If you fall while riding your bike, how and where you land--which may or may not be in your control--has much to do with whether, or how severely, you are injured. (Wear your helmet!)
Whatever you do, try not to land on an alligator!
That is what happened to a cyclist in Stuart, Florida, a town near Port St. Lucie. The man, described by Scott Lorraine of the Airborne Mountain Bike Club as an "experienced" cyclist, lost a tire while rounding a curve in Halpatiokee Regional Park and slid into the water, where he landed atop an 8-foot female gator.
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| The spot where the man fell of his bike and was attacked. Photo by Charlie Shannon |
Charlie Shannon was walking his dog when he encountered the man. "He was hanging on roots like five feet below," Shannon recalled. He used his dog's leash as a makeshift tourniquet, which he and others used to lift the man out. "It was hard to get him out," Shannon said.
The gator, not surprisingly, wasn't happy. But, according to John Davidson, who trapped the animal, gators can be "extra aggressive" at this time of year. That might explain the severity of the bites all over the man's leg.
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| John Davidson, with the gator he captured. |
I have seen alligators while cycling in Florida. I hope I never have an encounter closer than the ones I've had!
