Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Night riding - hit a raccoon - need advice

I'm posting here since I know many of you ride long distances at night.

Because of my teaching schedule, I have found the 3:15A - 6:00A time to be ideal for my daily 30 mile ride.

I have a Dinotte 600L up front and a 200L in the back. Plenty of light, but...

Yesterday, I hit a raccoon going about 18mph. I didn't have time to even think about my brakes. I flew off the bike on to my right side. I demolished my helmet. Slight headache for the day, but nothing more. Lots of road rash but nothing serious, no bones broken.

I was wondering if you folks can advise me on how you deal with darting creatures at night. What do you look for? How do you spot them? I did not see him until he smacked into my front wheel. He came from across the road on my left side. This has really freaked me out and as I heal, I am seriously worried of riding at night anymore.

Me too:
I hit a deer in my Buick at 70 mph. No time to brake.
Just be happy it was not a deer.

not much you can do about it i think.. although maybe a bell of some kind (that rings on its own, like what hikers wear to scare away bears) would do the trick.

so far i've been lucky, i've just seen animals scoot through my light beam, but have yet to hit one!

hopefully it'll only happen once every 10 years or so, so you should be ok for a while.

Ran over a groundhog that juked in front of me a couple years back - but that was in broad daylight. I managed to stay upright and the bike was fine. Goes to show it can happen night or day (ok, maybe not with a raccoon or a possum, but it can happen). You'll probably be fixated on it for a few weeks, but eventually you'll move past it.

Heal up quick.

Deer Whistle (http://www.deerwhistle.com/)

FWIW I like having a helmet mounted light. My main light is on the bike, but this way I also have light where ever it is I am looking. I'm not sure how much value this would provide in a case like yours where you were basically blindsided.

I ride significantly slower at night. I also prefer HID to LED lights because there is more wash which makes it easier to see animals on the side -- you'll usually see their eyes first. Glad to hear you're OK. I hope the raccoon was OK too.

Ouch! I teach too, and commute home after the student newspaper is done, usually after midnight. I've come close to hitting skunks, but am happy to report it hasn't happened yet.

Sorry to hear of your crash. I have had close calls with animals but have not hit one yet. Crashing is part of riding. Heal up, get back on the bike, and put the animal thing in the back of your mind. It probably will not happen again.

Deer Whistle (http://www.deerwhistle.com/)


Seems of limited usefulness except on occasional steep downhills (the only place where I hit 35 mph):
"Product Information
The Save-A-Deer whistle is the smallest and best single unit air-activated animal alert /automobile deer whistle design on the market today. When mounted to a vehicle, car, truck, or motorcycle moving at 35 mph or faster, the deer whistle makes a sound that alerts deer, moose, elk, antelope, and kangaroos of the approaching vehicle and assists with accident prevention. "

Does anyone know of a similar product that works at cycling speeds?

Seems of limited usefulness except on occasional steep downhills (the only place where I hit 35 mph):
"Product Information
The Save-A-Deer whistle is the smallest and best single unit air-activated animal alert /automobile deer whistle design on the market today. When mounted to a vehicle, car, truck, or motorcycle moving at 35 mph or faster, the deer whistle makes a sound that alerts deer, moose, elk, antelope, and kangaroos of the approaching vehicle and assists with accident prevention. "

These car mounted deer whistles are absolutely useless. I live in rural Georgia, where we have so many deer that it's hard to even keep them out of your flower beds. We laugh about folks who put these whistles on their cars... we call them "deer attractors." You mean to tell me that your car is so silent at 55 or 60 MPH that you need a whistle mounted on your bumper to allow a deer to hear you coming? The same jittery animal that hears you and flees if you step on a stick or fart loudly in the woods? :lol:


Does anyone know of a similar product that works at cycling speeds?

http://www.lasoutdoors.com/images/Referee-type-whistle-CS19.JPG

Yeah, not much you can do. But a "head" light is a good idea. You'd be surprised how limited your vision field is using only fixed lights. A head-light gives you the ability to react to subtle visual and auditory cues you many not even be aware of when you constantly fix your gaze on the beam pattern of a fixed light.

Have you considered installing a cow catcher?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nieK4GHov-Y

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to try a helmet mounted light. I have a L&M Solo mv that I was going to sell since I bought the Dinotte setup. It will be ideal for the helmet. And I am going to slow it down a bit.

And thank goodness for helmets.

BTW, Bell has an awesome crash replacement deal. I'm getting a 2008 Furio for $44 including shipping, which is a better helmet than I had (2006 Bell Citi).

In 1987 I got bit by a dog while riding. For about one year I saw imaginary dogs coming out behind bushes. I expect I'll be imagining flying raccoons for awhile. Funny thing about the dog was that I bought a can of Halt and I have been carrying that around in my jersey all this time and I never have had to use it. I suspect the raccoon will be a one time event as well.

