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6th sense saved me or the deer

2K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  MrHondamatic 
#1 ·
I was out for a days ride on my KRS in one of the many southern Ontario lake areas when I realized I had missed my intended turn off. Found the next paved country road and started to double back. Not wanting to lose time I was soon clipping along at 120 km (75 mph) when I think "might want to be careful, never know what can jump out of the trees". 30 seconds later, less than a 100 feet ahead, 2 deer do exactly that. Having slowed considerably I had no problem avoiding them.
Now I'm not suggesting that my premonition resulted from anything other than a logical evaluation of my surroundings, speed and visibility, the so called "riders 6th sense" but it was a hell of a coincidence.
This did, however, get me thinking, what would be the aftermath of a close encounter of the animal kind?
 
#2 ·
Wow, that's pretty lucky. Nice going. It's dangerous riding around in the habitats of unpredictable (you know, wild) animals. I mowed down a few deer in California, and even a kangaroo in Australia, but always in a car. The consequences would be dire on a bike.

However, your story has just opened us up to claims of the benefits of deer whistles.

Like discussions of religion, motor oil, or those amazing brass weights somebody showed us last year, there just seem to be people out there who won't accept facts. Also, I wouldn't want to think how some of these same people are going to interpret your sixth sense. Yep, you know that's what they're thinking.

So, you out there with the deer whistles, just keep it your secret, OK? Let's just accept that the odds were in this man's favor, and that the deer weren't held at bay by the divine odor of his Marvel Mystery Oil.

Dave
 
#3 ·
Lucky for you to have avoided what could have been a serious collision. I hit a deer(actually the deer hit me) on my bike in a slow turn. the darn thing jumped out of some bushes when i blipped the throttle on the downshift. I think i was probably going 15 mph when i hit its hind quarters. I actually believe i locked the brake up when i hit it which is what caused me to do down. the damage was minimal thanks to frame sliders. Deer whistles are definately going on now. Is there a specific brand that anybody has heard of that are proven to work?
 
#4 ·
a few weeks ago i did the same thing, i was riding to work Sunday morning and i ran into some fog so naturally i slowed down from 75 mph to about 50 mph. i few 100 feet more and i thought about deer so i slowed down to about 30 mph and sure enough out of fog was a deer standing in the middle of the road. at 35 mph i had no trouble slowing down a bit more to give her time to get her ass off the road.
 
#6 ·
In this neck of the woods deer are quite common and fairly large. There are also lots of moose, elk, bears and occasionally even Rocky Mtn. sheep. Every year people are killed in small cars hitting moose.
I worked for many years as a travelling salesman driving 60 to 120,000 km per year... millions of km all together, much of this at excessive speed.
Ironically, the only time I ever hit a deer was in a truck equipped with deer whistles. Odds are they work to some extent, when they aren't plugged with bugs or other road filth, but don't rely on them.
 
#7 ·
Luck, sixth sense, or something else - it all comes into play. Glad it turned out that way for you.

I was coming back from Savannah, GA a couple of months ago with a lady friend of mine on the back of the GT. We were going down a country road when 2 deer jumped up and crossed the road in front of us. I went into emergency braking intending to come to a complete stop before I got to them if needed. Fortunately, they were the only 2 and we watched them go bounding into the woods on the other side.

Later at a rest stop, she said something like "Weren't those deer beautiful? It was fun to see them." I said, "Fun? It scared the hell out of me."

I worry about getting hit by a deer more than anything else out there.

Ride safe.
 
#8 ·
Deer is the worst possible problem for anyone driving on the road in any type vehicle. Last year at this time at 10:30 AM on my bike, on a bright and clear day on a 2 lane road doing 50mph, I saw the flash coming across the road in front of a big truck coming the other direction. I swerved off the road and then realized i was going to clip a tree and fence. If I swerved back, it would have been dead on in the middle of the deer.
I decided, or at least instinct from almost 50 years of biking, I just let go of the bike, dropping it and hitting the pavement at about 20 mph approx. The deer was so close, I was able to see its eyelashes. Yes, deer have eyelashes !
Fortunately, all I got was a tear in my left sleeve with a scrape and a small bump on my left hip. The bike slid on its left side and the left case popped off. A worker in the field near the road, came over and helped me right the bike. I put the case back on, and the bike started back up. I managed to ride 90 miles to a BMW dealer.
Almost $5000.00 later, I got back my bike looking brand new( I only had 1000 miles on the clock).

Deer are so unpredictable these days. They hang out on the road almost any time of the day,and then run, always in the wrong direction.

This week, there have been many news reports of serious collisions with these creatures, as it is their mating season. Just hope one of them does not think humans are their 'lovers" !!
 
#9 ·
6th sense

That 6th sense (radar) is something you have to cultivate if you want to be a grouchy geriatric rubber burner like me. Here the roos are even coming right into the cities (urban sprawl beating them) but if you hit a wombat when driving a car. They are built like a little tank, jam under the front, lift your tyres and suddenly you are a passenger in your own car doing 100 plus kph and heading for a tree
 
#10 ·
I had deer whistles on one truck for a while. I'd never had so many deer jump in front of me before or since. Yes, I took them off to preserve my sanity and the truck. On the bike I just slow down where deer are the most common around here, and keep my thumb on the horn button. There are a couple areas where I will just ride along honking the horn on occasion.
 
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