Tis the season:Rattlesnake bites mountain biker

[AW~]

http://www.sgvtribune.com/general-news/ ... ering-well
"....Avid cyclist Brad Adams, 25, of Los Angeles was out for his usual Friday morning ride shortly before noon, heading up Brown Mountain Trail in the Angeles National Forest just north of Altadena, when he encountered the rattlesnake, according to his sister, Candace Adams.

“He briefly stopped at a crest to wait for his friend when a rattlesnake bit him above his right ankle without warning,” she said in an email. “He did not feel the bite until the snake had finished its assault.”

Brad Adams realized he had been bitten, but had no cell phone reception, his sister said.

“(He) immediately hopped on his bicycle and began the 5-mile descent to the trailhead,” she said. “Within the 15 minutes, he said he could feel the effects of the venom course through his foot and the rest of his body,” Candace Adams said. “It was moments after that Brad reached the base that the other cyclists had caught up. One of the cyclists managed to call 911.”

Los Angeles County sheriff’s and fire department officials treated the injured bicyclist and rushed him to a hospital by helicopter, sheriff’s Lt. Douglas Mohrhoff said.

His recovery was progressing well Saturday in an intensive-care unit, Candace Adams said. He responded well to antivenom, and no surgery was expected to be needed...."

[RichardK]

I hear the anti-venom is out of sight expensive, like $14K per vial. I hope he has good insurance.

[VermillionPearlGirl]

This attack sounds pretty atypical. I wonder how he spooked the snake? Or I guess perhaps the snake felt trapped.

I've encountered my fair share of rattlesnakes, and 90% of the time they've run away. I got rattled at once when the snake felt trapped. And another time the snake was clearly sick and not really able to run away from me.

But this sounds rather aggressive for a snake, don't you think?

[Sean]

Maybe the bicyclist had a mouse tattoo on his ankle.

Or maybe he had a Christian cross, and the snake violently flashed back to his days of being tortured during Pentecostal church services.

[JeffH]

From the description it doesn't sound like a typical strike to me either.

And the antivenom often takes a few vials to work.

[RichardK]

If he stopped his bike and put his foot down right next to the snake, the snake will feel threatened and bite.