Deer!!

[NEPArider2]

How many of you guys have hit a deer while riding your bike? I've had several close encounters including one tonight. It seems like karma usually gets me. I was cruising along in third on an access road that runs parallel to the railroad tracks when i decided to put it into 4th. No more then 10 seconds later bambi decided to race out in front me. I jumped on the brakes and avoided her but it was damn close. This is about the 4th time in 3 weeks that no more then 10-15 seconds after i increased my speed a deer decided to dart out in front of me. Needless to say i will be staying in 3rd gear. I've had my bike almost two months and i've yet to hit 6th gear and i've maybe been in 5th for a total of 20 seconds. The deer are just everywhere it's pretty much playing with fire if you're speeding.

[leland]

My town is really expanding and I ride street. I live right beside a new highway that no one drives on. It was made right through some of the only country left in my town. Every time I ride through there at night I have to dodge about three deer. During the day I never have a problem but I swear every time I ride through there at night they are always standing in the road so I go really slow through that area. It sucks really bad because they are bulding on both sides of the road for the entire highway just non stop shops.

[356]

I've came CLOSE to hitting a TON of them. Never have hit one though! Looks like its time to start packin' to blow bambi's head off. ?

[crfmxer]

came close to hitting a few, they usually tend to hop back into the bush.

I was riding down this trail one day and there's this rotting dead deer carcass down in the ditch and it just reeks. came flying down that trail the next day and had a massive bald eagle swoop up from the corpse right in front of me. I immediately slammed on the brakes but holy shit I almost smoked it.

[Rip Wheeler]

I've chased them on my bike before. And I have been in a 66 Buick that hit one at 85MPH and hurled him well over the tree tops. I always ride next to the centerline when on the road at night. I do this just so it gives me a few extra seconds if something jumps out from either side

[timinator90]

a rabbit got wrapped up in my chain once ?

we dont have deer or they get killed fast because of the rednecks here

[red rider 25]

i chase them!

[jbird710]

I've been fortunate that every time I've run across deer on trails in the woods, they have always been clear of the trail by the time I get to them.

Went to Sturgis, SD last year and had to stay in Gillette, WY; about an hour drive west because we made our reservations so late. While riding the Harley back, on the interstate highway one night, a pickup blew by. When he was about 3/4 of a mile in front of me, I saw his taillights suddenly swerve from one side of the road to the other. I knew he must have been dodging a deer and I moved to the center stripe. When I got up to where he swerved, right on the shoulder on the right side of the freeway, stood the biggest, finest looking, full racked buck I've ever seen. He was looking over his shoulder, as if he was saying, "&%$#@! was that?" (about the truck that nearly hit him) and was completely unfazed by the motorcycles going by.

The next day, several of us went to Devils Tower and took a back road into Sturgis from there. I decided to bring up the rear and had let the other two riders get a little ways ahead. I saw out of the corner of my eye something coming down a hill next to the road and knew it must be a deer. I immediately slowed down and this huge doe hit the shoulder of the road. Thinking if I hit the air horns, this will scare her from running across the road and I can slip by. WRONG! When I hit the horns, it was like she hit second gear and still shot across the road. Luckily, I was going slow enough to be prepared for it. Even on a full dresser, that would have left a mark on both of us.

[06yz]

I always ride next to the centerline when on the road at night. I do this just so it gives me a few extra seconds if something jumps out from either side

Me too. It would be a really bad day if you hit/got hit by a deer on a bike. ?

[10yeareer]

At the Wisp GNCC this past June, I was racing the morning race. Toward the end of the race, I was almost to the top of the ski slope in 4th or 5th gear when I saw a small deer cross the track up ahead and head into the woods. When I got to where the deer went into the woods, it came running back out of the woods and smacked right into my leg. I am lucky it was a small deer.

[CRF RedRider]

Seen many on the side of the trail and a few have darted in front. Even chased a few down the trail. So far none of us have hit a deer. I really wouldn't want to. That would really mess up the person and bike not to mention piss the deer off! ?

