DEER!

[Aprilian]

3.  If you are on a highway where 45 is dangerous, then plant your butt on the back of a truck (but not too close so you can't react.)  Yeah, I know you will say that there is still a chance a deer can come directly at you from the side.  Not much I can do about that beside avoid the highway altogether and take a county road where I can go slow.

Gary Eagan did this on his cross Canada speed attempt.  He said it worked until he started getting sprayed with moose guts from the moose the truckers would hit!

[Sanders]

Pk does not have to worry about deer. PK IS the  pigeon killer, and much like moths attracted to light, those flying recyclers are just naturally attracted to him

[Chris]

Pk does not have to worry about deer. PK IS the  pigeon killer, and much like moths attracted to light, those flying recyclers are just naturally attracted to him

LOL, you know your "fly'n" when you're hitting birds 

[tk]

Pk does not have to worry about deer. PK IS the  pigeon killer, and much like moths attracted to light, those flying recyclers are just naturally attracted to him

LOL, you know your "fly'n" when you're hitting birds 

And NOBODY matches PK at picking off birds.

[KoopaTroopa]

A bird flew into my helmet once, it felt like somebody threw a rock at me. Good thing I was on a straightaway. My biggest fear is small animals, squirrels ect. To hit one on a corner, cause your tire to skip into the air just enough to make you loose control.

[HSL]

Today on Buffalo Co Rd J I had a near miss that has me wondering if it isn't always a lottery, no matter day or night.

The frustrating thing is that I saw nothing coming, despite broad daylight.  The deer materialized out of "nowhere" on the left, almost behind me, dashing across the road with perfect timing to intercept me.  About as big as my V-Strom -- my only thought: "that should give me have a fair chance..."

A split second before impact the guy abandoned its suicidal attempt to cross in front of me, turned slightly forward and came alongside. About eye-to-eye with my rearview mirror.  I fully expectecd its momentum to slam it into my rear end and looked back in amazement when there was no "whack" from behind -- it safely finished crossing behind my bike.

One thing is for sure, these guys have amazing cornering skills.

But it seems to me that there is really no promising evasive strategy.  What are you supposed to do -- swerve to the far side to get ahead of it?  No chance in hell.  Swerve to the other side in hope to pass behind it?  Hit the brakes?  I mean, all of those things can prove fatal if the deer, like mine, takes evasive actions of its own.  Not even your speed in the first place would seem to make a difference.  In the end, just keeping the bike straight and aiming for the center didn't seem like such a bad strategy.

Well, I drove on humbly praising my luck many times.  Particularly when I passed my guy's supersized cousin, not even a quarter mile down the road, dead, among a collection of glass and debris that must have left a nasty dent in someones car... 

Anyway, my next gadget will be a body-heat activated laser cannon that pulverizes anything that moves 1000 feet down the road...

[Chris]

wow that was close HSL, glad your OK, one question for you, did you need new shorts after?

[Cam]

wow that was close HSL, glad your OK, one question for you, did you need new shorts after?

With that high of a pucker factor....he's probably still looking for them.   

Glad it turned out okay, but it re-affirms my belief that deer are like a bolt of lightning: You can try to prepare for them, but you really can't avoid them.   

[allonm]

Makes you feel is it all worth it. No matter how skilled you are, there is a factor of luck (or bad luck) to all of this.
The more you ride, especially in rural areas, the higher the risk.

Maybe stick to track days only, single track off road only or move to mountain biking entirely.

Allon

[beedawg]

But it seems to me that there is really no promising evasive strategy.  What are you supposed to do -- swerve to the far side to get ahead of it?  No chance in hell.  Swerve to the other side in hope to pass behind it?  Hit the brakes?  I mean, all of those things can prove fatal if the deer, like mine, takes evasive actions of its own.  Not even your speed in the first place would seem to make a difference.  In the end, just keeping the bike straight and aiming for the center didn't seem like such a bad strategy.

I agree.  I had always braked hard and let the deer get out of the way, until the time I braked hard, then decided that brakes weren't going to be enough,  swerved from the far-right side of the road to the middle, only to see the deer do the same.  Can I get a do-over, please?

But I'm not even sure we get to decide what we're gonna do when it happens.  I think our brains make a million decisions in an instant, and then our bodies just do what they're told.

Anyway, my next gadget will be a body-heat activated laser cannon that pulverizes anything that moves 1000 feet down the road...

Remind me not to ride ahead of you.

Brent

[PKPK]

That is why I have only one strategy when it comes to deer.  BRAKE HARD (unless you are in a turn.)  By braking you can give the deer more time to evade your path and you can close the speed as much as possible to minimize the impact.  Plus you might actually give yourself enough time to process and perform a possible evasion maneuver.  I'm sure there are others who feel comfortable trying to throttle up and evade them but my brain doesn't work that fast so I keep it simple as possible.

[beedawg]

You confuse me, PK^2.  First, you seem to recommend hard braking exclusively:

That is why I have only one strategy when it comes to deer.  BRAKE HARD (unless you are in a turn.) 

Then you toss in evasive maneuvers
:

By braking you can give the deer more time to evade your path and you can close the speed as much as possible to minimize the impact.  Plus you might actually give yourself enough time to process and perform a possible evasion maneuver [emphasis added].

Which is kinda what I did.  I braked hard, and while braking, "decided" it might be a good idea to swerve instead, and then brake some more.  Turns out it wasn't the best choice.  At least not then and there.

It's possible, and safe, to brake, and then swerve, and then brake again, but I'm not sure it's a good idea when deer are involved.  If I have a choice, next time I'm going to stay on the brakes.  Until impact, if necessary.

[PKPK]

What I meant is BRAKE HARD, and  maybe you could choose to take evasive move if you decide the braking bought you some time.  That is different than making the evasive move your first decision.

[Ray916MN]

It's possible, and safe, to brake, and then swerve, and then brake again, but I'm not sure it's a good idea when deer are involved.  If I have a choice, next time I'm going to stay on the brakes.  Until impact, if necessary.

Before hitting the deer in the photo I posted, I was as hard on the brakes as I could be. When it was clear that I was going to hit the deer, I distinctly remember aiming for the middle of the deer and letting off the brakes. I think letting off the front brakes and a boat load of luck is what allowed me to avoid crashing.

On impact, the bike went into a vicious tank slapper, which eventually settled out. Had I still been on the brakes, I think the bike would have been destabilized even more by the hit and I would have crashed.

I aimed for the middle, because there was oncoming traffic on the left and a barbwire fence on my right. I feared hitting these more than I feared hitting the deer. Tried to hit the deer square to avoid being thrown off to the left or right.

Daylight hit with a decent amount of traffic on the road in both directions. Fricking deer have brains the size of walnuts...Totally unpredictable.

All the car drivers who saw me hit it, were really impressed that I didn't crash.

[beedawg]

What I meant is BRAKE HARD, and  maybe you could choose to take evasive move if you decide the braking bought you some time.  That is different than making the evasive move your first decision.

See, I'm easily confused.  Thanks for the clarification.

I still wonder whether swerving to avoid a live, mobile deer is ever a good idea.

Brent