Bird strike

[jpw]

Riding along and... wham!

A blackbird flew straight through the front wheel. Perhaps 'through' isn't the right word because it didn't make it out the other side. Roadside autopsy revealed a very broken neck. It was quick.

This reminded me of why i always wear eyewear when cycling. Cycling along and ...wham!, this huge fat bumblebee hit my face a little below my right eye. The impact was very painful. If it had hit me in the eye it could have been serious. Briko, never leave home without....

[David Kirk]

I had a squirrel run right through my front wheel while I was going about 20mph. Just kept going and didn't even say hello.

Dave

[Bruce K]

Ask flydhest and Spoke about their deer encounter in Saratoga State Park during last years Open House Ride.

I think Spoke came close to needing to clean his shorts as the hooves passed very near to his face!

C'mon guys - tell....

BK

[gwk]

I had a prairie dog run from right to left while I was doing about 15 mph. It went between the front and rear wheels and made it to the other side without being hit at all.......fast lucky praire dog!!

[dave thompson]

I had to stop for a moose last year on a rural road. Damn, those things are big!

[Frank]

I was riding the very lightly traveled tank roads on an Army base a few years ago. At the bottom of a 45 mph steep descent I saw three armadillos coming out of the tall grass from right to left in the road. They were in a kind of single file and at that speed and with that short a notice all I could do was aim for the biggest space between them and pray! Luckily, I made it through the gap but can only imagine how far I would have gone in the "cycling shot put" had I hit one...

[BumbleBeeDave]

I was witness to the famous “Oh, Deer Me!” incident in the battlefield park. SPOKE and Fly-Man were about 10 feet in front of me, we were doing between 15-20, and the deer bounded across from right to left and felt like it was right in MY face, so I would guess Fly and SPOKE could have stuck their tongues out and Frenched it . . .

The same ride, a chipmunk ran right through my front wheel. I just heard the “Thunk!” and wondered if I had popped a spoke, but Serotta Lori was right behind me and told me what had really happened. She said the little guy rolled and then kept going. I wonder if they do it for thrills, like the Chipmunk X Games! . . .

BBDave

[csb]

raccoon with rear wheel last year, all fine

[Kevan]

but my story pales to the incident Sandy experienced with a box turtle. Seems that beast narrowly missed the front wheel, but was able to pass through before the second wheel had a chance of getting him.

Talk about your close shave!

[H.Frank Beshear]

I've hit a rabbitt and a squirell, the squirell ran up a tree and gave me heck. Rabbitts dont like skinny tires with 210 lbs on top of them:eek: . One of our club riders was on a group ride and was trying catch up to the group ahead when a deer came from the woods and hit him broadside. He went down hard broke his collar bone destroyed his helmet and had a mild concussion, the bike was toast. Fortunately he was wearing a helmet or it could have been much worse. Frank

[Too Tall]

Now you have to rent "A zed and two naughts".

[Ozz]

A small pig ran out of someone's front yard and trotted alongside me for about 100 yds....I had a camera in my pocket so I got a picture so my friends would believe me...

It was not pink and it did not have wings.....

[flydhest]

Indeed, the deer incident was quite the moment. I'd tell it in more graphic fashion except, quite honestly, I didn't have time to panic or think much about it as it was happening. There we are, cruising along, and this large amount of venison flashes before us. It was only after the deer was on the other side of the road the SPOKE and I went "oh sh . . ." We didn't have to alter our line at all, it happened so fast.

Back in grad school, we would end many rides coming down Canal Road into Princeton (any Jerseyites know the road?). While we were heading down, admiring the view, a gaggle of geese started to cross the street. The last one started to panic and ran back to where he started . . . then reversted course, right in front of us. SmacK! right into Merlin's wheel (that was the nickname we gave the guy who rode a . . . you guessed it). Luckily, Merlin was a good bike handler as those suckers are big. The good floundered on the ground for a while and then got up and ran away.

[Ken Lehner]

Had a chipmunk run into our pack of 30-odd riders once. Hit someone's wheel in front of me, and was launched into the air (or jumped really, really well). Glanced off my helmet on the way to who knows what landing.

[Kahuna]

Mongoose. That is, mongeese. We have em here in Hawaii. Picture a carnivorous weasel-like squirell.

Colonial Europeans had the bright idea to bring them over from Africa to kill rodents. Problem was the rodents come out at night while the mongese (mongii?) are active during the day. The mongese instead kill the native Hawaiian birds while the rodents thrive.

I haven't hit one yet but they're all over the place and it seems like only a matter of time.

-K

[Elefantino]

I had a hairy, beer-drinking fat guy in a wife-beater walk out in the road once.
:beer:

[Too Tall]

Eleph-O, bet that left a mark.