[jjs197090]

my husband was hauling butt up a road to the trail head when a spike came off the side hill & jumped in front of him, he was in 5th and didn't see it, the deer went between his tire & front fender. instant stop! he flew a long ways landed on his helmet, slid down the ditch, took out some alder trees. when he stopped he couldn't get up. thought he was broke. he wasn't. but he was upside down in the ditch and it had ripped his ridding pants down to his knees, reason for not getting up. no broken bones just sore! dead deer broken helmet, chest protector scratched, bike fine! unbelievalble!

[XR-TEX]

Chased one across a big field one time.

Doe was zig zagging about a hundred yards or so then she jumped a fence.

pretty cool.

[CharlieT]

It seems there are usually a couple of bikers killed each year up here in deer-bike crashes. ?

[CrazyJohnny125]

i was riding at running deer ranch in and one weekend i almost hit about 5 or 6 families of deer. But then again it is called running deer ranch so, theats the main reason i almost hit them

[YZ250F_Rider19]

My neighborwas driving down a divided highway in the middle of the day, when the car in front of him slowed down. Not thinking he passed the car only to reralize she slowed down for a deer. He smoked the deer going 110km/h. He rode it out though, the deer was dead. Everyone stopped and asked him how he was. All he did was grab a chunk of the antler, tie it to his handlebars, and then kept on riding. He still has the antler!

[idahoaggie99]

I've come close to hitting deer, Moose, and Bear. They always seem to dart out in front of me. Then I have to wait for them to get off the trail. I was behind a big black bear last weekend for about a 1/4 of a mile. Made more dust than my dirtbike. If only I had my hunting tags.... His back was about waist high (I'm 6'3"). He would have made a fine rug.

[xrMike]

I've come real close to nailing a deer and a boar at Hollister Hills.

[Red_Wing42]

I guy from across the river hit an elk on his street bike one night. Messed the elk up bad enough they had to shoot it. The guy, who hit the elk, was still laying down in the street and some cars, who had seen the accident pulled over to help. Another car, which hadnt' seen what was going on, pulls around the cars on the side of the highway, and hits the guy in the road killing him instantly.

[sorenlaf]

How many of you guys have hit a deer while riding your bike?

Haven't hit one, but...

A friend hit one about 30 years ago. One leg is now 3/4" shorter than the other. They almost amputated about mid-calf. He spent a month in the hospital and about a year to recover. Collision was at about 35mph.

Two people I know from the ST1100 email list have literally cut them in half from nominal 60mph hits. The hit was just behind the ribs. The ST weighs in at 700# with full fuel, the broken bodywork is sharp, and when it's all over, the deer is dead and the bike is usually totaled.

I got charged by one once. Riding in the hills at night. About 3/4 mile from my destination. Following a car, partly to have him sweep the road for deer. See something out of the corner of my eye. It's a deer. Running. At me. Hit the gas and she passed about 5 feet behind me. Only time I've ever "accelerated out of trouble" - and maybe it would have cleared anyway. Way too close.

I live about 1/2 mile from a deer funnel (green belt through a housing development ends at a wall with one opening - guess where the deer cross the road?). The funnel is on my commute. I start getting worried when I haven't seen a deer in a week or two, because I start to think that I'm not noticing them. I know they haven't left.

Record is 5 within 2 miles of home - sighted, not hit.

The first 4 miles from home, I concentrate more on spotting deer than anything else.

I see them fairly often riding off-road. Good part is that the places they could get close w/o being seen, I'm going fairly slow (single track), or if I'm going fast (mx track), the visibility is good, there are lots of bikes, and are unlikely to be any deer in the area.

I also roadrace. One of the flags (besides caution, stop, idiot, etc.) is a deer warning. They see a deer on or near the track, they re-start the race.

They are creatures of habit and generally use the same trails and don't make new ones. Know the area you ride a lot and know where the deer are likely to be.

They are also unpredictible. They will show up in unexpected places.

They often travel in groups. Never assume the last one you see is really the last one.

The group travel got another friend. He saw the deer, let it go by, sped up, and hit the next one. Fortunately, he only damaged his bike.

If you see one (or more) deer, slow down for a while because they will double back on you; you may be seeing the first of a bunch, or the last. In my experience, the single most common precursor to a deer you haven't seen is the deer you have seen.

They are completely irrational. Headlights shut their brains off and they'll turn around, come back, and step in front of you for a better look. That's more or less what happen to the guy with the short leg.