I hit a armadillo going 25 mph. The thing is like a rock, now I have a metal plate in my right wrist and I'm still four weeks away from getting on a bike.

I know I'm just not going night riding again =) Not worth it for me.

Just be happy it was not a deer.

just yesterday morning i heard a deer snort in surprise about 8' to my right. if it had panicked and tried to cross the road it might've collided into me. less than 1 mile later i passed within 3' of a skunk.

but typically i don't detect any animals during my 5am commute. i think my knobby MTB tires might help with that - at ~20mph they emit that cool Star Wars TIE fighter sound.

i passed within 3' of a skunk.

That's scary! A skunk can ruin your day even if you miss him,
especially if you are biking to work at the time.

Yesterday, I hit a raccoon going about 18mph.


I hit a armadillo going 25 mph.

Well I just might believe a raccoon going 18 mph if he's been training, but there's no way an armadillo's getting above 15 mph tops.

Well I just might believe a raccoon going 18 mph if he's been training, but there's no way an armadillo's getting above 15 mph tops.

:lol:

At night, I ride much further out from the edge line. It gives me 2 directions to dodge and gives me more time to react to things running across the road.

I think the light on the helmet is a very good idea but I'm not sure given the situation that you could have avoided the mishap. I think you need to realize that such accidents can and will occasionally occur but the chances are good that it will not occur again for some time. If you live in an area where there is an unusually high population of large rodents and the chances are high that it might occur again you may wish to have some additional protective gear on such as the downhill mountain bikers wear so if you do crash you will not get so scraped up. In the cooler months early in the morning it will not be so hot to wear.

just yesterday morning i heard a deer snort in surprise about 8' to my right. if it had panicked and tried to cross the road it might've collided into me. less than 1 mile later i passed within 3' of a skunk.

but typically i don't detect any animals during my 5am commute. i think my knobby MTB tires might help with that - at ~20mph they emit that cool Star Wars TIE fighter sound.

I once missed a skunk by about 3 inches and miraculously I didn't get sprayed. I think I surprised the skunk so fast that he didn't have time to react.

All my very close calls with animals (several kamikaze squirrels and fast moving snake) have been on paved bike paths. I think I might have clipped the snake. With fast darty animals, it doesn't matter much between day or night. With animals like deer it you often can see them coming if its light out.

Maybe it was the full moon (or one day after) but I had 3 suicidal rabbits attack this morning. 1 got caught between the wheel and fork with the wheel rubbing off fur. I managed to pull over to the grass without locking up the brakes but couldn’t unclip fast enough and flopped down. I was probably doing about 20 when he got me. He didn't survive. The 2nd one changed his mind halfway across the path. the 3rd one hit my front wheel and cranks and I kept going but I don't know of his status as I didn't see him. Unfortunately, this is not the first time the vultures have had rabbit on my account.

One previous post mentioned riding in the center. that helps a lot to give you some time but if you're in a tuck, you can't get to the brakes in time. I have a Blackburn light that works well but sometimes I wonder if the bright light ATTRACTS the animals. I've only had issues with kamikaze rabbits before dawn (and one squirrel during the day).

I have a Blackburn light that works well but sometimes I wonder if the bright light ATTRACTS the animals. I've only had issues with kamikaze

Not too sure about light, but once my light blew.... and I was almost hit 3 times within 15 seconds by 3 different deers.... I was riding my motorbike on a forestry road after dark..... so the sound should have scared them.... nope.... the vibration nope....

Michel

Since the accident that started this thread, I have found that the helmet light helps. I now see the critters eyes much clearer at a much further distance.

I also put a bear bell on the bike. I'm not sure of the effectiveness of it. It's a "feel good" precaution and it helps me stay alert.

The most important thing has been to slow down and stay alert. Not an easy thing to do, when you are alone and there is no traffic and it is perfectly still. You almost go into a zen-like state.

Deer Whistle (http://www.deerwhistle.com/)

"When mounted to a vehicle, car, truck, or motorcycle moving at 35 mph or faster..."

I don't think you should be riding 35 mph hour at night. Instead of running over a raccoon a car will probably run you over.

My suggestion, reflective tape. Just coat the racoons in it. Florescent powder also works

Some more advice -- some recipes:
http://www.backwoodsbound.com/zracoon.html

I ride significantly slower at night. I also prefer HID to LED lights because there is more wash which makes it easier to see animals on the side -- you'll usually see their eyes first. Glad to hear you're OK. I hope the raccoon was OK too.

I'll put my Dinotte 600L up against your HID any time. What really sold me on it was when I found photos online showing the spread. It is like a flood light with a beam that gradually gets brighter toward the center.

