Traumatizing!
Lovely day here in Dublin. First two were pissing rain which was fine because it was when I left Seattle too, so I'm used to it, but having a nice sunny day 'aint bad either :). Guinness tour in the morning and then on to Phoenix Park. At one of the entrances you can rent bikes for about 5 euros, so we did and just biked all over it this afternoon. This park is bigger than Central Park- huge- and just gorgeous. There is a herd of over 400 deer that have called it home for hundreds of years. Gardens, lakes, roads and paths everywhere.... The President of Ireland even resides on the property and it is all just open to the public. So there is obvioulsy security which consists of (two) Garda (police men), tromping around on Clydesdales. None-the-less there is a large police station there and this is where the seen of the crime went down.... oh it is aweful!- Still every time I think of it my mouth gapes open and I cover my entire face with cupped hands cringing........
Me: wearing a purple skirt, green tank top, jut gliding along on my little Irish bike with the wind in my hair an the sun on my face, Sara behind me talking about which path ahead to take. I notice the little innocent squirrel off to the side, right by the path at the base of a tree just enjoying some shade and nibbling on an acorn. I'll be honest the thought did flash through my head "he better stay right there, if he knows whats best for him" and no sooner could I think it than have him dart out into the path, hesitate, (while I am thinking "he'll run away, they always do for my car and such"...) And then he darts farther into the middle of the path with no time for reaction!
I RAN OVER THE SQUIRREL WITH THE FRONT WHEEL OF MY BIKE!!!!!! There is nothing I fear doing more than just that when I am in my car but I never fathomed that I would on my bike. Imagine the gross feeling if you have ever done that in your car (which I haven't!) when you bump over it... EEWWWW! It was my own two hands on the handle bars that felt the bump. His neck/torso just flattened under my wheel and I shreiked, yelled, stopped and covered my face and Sara screamed behind me something shrill followed by "Oh my God! You just ran over a Squirrel" (which I will from now on capitalize out of respect ). He did get up and ran into the bushes very quickly as Sara reassured me he would be fine. I do hope the best for him but was actually more concerned with my own wellbeing! I couldnt keep my mouth shut for the next 30 minutes.
NO WAY!
I think there is probably a squirrel out there somewhere in Dublin tonight laying in a bush suffering from severe internal bleeding and I apologize, but I am going to hope the best and that he is fine and has forgotten all about it by now.......
Riding a bike will never be the same for me...
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