later

 

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