Deer Declare Open Season On Bikers
I don’t see Alan frequently; mostly we communicate by email.
This is Alan, and this is probably a whole lot like what Dan saw of Alan just before the deer attacked.
Imagine my surprise when I got this email from Alan on Monday.
Hi Ken,
Bambi got her revenge on me! I was riding with Dan Leffert Friday morning down by Cripple Creek, when I was the object of a hit and run, by a deer! Fortunately I was in the lead and Dan saw the diagonal path of the deer run up behind me and then cut in front of me and knock me over. He was able to help me off the road, call 911, get me to a hospital and have my bike towed. Bike is a mess as to be expected and I am bruised up on one side with 4 broken ribs, but it will all heal with time. Tell everyone to wear ATGATT and watch for deer! The Kilimanjaro jacket, overpants and a full face helmet definitely saved me from serious injury!
Holy smokes! Two days later! Eating Italian on Wednesday, eating pavement on Friday. Ouch!
Now, I don’t know what revenge it is that Alan is talking about. What did he ever do to Bambi? Maybe he hunts.
I remember well my own closest encounter with a deer while on a bike. We were up in Idaho, had spent the night in Stanley (??), and were heading out in the morning. I took the lead and hadn’t gone far when I saw a couple deer along the side of the road. On my guard, I slowed down a little and kept my eyes on the leader. He started trotting alongside me, about 25 feet to my left, matching my speed.
Then he bolted across the road in front of me. I nailed my brakes and he got by safely. The guys behind me told me later I put up quite a bit of smoke from the rear tire as it locked up and slid. But I was in control the whole time and never at risk of going down.
What is it in an animal’s brain that makes it do something like that. Why couldn’t it just wait till I was past and then go? Why did that deer just have to cross the road right when Alan was there?
Another really scary time was once when we were setting off on the annual OFMC trip and we were headed for Montrose our first night out. It was getting dark as we came to the Blue Mesa Reservoir along U.S. 50. Johnathon was in the lead and I was pretty far back, so I don’t recall exactly what happened. I believe some deer gave Johnathon quite a scare. What I do recall is how our headlights were reflected from so many eyes out there alongside the road. It was “Oh my gosh, don’t let your guard down for an instant.”
And another time I was coming back from Utah, very late at night on U.S. 40 a little outside of Dinosaur. I was whizzing along and just for an instant saw the flash of a couple deer standing right at the edge of the road as I went by them. Maybe five feet away. Maybe four. They didn’t move a bit. Thank goodness. I went a little slower after that.
So yeah, they’re out there. And unlike us humans re. deer, deer don’t kill humans only in season. It’s open season all the time. Be careful out there.
Biker Quote for Today>/h3>
Motorcycles are like chlorine for the gene pool.
Tags: deer and motorcycles
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