A typical night in an Aussie shed... pics!

[Nick777]

So anyway, I went out for a nice 60k ride tonight, beautiful conditions if slightly windy, but a great night for a ride. 20 minutes in, pop, a puncture. Checked the rim, checked the tyre, changed the tube. 15 minutes later, pop, a puncture. So I only managed 25kms...
I ended up having to get a lift home because I only carried one spare tube (learned my lesson, again), so the first thing I did when I got back was do another thorough check of the tyre/rim etc.. No thorns, glass, nails etc.. so I changed the tube again. 20 minutes later, I am inside & hear the pop again... it turned out that the tyre had a small split on the side that I had missed.
So anyhow, back into the shed & changed the tyre.

Hang on... what's that thing up there?

 

[JA.Tri]

Like your PTap....and your pet spider!

 

[Bavarianrider]

So anyway, I went out for a nice 60k ride tonight, beautiful conditions if slightly windy, but a great night for a ride. 20 minutes in, pop, a puncture. Checked the rim, checked the tyre, changed the tube. 15 minutes later, pop, a puncture. So I only managed 25kms...
I ended up having to get a lift home because I only carried one spare tube (learned my lesson, again), so the first thing I did when I got back was do another thorough check of the tyre/rim etc.. No thorns, glass, nails etc.. so I changed the tube again. 20 minutes later, I am inside & hear the pop again... it turned out that the tyre had a small split on the side that I had missed.
So anyhow, back into the shed & changed the tyre.

Hang on... what's that thing up there?

Is that some crazy *** lethal spider

 

[Martin318is]

awww cute, he's just a baby!

 

[elapid]

That's just one of our friendly house spiders. They're good luck!

 

[usedtobefast]

That's just one of our friendly house spiders. They're good luck!

are you kidding? that is big. we have really big tarantulas,but they don't come in from above. holy crap!

 

[Spider1964]

Harmless... keeps the flies and mozzies away.

Why are people so afraid??

 

[krebs303]

Spiders I don't mind. Spiderwebs however give me the willies just thinking about them makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Forget reaching in someplace and touching them.

 

[42x16ss]

Meh, just a regular huntsman. Doesn't look that big....

 

[Angliru]

Harmless... keeps the flies and mozzies away.

Why are people so afraid??

Creepy, crawly, sometimes floating on airwaves to where they please, suspending from the ceiling or your car visor unexpectantly (while your driving!), sometimes huge and hairy.....Need I go on??

I personally have a phobia of sorts as a result of a childhood experience. At summer camp, my bunk in the cabin on my first day was right by the window, top bed. Didn't pay attention to the spiderweb in the corner of the window. Next morning wake up and walk over to the bathroom which is a separate structure next door. Nonchalantly washing my face and notice something odd about my eye...kind of puffy-like. I hadn't bothered to look in the mirror at all until this moment. Apparently the spider had bitten me somewhere in the vicinity of my eye causing it to swell as if Mike Tyson had slugged me in my sleep! I proceeded to hunt the furry frakker down, knocked him from his web and as he ran across the cabin floor I sprayed him with lighter fluid and lit the trail that led to him with a match and watched him go up in flames. They've been my mortal enemies ever since. (No I didn't burn the cabin down!)

 

[oldborn]

Nice spider I do not love them but I do not kill them.
Anyway I saw those couple of times, they are nice





Do you have these in Oz?

 

[elapid]

Do you have these in Oz?

No, but we have these:

Funnel web spiders. They creep me out. The females are up to 5cm long and their fangs up to a 1cm long. You have to check your shoes before putting them on and the pool before jumping in the water.

 

[elapid]

Meh, just a regular huntsman. Doesn't look that big....

Agree, most are hand-sized but some can get as large 15cm across.

But seriously, these are considered good luck. They can just scare the $hit out of you when they suddenly appear, like opening a cupboard door or pulling down the visor in your car.

 

[oldborn]

No, but we have these:

Funnel web spiders. They creep me out. The females are up to 5cm long and their fangs up to a 1cm long. You have to check your shoes before putting them on and the pool before jumping in the water.

You are carrying side arms all the time?

 

[42x16ss]

Agree, most are hand-sized but some can get as large 15cm across.

But seriously, these are considered good luck. They can just scare the $hit out of you when they suddenly appear, like opening a cupboard door or pulling down the visor in your car.

They also love sitting under palm fronds and in piles of leaves. Can make tidying up the yard a little nervewracking

 

[42x16ss]

You are carrying side arms all the time?

A brick usually does the trick, just watch the males - they're even bigger and can kill if the bite is left untreated for too long. They don't effect cats or dogs though

 

[danjo007]

you mean the female - its the larger funnel web.

 

[Martin318is]

yep the female spider is almost always bigger and scarier than the male

There was some great stuff on the net about camel spiders when the US went into Iraq, etc. See here for things like:

* They can run at up to 30kph for short distances and chase you
(apparently what they actually do is try to stay in your shadow out of the direct sun.)

* Their bite carries an anaesthetic, so they can bite you in your sleep and eat part of your limb without you realising... (hmm)

etc. Like I said - very funny!

 

[BroDeal]

As if the thought of 20 million BMC riding, Cadel crazy ACFs was not enough, this looks like a more than enough reason to avoid Australia. Austria too. The spellings are too close for comfort.

 

[auscyclefan94]

It is funny seeing how the Aussies and the non Aussies react to seeing the Spider. Strangely enough, I absolutely hate Spiders. They freak the bejeebus out of me! Seeing such massive pictures of them on this thread makes me shudder but unfortunately it is not uncommon for them to come into the side of the house.

Once I was inside my car driving on a freeway at around 100kmh so pretty fast, had been driving for about 5 minutes and in my rear view mirror I could see a spider at the back part of my car. Obviously I was startled but one of the most scariest moments was the spider creeping on the front dash less than a metre away for me while I was driving. Awful experience.

 

[42x16ss]

you mean the female - its the larger funnel web.

The male has a larger thorax/shorter legspan, the female has a smaller body/longer legspan.

But yeah, I got myself mixed up

 

[elapid]

The male has a larger thorax/shorter legspan, the female has a smaller body/longer legspan.

But yeah, I got myself mixed up

The male is also more toxic. Most lethal bites are from male funnel web spiders.

 

[elapid]

As if the thought of 20 million BMC riding, Cadel crazy ACFs was not enough, this looks like a more than enough reason to avoid Australia. Austria too. The spellings are too close for comfort.

Oh, Brodeal ... what about 20 million Americans wearing yellow wristbands? Or grizzly bears and mountain lions? Will this make you change your mind about visiting Australia?

Beautiful beaches:

 

[elapid]

The amazing outback:

 

[elapid]

And our stunning shielas