Deadlier bike

As I was getting in my Taco to go to work this morning, I noticed a spider in a web by the rear wheel of my bike. It was big. It looked light tan in the dim light of the garage door opener. When I got home this afternoon and got out of the truck, it was still there, but it was obviously black. Could it be...? No, black widows hide in the daytime. But this was in the garage. The spider probably had no idea what time of day it was. I carefully made a closer check. Yep, black widow. A really big one.

Normally, spiders don't bother me much. Sometimes when I find them in the house, I catch them and throw them outside. Black widows are an exception, though. I don't like things that could sneak up on me as I sleep and cause me extreme pain. I usually leave the black widows around the outside of the house alone. There are a lot of them. I do get rid of the ones around the back porch for Suzanne (though I'm sure she thinks I don't do it often enough). I get rid of the ones around the front porch before Halloween. I'd feel terrible if some little angel got bit out there. Now, I also get rid of the ones on my bike. I don't want to feel something crawling up my neck at 70 mph and wonder if it's going to bite me or if I'm going to wipe out trying to get it off.

I flipped it into the driveway with my hiking stick and hit it with 175 lbs dropped from 2 feet. It did not suffer. Click below to see pictures of the poor beast when it was healthier.