Chuckles1

Just took a morning ride, a quick 11 mile loop up and down the hills and through the village in my small town. I push pretty hard on short rides, so I was zipping along pretty fast down the steep 1/3 mile long hill to my driveway. About the time I rounded the last turn at 25-30mph, a deer leaps out of the woods and across the road in front of me. Thank goodness the deer was as startled by me as I was by her; she bounded full speed across the road with the intense focus of a sprinter, eyes straight ahead. I was going so fast there was no time for me to do anything but stay the course. I couldn't have missed her by more than eight feet, a close call indeed.

Perhaps I'll forego standing up and cranking at the top of the hill, and take a more leisurely pace down the stretch to my house from now on. Funny, I got in the habit of blasting down the hill to outrace an obnoxious dog that lives just above the corner, but the owner has since tethered the beast, so no need to race.

Iride01 

On my ride yesterday there was a big doe standing right where I crashed in 2019 for unknown reasons and was in the hospital with a concussion.

Every anniversary of that crash since, there have been deer gathering around there during the weeks surrounding that date. Maybe they are talking about the cyclist they took out! <grin>.

CAT7RDR

I'm thinking that spot is near an animal crossing. I now take the deer signs seriously and slow down in my local hills for that reason.

koala logs

The biggest danger for any two-wheelers including motorcycles are speeds above 20 mph. Any accidents above that speed are far more life threatening than if the accident occurred while driving a car.

Furthermore, taking evasive actions in two-wheeler including hard braking is far more likely to end up in a crash than doing the same actions while driving a car.

The odds are definitely not in our favor in terms safety at higher speeds with upright road bikes on the worse end of it being one of the least stable two wheeled vehicle having high CoG against a short wheelbase.

Slow down. If you want to be fast with a modicum of safety, you're definitely using the wrong tool for the job if you're doing it on a bicycle. Pro racers are basically glorified daredevils.

m.c. 

They've been more active lately, the foxes too. I was in my golf cart last week and there were 5 or 6 does next to the road and one standing in the middle of it. They eventually walked off. Weren't spooked like I'm used to seeing them.

terrymorse 

Stop this fear mongering, please.

indyfabz

Descending from Cowans Gap State Park in 2013 heading east while touring across PA. It was early in the morning. During a part of the descent with woods to my right I said to myself "Stay frosty. Youi never know what could come out of those woods." Maybe two seconds later a large deer bounded out of the woods in front of me and crossed the road. I was riding fully loaded and doing upper 20s. Thing crossed maybe 20' in front of me. My heart nearly jumped out of my throat.

I've done a good amount of touring in Montana since 2009. Deer all over the joint. Came around a curve descending the east slope of Thompson Pass in the rain to find four of them just standing in the middle of the road. Fortunately, I was not going very fast. Two years earlier I had to brake for a herd of doe elk and calves that stampeded across the road after my presence spooked them. I saw them start to move and the road was flat, so I was never in any danger.

One local told me Montana deer are dumb. It's not uncommon for then to just hang out in the middle of roads. In 2019 I saw several of them do that right near a busy c-store as people were driving to and from the place for morning coffee, etc.

I have also had to watch out for a few of these fellows while on the bike:

indyfabz

These guys give me more concern than bears. They may look docile, but they can get mean quite quickly.

livedarklions

35 mph

Troul 

i've spotted moose as I white knuckled a cold ride tight hilly ride. Deer are way too common by me, so much that I usually see some leap across the street as I leave my area a few times a week.

BillRS22

Another cyclist told me he was riding and a pickup truck coming the opposite way hit a deer and threw it into him. He was injured pretty seriously. It would be hard to avoid a situation like that. Bill

indyfabz

I have only seen 4, including a mom and calf, while riding. (Saw another 5 while backpacking in Glacier NP.) One was feeding in a golf course pond in Sandpoint, ID. None of them were close enough to be a concern. It’s not a critter I would like to encounter up close. They don’t have to move for anyone or anything.

The coolest critter that ran across my path was a badger in Montana. Those things can move. I saw him coming so he posed no danger.

indyfabz

Recently in Yellowstone. Watch the whole thing. The remember the guy who taunted the one. Some people are so stupid it must hurt.

livedarklions

I always wonder what people are supposed to do when they report the annual casualties in Pamplona. You taunt the big fast animal, you're definitely asking for it.

_ForceD_

Local bicyclists killed by deer.

https://patch.com/rhode-island/newpo...of-art-weekley

Dan

zandoval 

Better still to move those Deer Crossings to another spot...

rsbob 

See far more suicidal squirrels which can’t decided which way to run.

Last year was descending a half mile winding down hill at 35 when two deer crossed in front of me. Luckily they were 50 feet away, but a second or two faster and it would have stung. Now when I run that road, I try to scan way ahead watching the shoulders/woods, and reduce the speed a bit, so that if I have to panic stop it won’t sting as bad.

On last few rides many doe and fawn sightings.

indyfabz

Not always possible.

GhostRider62

A hunter told me they are most active around sunrise and sunset as they move to and from their bedding areas. They feed and are active mostly at night. He said some will feed midday but usually they are not roaming too much. There are hundreds and hundreds of deer in my area and if I ride near sunrise, I can bet on seeing scores of them. I mostly ride in the heat of the day and rarely see one except now, the Does are dropping and have to eat a lot. I would not want to be hit by one, they are very tough animals.

indyfabz

Yes. White-tails are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular.

They are also tasty. In Montana it is legal to take home for personal consumption any deer, elk, moose or antelope that you accidentally kill with your car. You may not dress it by the side of the road, and you must go on line to get a retroactive permit so the state can keep track of numbers. Of course if you hit an elk or moose there is a good chance that your vehicle won't be in the best shape to transport the animal.

GhostRider62

In NJ, the local PD issues such permits and slso Fish and Game. Seems skanky though.

indyfabz

In some cases, yeah. Like if the thing explodes. But let's say you hit a deer in the head with your car and kill it. I saw that result in MT back in 2019. The body and head were totally in tact. Not much difference than taking home one that has been shot.

pdlamb

Now where is that youtube link?

pdlamb

I don't know if you've been through Skyline Drive, but their signage tickled me. Three gaps, 23-27 miles apart, with road crossings at the gaps. So they have four sets of deer crossing signs, "Next 25 miles," "Next 27 miles" etc. Wouldn't it have made more sense to have one at each end, "Next 100 miles?" And for people getting on at the gaps, just add a sign "Along Skyline Drive?"

GhostRider62

Location of field dressing. Entrails in the backyard is kind of yucky, ethics of fair chase aside.

Nonetheless, being broadside on a bicycle by a deer running 25-30 mph could be deadly. Bears? Only saw two riding. One in NJ and the other in Oregon or Idaho (wasn't sure which state I was in at the time but over that way). Bears aren't stupid like deer. Deer will typically recognize a cyclist as as a two legged predator type of object but go for ride on a recumbent and those deer won't move. A local cyclist who I only know from doing rides she goes on was hit by one and I understand she was hospitalized for over a week. I have found deer to be completely unpredictable except an old graying Doe by a local church, it will run alongside me. If I stop, it stops. I cannot shoe it away. Really weird.