Attacked at the GS Challenge

Riding a nice easy road at a nice easy pace on day three I saw a snake come out of the grass to cross the road, not wanting to go past in front of the sharp end I slowed down to pass behind it but when I got to it not all of it was out of the grass . What happenened next will take me a while to forget. I must have ridden over its tail section but cannot be sure as I was concentrating on the head which by now was standing up as high as my knee. it then decided to attack man and machine and jumped onto my bike which I was in the process of leaping off on the other side and running into the bush,the same bush the snake had slithered into after going over the top of my bike which became scary part number two. Magnus was on the bike behind me witnessed this fiasco and idetified the snake as a black mamba, now apparently if this thing bites you may as well start smoking because you only have time to smoke one if you are lucky. He still cannot beleive how nimble an overweight old fart like me can be.

WOW.......this must have been an experience of note.

and surely the first documented incident of it's kind

methinks there is one lesson here.......never go slow or as the Catman (and others) says......when in doubt, gas it.......it might not offer a sollution, but it will end the suspence

Must have been a black mamba! Never herd of any other mamba hijacking a bike!

It looks like the old Madala can still MOVE !!!!

I think we should now change your name from Old Madala, to MR. COLIN KING COBRA!!

Colin King Cobra recovering his bike after pressing the eject button on the mothership. Very handy button to have should a black mamba try to hijhjack your bike.....

Quite true - the Black Mamba is reputedly one of the most agressive snakes, and had it bitten you, you would have had roughly 5 minutes as the venom attack your nervous system. The damage to the bike is negligble compared to your life.

Many years ago I was touring with a mate of mine and we had spent the night in Swaziland. We were on our way from Piet Retief having left Swaziland to Richards bay when a massive rain spider ran out of my fairing, along my right arm, across my chest and back into the fairing down my left arm. My overwhelming desire was to leap from the bike but traveling at some 140kmh that would not have been a good option. I remember just tucking my chin down so that the sucker could not get into my helmet and then hit brakes. Once stopped i had to chase this very large spider from the fairing. If you have ever threatened a rain spider they can become very intimidating. An incident that I have never forgotten. Not nearly as scary as a black mamba and clearly not deadly at all, but a shock to the system nevertheless.

No ways gentleman! I would die of an heart attack. Wont need the 5 minutes or the smoke. Glad you're okay.

Happy to have you with us - - Great escape, Colin!

Dokken fonner!! Ek sal verseker my panty vuil gemaak het!!

Should this not be added to the Club indemnity form?
“If you get eaten by a snake… not our problem!”

Ja geez that's not something you want to experience everyday hey Colin.
I had a similar experience once in Mozambique. On a church outreach in the far north, borrowed dikwiel Mozam bicycles from locals to cycle down nice singletrack bush path to the river for a bath (ja no luxuries there!)
I was second in line, heard the guy in front of me shout "SNAKE!", then I went straight over it with my knees next to my ears! That one was a Gaboen/Gabon Adder (not sure about the spelling?) - now I'm not sure if it's very venomous (some people said it is) or what but it certainly looks extremely dangerous - all black with red markings and so on...
Also not a day I would forget easily...

The above experience however is still no match for my encounter I had with a crocodile in Botswana about two years ago, but there were no motorbikes or bicycles involved there
But as it was a very traumatising experience this is a story for another day... Maybe a club night after a few Captain Morgan's!