close call tonight

[marine dad]

i ride 64 miles round trip to work and back, usually rain or shine. i live in a rural area about 25 miles west of winston-salem, and my commute is 25 or so miles of 4-lane and 7 miles of twisty road that i live on.

so about 9pm, 1 mile from my exit, i was in the left lane running 65mph, with no cars behind me or in front of me for half a mile or so. i met a car that refused to dim his bright lights, and really couldn't see s##t for a few seconds.
as soon as he passed i flipped my lights back on bright and there was a MONSTER buck on the center line.
i started slowing and didn't panic just yet, as it seemed i had plenty of time to avoid the deer, and i didnt see any others. as i got close to it, i glanced at the speedo and had slowed to around 30mph, thinking i'd be able to slide by bambi with no problem, when the deer decided to spin around and come back in my lane right in front of me.
so i locked 'er down and slid to a stop and i swear i was maybe 5 feet from this deer. the deer casually walked off like nothing had happened at all.

just finished changing pants and thought i'd share this little encounter
mike

[Sunbeemer]

Nice going! Ya' just gotta love the brakes on these bikes, they've sure saved my butt. I think the bike is actually more capable than I am...I mean it can do things I don't know how to do, and I'm fine with that because it won't fail me if I get into a situation like yours when I have to ask more of it than I think is possible. It's an amazing machine!

I heard the best thing to do when you see a deer in the road is brake and aim right for it because it won't be there when you get there! Very capricious creatures, never sure where they're gonna end up.

Glad you squeeked through that one without harm.

[CycleRob]

marine dad,

Any time you see a deer, slow WAY down!! Their brains are not wired for predicting obvious collision paths like dogs or any animal where the eyes look forward (predator). Animals were the eyes look left and right like squirrels also have that deficiency (prey). I have watched a deer running thru an open field continue on to run straight into the cars in front of me. Just like they weren't there!! It wasn't suicide, it was just a quirk of (Mother) nature.

FYI: Deer are responsible for more human deaths in the USA than ANY other animal !!!

[marine dad]

yeah, i'm pretty used to them around where i live, but riding all those straight piped harleys for all those years spoiled me i guess. i'm used to deer running from a loud bike, and this is my 3rd encounter with the beemer and they don't seem to pay much attention to it at all.
mike

[Boxer]

So I guess you could say, "Loud pipes save deer lives too."

[Ves]

yeah, i'm pretty used to them around where i live, but riding all those straight piped harleys for all those years spoiled me i guess. i'm used to deer running from a loud bike, and this is my 3rd encounter with the beemer and they don't seem to pay much attention to it at all.
mike

This summer we're on a ride up in WI. We're doing a pretty good clip on some side roads, the guy in front and myself are about a second apart, both have the mufflers removed, so you can hear us coming. This huge deer comes bolting off the hill, out of the grass and trees, right between us... I see him in my peripheral vision and slam on my brakes...one leap onto the road, one leap off and down the bank on the other side... It was over before I could think about it... Another 10-12 ft and it would have been ugly. The guy in front didn't even know anything happened... You would think with the noise we were making the thing would have stayed in the trees... In this case I think the noise spooked it. But I have to agree, that most times if there is an animal near the road, when they hear the exhaust, they tend to run away.

[ASQTec]

So I guess you could say, "Loud pipes save deer lives too."

As far as I'm concerned, the verdict is still out on whether or not loud pipes save lives. I can say with a reasonable degree of certainty however, that deer run away from my Harley (stock exhaust) as if they were making the payments!

After 5 years of ownership, I recently found out that deer, at least in eastern PA, do not seem to like the sound of the stock R1150R horn. At least it's good for something.

[wncbmw]

Mike - glad you missed him! I have grown to fear the forest rats! Know too many people who have not missed them and suffered as a result. Lack of predators and fewer hunters have caused the deer populations to explode. Parts of my favorite riding territories you can now see deer at 2:00 in the afternoon along the sides of the roads.

By the way, if I see one crossing in front of me, I usually check out where he came from, in case his friends are following!

