Critters
Some critters we encounter on pretty much every ride. That would be the birds and the bugs. From listening to the motorcycle riders that I follow on Twitter there are places in the US that your bike will be covered in bugs after even a mid day ride. Hope you all have windshields for that one. Other critters, domesticated and wild, only show themselves to us occasionally. This list includes the dogs, cats, raccoons, possums, and many others. Some states have the occasional bear or longhorn steer to contend with but in Indiana the most feared is the deer.
I hit a deer in September of 2004 on my Softail. I popped around a downhill blind curve and started down a short straight stretch and it was as if someone dropped him at the side of the road. I had little time to react so I applied max braking and scrubbed off some speed before seeing the inevitable. I dropped my left shoulder and went for the ride. I can still hear the sound of my helmet grinding down the asphalt. Whew, what a ride. More on that at a later date maybe. The funny thing that non motorcyclists asked me was, “Why didn’t you swerve?” well Sherlock, tell me which way he was going to go! How many times have you seen a deer decide to wheel around and run the opposite direction? I could not predict anything in that short period of time.
Anyway, back to the other critters. I have encountered a critter in the past weeks that I have never encountered before while on my motorcycle. It started with the Michigan road trip and I saw another yesterday on my way to lunch. I am talking about turtles. On the Michigan ride we saw about five turtles and then the one yesterday made it six for me. I am a little surprised to be honest with you. Anyone been noticing a rash of turtles on your rides? Anyone know someone who has hit one?
What is the feared critter in your neck of the woods? Leave some feedback. All I can say is thank goodness I don’t live in alligator country! I will take the deer any day.
Ride Safe and watch out for those critters!
Tags: critters, motorcycle, motorcycles, safety
May 28th, 2009 at 9:27 am
I saw a black bear in broad daylight while riding in New Hampshire. Boy, was I glad he decided to stay put while we rolled by!
I also saw another rider take some sort of bird off the face. He broke his nose and was very bloody and generally unhappy afterwards! And my husband got a bee in his “bonnet” when a bee flew into his helmet and stung him on the ear. Ouch.
I just have one question: what happened to the deer after you hit it?
May 28th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Deer are definitely a concern here, but so are cows, horses, and buffalo. Buffalo are essentially immovable objects, until they start running. The good news is that, unlike deer and contrary to the song, the buffalo don’t roam. It would take a broken fence to get the cows, horses, and buffalo out on the road, but broken fences aren’t unheard of. And unlike where deer like to hang out, the open prairie usually provides good visibility to see these critters ahead of time.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Groundhogs. Hit one midback with both wheels. Scared me half to death. I couldn’t imagine a deer.
This just happened up here: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090524/NEWS16/905240357
Scary stuff.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Deer. I think they’re the worst threat here in W. Michigan.
Also, we get lots of insects around where I live. We have lots of streams, rivers, and trees. Seems like I need a chisel to clean them off my face shield.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Hey Liz. I it is great to have you reading and posting. Unfortunately, the deer did not have the common decency to lay there and die on the road. He got up and ran into the woods. I know that he had to have died a short time later because I knocked the crap out of it. Literally. I was in the Emergency Room and commented to someone that I did not know where the mud came from on my pants. I know that I had basically slid straight down the center line after impact and that I came nowhere near the side of the road. They told me I was right. I had not come close to the side of the road. That is when it dawned on me that it was not mud!
May 30th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Hey Julie, thanks for weighing in. I could not imagine seeing a buffalo standing in the middle of the road. I think that a heart attack might take me out before impact if that happened. Keep riding safe up there!
May 30th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Thanks for commenting Micah. A groundhog? So you are the reason we all had to wait another six weeks to ride?
May 30th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Thanks for reading and commenting Jason. After visiting with you at your house i could see that you experience alot of insects. Your entire area north of the city is some nice backroad riding but with that comes the bugs that come out of the trees. And, I have spoken to many people from Michigan that do agree with your summation that the deer are your worst threat. Ride safe up there.