10 October 2018

Oh, Deer!

In my four decades as a cyclist, all sorts of animals have crossed my path: dogs, cats, squirrels, chipmunks, cattle, chickens, rabbits, otters, raccoons, horses, armadillos, lizards, macaques and an Alpine Ibex.  And, of course, deer--including one that darted across the lane I was riding in the Bronx a few weeks ago.

A deer crossing might be one of cyclists' most common fears,at least in the Americas, as it can do some real damage and one has a chance of encountering one in rural or wooded areas from Alaska to Chile.  On the other hand, one doesn't have much of a chance of encountering an ibex or macaque unless one rides in their native lands.


Such fears were justified for a group of cyclists in North Carolina.  





Fortunately, none of those cyclists were hurt, even though the crash sent the deer flying over them.  The critter, though, wasn't so lucky:  It died.

6 comments:

  1. Yow! i recently spent a long weekend in U.P. Michigan and Wisconsin driving support for a grand randonnee, much of it at night. My biggest fear, besides the 18-year-old drunk drivers, was having a deer run out from the woods. Actually, one did so just as i was slowing down to pull into a controle. Fortunately for us both, it made it across safely.

    i don't know who to feel sorrier for here- the driver or the deer. Truly horrifying footage!

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  2. It is rare for cyclists to get hit by deer since they are a lot easier for a running deer to avoid than a large, speeding car. I hadn’t considered the scenario in the video, however.

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  3. I was nearly bowled over once while riding around the Yorktown Battlefield. A deer ran across the road about twenty feet in front of me. I was so busy looking at him I didn't see the second one that passed what seemed to be a foot in front of me.

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  4. Voyage and Resty--Really!

    Mike--Drunk drivers or deer? Hmm... I think the drunk drivers scare me more because they are less in control of themselves--and can become very belligerent.

    Steve--Good point. Still, it's startling when a deer darts across the path thirty feet in front of you.

    Phillip--That's sort of having two lightning bolts just miss you.

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