Cautionary Message

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I keep thinking about this when I ride, because we have JILLIONS of deer here, and I've hit them twice with my car at low speeds. (actually, they hit ME....one leaped across the road and landed on my hood and windshield, the other smashed into the side of my car and caused major damage. Poor things.
Watch out for deer on your bikes!

[Crankin]

I have had 2 deer jump across the road in front of me, while riding. It seems like a movie when it is happening! We also have a flock of wild turkeys that live in my neighborhood and they don't move too fast when you are coming down a hill!

[Xrayted]

Yowza! We have deer all over where I live and ride and it's funny that I never considered that I might hit one with the bike. I've hit one with my car years ago (totalled) and have had a few close calls since. I'm so glad he's gonna be o.k. That could have been really devastating. Send him my well wishes, please.

Cindy

[Denise223]

That is soooooooo scary..... I'm happy to hear that your friend's husband wasn't hurt worse -- Sending many healing thoughts & prayers his way.

About a month ago, my husband and I were riding in a countryish, woodsy area. I was ?? approximately 1/8 - 1/16th mile behind him, when I noticed a deer passing right in front of my him , (right to left). (The deer was about 1/2 football field (?) in front of him)...

He didn't even notice the deer because he was looking in his mirror trying to see where I was --- IT HAPPENED SO QUICKLY!

Quint41 Just as you posted -->

MAKE SOME NOISE ONCE IN A WHILE

I always get very sad when I see deer (and other wild animals) in city/towns, walking on pavement. This WAS their home at one time.....it's just the way it is, I know. Still, it makes me sad!

Have a peaceful evening,

Denise

[latelatebloomer]

A VERY good cautionary message, thanks. To DH's annoyance, I don't ever bomb down hills around our neck of the woods. I have had a herd of 10 deer leap across the road in front of me, and a big flock of wild turkeys that took so long crossing that I dismounted and stretched. Also, snakes. All creatures seemed thoroughly bewildered to see that some humans have wheels. Momma never mentioned them!

[emily_in_nc]

Oh my, that's awful, but I can certainly see how it happens. We live in a rural area full of deer, and two deer tore out in front of my husband riding a couple of summers ago. He missed one of them by just a couple of feet. I was riding a few bike lengths behind him and saw the whole thing play out. It happened SO fast, and my heart was leaping out of my chest, but there wasn't a thing I could do. And this was on the flats, not even a descent. Sometimes things just happen.

Hope your friend's husband recovers quickly!

Emily

[xeney]

Yikes. I have had to stop and wait for deer and wild turkeys to get out of the way, but the thing I worry about the most is squirrels. Although my husband hit one once and didn't realize it until I told him.

[quint41]

I never considered the turkeys. We have them, too. They don't have a clue about roads and traffic. I stopped traffic on a local road once because a mother turkey with her babies behind stepped right out into the street in front of my car. She didn't care. I also saw a male turkey entertaining a female with a lovely dance right in the middle of an intersection. Traffic whizzing by. I would not want a turkey to step in front of my bike.

This guy who hit the deer told his wife once that if a squirrel runs in front of the bike, just run it over, you'll never feel it. (Not that he's an animal hater, but it's the safer choice than potentially crashing your bike.) Of course, she's having trouble with that idea, but you just proved that he's right!!

[newfsmith]

Right after being hit by cars, hitting a deer is one of my big worries about my commute. I regularly see as many as 20 deer a day on my spring and fall commutes. Fortunately, most of the places I have seen them crossing the road have fair sightlines, but there are a couple downhills that have sharp curves that are a concern both for deer and oncoming cars crossing the centerline. My closest wildlife collision was a turkey that flew across the road about 10 yards in front of me. He dropped out of a roost spot that I hadn't noticed. Visual field full of turkey is quite startling.

[pooks]

Also, snakes.

I suppose if you ran over a snake it would probably flip you?

Ever since I saw that pic of a rattlesnake crossing the highway that MTNKITCHN (I think that's right) posted in the "what you don't ever leave behind" thread (because she never leaves her camera behind -- I believe she probably does leave the rattlesnakes behind) -- I've wondered about snakes in the road and if they'd just be a "bump" or if you'd go flying. Probably depends on the size of the snake.

I don't want to find out.

[xeney]

I've run over two snakes. You don't even feel them.

[pooks]

That's a relief. I guess they were probably small snakes, though?

[emily_in_nc]

What about a boa constrictor? That might send you flying!