[Sunbeemer]

I've often wondered about the wisdom of using the horn to spook deer loitering by the road, and have done so a time or two with good effect. However, I've heard from Wisconsiners that this is contra-indicated. I had a similar situation there where a deer ran between me and a rider in front of me (who never saw it) without incident...and I didn't even have time to honk at that one!

[TicTac50]

I am sorry, guys. Just couldn't help myself.

marine dad,

FYI: Deer are responsible for more human deaths in the USA than ANY other animal !!!

I just wonder. How many lives has Sarah Palin saved?

[hawkdad]

You talk about deer wired funny... I had a close call on my bicycle commute about two years ago....

I was heading down thru a wooded section on a downhill doing about 45 when a deer popped out of the woods.... interestingly....call me crazy.... she saw me.... and I saw her.... kind of like farmer Hoggit and the pig.... we regarded each other...... time seemed to slow down....

So... we're on this collision course.. .our headd are at about level with each other... and she starts to bolt HARDER.... like she's going to beat me across the road.... at about three feet distance.... I couldn't think of anything else to do... but SCREAM!!! She veered off at the last second. I got to the office... showered... and 'cleaned up'....

The encounter really got me thinking that deer in a panic situation will tend to continue on their intended path regardless of the danger.... so.. .

When I see deer ... and I see a lot of them here in NE Iowa.... I honk...

Just thought I'd throw my two cents in...

[ASQTec]

.........deer in a panic situation will tend to continue on their intended path regardless of the danger.... so.. .

Most hunters will tell you that when a deer is spooked, it will usually run towards the last place it considered safe. I have frequently observed this when using my horn. Since deer do not have the ability to understand the speed of something that moves faster than they can run, they may not always instictively assess the danger of an oncoming vehicle.

The safest bet would be to say that deer are unpredictable, and if you see them near the road, just slow down.

[kcmoto]

Has anyone installed a deer whistle? There are a couple of different types (using air flow and not). Just wonder how effective these are.

[OU812]

So I guess you could say, "Loud pipes save deer lives too."

As far as I'm concerned, the verdict is still out on whether or not loud pipes save lives. I can say with a reasonable degree of certainty however, that deer run away from my Harley (stock exhaust) as if they were making the payments!

After 5 years of ownership, I recently found out that deer, at least in eastern PA, do not seem to like the sound of the stock R1150R horn. At least it's good for something.

+ 1 on using the horn. Have been able to "move" a few deer with mine.

[rdsmith3]

The horn works for deer -- another good use for my Stebel nautilus air horn.

For squirrels, they are so erratic and unpredictable that the only method that works for me, on motorcycle or bicycle, is to aim for where they are right now. They will scamper back and forth, but they rarely return to their original place on the road.

[Airman]

I am sorry, guys. Just couldn't help myself.

marine dad,

FYI: Deer are responsible for more human deaths in the USA than ANY other animal !!!

I just wonder. How many lives has Sarah Palin saved?

Are you asking how many deer Sarah has shot ? Don't know that I've ever heard.

[TicTac50]

Are you asking how many deer Sarah has shot ? Don't know that I've ever heard.

At least one http://www.flickr.com/photos/57796560@N00/2824418718/

[OU812]

"People sure don't know much about Alaska and it's animals. Keep in mind Palin has an 80% approval rating in Alaska - there is a reason for that. She looks out for the folks not big oil or any other big company. Before you go down the wrong road keep in mind that Alaska has the highest average education of any state. What approval rating does your govenor have? "
Boy, ours is at 13%.

[TicTac50]

"People sure don't know much about Alaska and it's animals. Keep in mind Palin has an 80% approval rating in Alaska - there is a reason for that. She looks out for the folks not big oil or any other big company. Before you go down the wrong road keep in mind that Alaska has the highest average education of any state. What approval rating does your govenor have? "
Boy, ours is at 13%.

I had no intention of hijacking this thread and posted my comments as a joke.
However, the attached link clearly illustrates that Palin does look out for the BIG OIL companies.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081025/ap_ ... n_pipeline

[OU812]

I was referring to our Gov here in IL. He has the lowest in ILL history @ 13% approval rating.