TALES: The spiders are nothin'!

Found and marked the entrance to "Mad Hatter" today, but came face-to-face with a harsh reality of summer -- snake traps were all over in the woods. Wonderful signs with giant, smiling snakes were also up near the woods' edges by Kurashiki Dam to warn passers-by of Okinawa's infamous Habu.

I've crashed through many woods here on many different occasions, and I've never seen a snake. However, that does nothing to make me any less tense even sitting here thinking about the little farts. Where are all of the mongooses -- or "mongeese"? -- when you need them anyway? (The mongoose was reportedly introduced to Okinawa from India at the turn of the century to fight Habu, whose bites caused serious injuries to local farmers.)

Just one more reason to ride fast!