A Ride on the Wild (Life) Side

[marvinsc]

Went out on a 100 plus Mile Ride this Morning before things got too Hot and Sticky, sort of a Tune up for West Virginia next Week. Less than 10 miles from home I was on a Rural Narrow roughly paved road in Tennessee that I hadn't been on before. I was taking things easy (25-35 mph) when I come around a curve and Right in the Middle of the Road are a Doe and Her Twins, they still had spots! I pull in the Clutch and They stare at Me for a second and scamper off into the Woods. Shortly after that a Gray Squirrel decides to Play "Chicken" in My Lane! I wasn't gonna Swerve so He Finally Did. I proceeded on to Paris Landing State Park on Kentucky Lake and Headed Back. Before I got back home a couple of hours later I saw more Deer, Bobwhite Quail, and various beasts of the field. Let's be Careful Out there OK.:-D

[Smokinapankake]

I regularly see deer on the road to work. I work way out west of Ogden Utah, no lights on the road, etc... Lots of people have hit cows and deer. Don't think it would be very fun. I almost got ran into by a small doe not 1 mile away from work. Something funny caught my eye at about 4:50 AM, and knowing the prevalence of wildlife I immediately covered my brake and gearshift and sure enough, on the right side of the road a doe is running diagonally toward me to cross the road. I nailed the brakes, locked up the rear wheel, and that damn doe ran right in front of my headlight, not more than about 2 feet from my front tire. Closest call I've ever had. After decompressing for a few minutes and allowing the rest of the small herd to spook and run away, I rode on into work and cleaned my undies in the men's locker room. I would have to say that had I not covered my brake at the first sign of something wierd, I would have run right into that deer. Again, lets be careful out there.

[Sandy]

Having lived in a rural area next to the Rockies for the last thirty years and driven over a million miles between the bike and car without actually hitting anything significant is probably somewhat of a miracle or at least dumb a$$ luck. The one near hit that is my most memorable was on a trip home from Vancouver one day some ten years back. It's about a 550 mile drive and the last part is quite remote and through a couple of higher mountain passes. It was about midnight and an hour from home and coming down the last pass. I spotted what looked like a large brown paper bag on the road ahead in the middle of my lane. It had just come into sight in my hi-beam so I had lots of time to evaluate the situtation and as the object was stationary I figure it was something that had probably fallen off another vehicle and thus picked a line around it without paying much further attention to it. When I got within about fifty feet of this thing it literally seemed to explode in front of me. It turned out to be a great horned owl feeding on some road kill and at the time I swore it had a 20 foot wing span. I don't know how much I missed it by, but it was very close. That sure woke me up!!!

[t3rmin]

I see lots of elk on a weekly 200mi business trip (on the bike whenever possible). I'd hate to hit one of those HUGE beasts. Instant death, I'm sure. :shock:

[spyug]

I'm about 5 minutes from the farm country around our city. My buddy lives about 15 minutes further in so I get to ride 2 lane country roads quite a bit. I often see deer in the fields and there are plenty of watch out for deer crossing signs. So far, I haven't seen any bambis in the roadway.

Going 3 to 4 hours north it is common to see moose grasing along side the roads. I don't go north very much anymore so I haven't seen anything wild in a while but I have seen up close and personal what a moose can do to a mini van.

20 years ago in a former life as a bank manager, I had a client who's van got destroyed when he hit a moose standing in the road. Hewas travelling to the family cottage and he rounded a bend a little too quick and there it was. He swerved but the moose took out the right side of the van. By some quirk of fate, his wife and kids were not with him ( they usually were) and he wasn't hurt. As the bank held a lien on the vehicle I had to get pictures for the file and I'll never forgot the mess. Blood and guts everywhere and the whole side of a Chrysler van caved right in.

Anybody unfortunate enought to hit a deer or moose on a scoot is not likely to survive it i'd think.

If you ride in the country, especially at night, slow down a bit, keep your head swivelling and thrown on all the light you can. Often you'll see the eyes glowing as they stand in the bush..if you do slow right down til you pass.

Ride safe all.

Cheers,
Spyug.

[Smokinapankake]

Not only do I see deer, but I also see a LOT of feral cats. Their eyes light up from 100 yards down the road. They always disappear into the underbrush, but I'm still careful as I approach. Even rolling over a housecat could land you a date with the pavement.
Yes, lets be careful.