I hit a full-size Canada goose that darted in front of me. These things are stupid as a box of rocks and have this single-minded panic mode of "MUST GET TO WATER NOW!!!" when you approach, even if it means leaving a safe area of the park beside the MUP, and darting in front of the oncoming bike to get to the pond. I went airborne and probably cleared 18" vertically and 4' horizontally, landing on my wheels, and kept on going. I was amazed how firm a goose is. Last seen the goose was sitting in the pond squawking his unhappiness.

not much you can do about it i think.. although maybe a bell of some kind (that rings on its own, like what hikers wear to scare away bears) would do the trick.

This (http://www.amazon.com/Mirrycle-Incredibell-Brass-Duet-Bicycle/dp/B000YZ4CPU) does a great job of scaring squirrels off the MUP during daylight hours; much better than other bells I have:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31XWP4FFKEL._SS500_.jpg

BTW, Bell has an awesome crash replacement deal. I'm getting a 2008 Furio for $44 including shipping, which is a better helmet than I had (2006 Bell Citi).

I paid $40 for my off-brand helmet at the LBS. When I did a face plant over the handlebars (and the helmet unselfishly cracked and very effectively saved my noggin), the helmet was replaced. For free. Because it was only 6 days old when I wrecked, the LBS did the exchange and gave it to the sales rep to return so I didn't even pay for shipping. But even if it was older, it has a full lifetime crash replacement warranty.

I narrowly missed a porcupine this season. Imagine tangling up with one of those! No thanks.

I'll put my Dinotte 600L up against your HID any time. What really sold me on it was when I found photos online showing the spread. It is like a flood light with a beam that gradually gets brighter toward the center.

The combination of the Dinotte 600L mounted on the handlebar and a 400L on the helmet and a 140L on the back is all the light you need.

I had a rabbit run out, change its mind and run back last week. I saw the whole thing clearly and I was able to respond. Also, six deer crossed the road and I was able to see them in time to avert another crash.

Funny, that we are so focused on cars when we ride. In the early morning, the drivers are so careful to give you lots of space. All of the drunks are off the road. I have found that it's the animals that are the real danger. There are hundreds of them out there and they are totally unpredictable.

Most car insurance looks at hitting animals as an act of God. If those thieves can't justify a blame somewhere I would tend to think there isn't much you can do.
Now the important question, How's the bike ?

Most car insurance looks at hitting animals as an act of God. If those thieves can't justify a blame somewhere I would tend to think there isn't much you can do.
Now the important question, How's the bike ?

The bike was fine. Mondonico steelie. :D

The chorus right brifter was chipped and scratched, but did not break. I somehow ended up on my head and back and my camelback and helmet absorbed most of the crash.

Just look at the facts and figures-

You have been hit once by a Raccoon under the front wheel.

That is something that does not happen very often and in fact I reckon you have been unlucky and hit the one animal you are ever going to hit very early on in your cycling Life.

Just ride and don't worry about the next one- I doubt that it will happen again.

And I do night ride- had a few near misses but never been hit yet- but Those two bright red LED's I keep seeing at the edge of my bike light- can be identified by the helmet lamp- Fortunately it is never anything bigger than a Rabbit or Fox over here- but often see the Rear end of Deer as they disappear into the distance.

a hemlet light is indispensable. i use a bikeblock to mount a fenix p3d to my helmet, and can spot deer, cats, 'coons, possum and other critters a couple of hundred yards away with it. their little eyes just glow like crazy when the fenix hits 'em.

also, a helmet mounted light works great in traffic. i can get the cagers to dim their brights, and a quick sweep of the light at an intersection gets a lot of attention from a car that may not see me.

Last week I was riding with my wife and she ran over a squirrel's tail. It was trying to avoid me, and they didn't see each other. Hilarious!

I was riding home at about 9pm one night and what I thought was a large plastic grocery bag was blowing across the road. My thought was that it would soon end up in my cain and gearing. At tat moment
i went up over and down on my butt hard. Well it was not a bag but a very large cat, the size of a racoon. I gathered my thoughts dragged myself out of the road so not to get run over by a car and never saw the cat after the crash.

I was real sore and hurt, my bike shifters were bent, but I fixed them. I noticed my wheel had fur on it so I was sure it was not a bag .

I now own 2 cats to make ammends.

I have also gone over a squirel.Luckily over him and not him through the spokes. I have seen the damage that they can do.

Getting back to Racoons. They move slow, at their own pace and speed especially if they do not feel threatened.

Glad your okay. It took me one full month until my lower back bruises healed.

Rob

I would say helment light and possibly an extra light or two for your bike that throws a flood type beam towards the sides of the road. If your current light does this then disregard. It might be easier to spot them if you can see their eyes coming

I had a collision with a raccoon during the daytime. He was well enough after to bite me. I guess he thought it was my fault. I've been feeling kind of, I dunno, kind of weird ever since :twitchy:

I thought this thread was going to be 'Raccoon First Aid Advice'.
Am I the only on who is curious about what happened to the raccoon?

I was wondering if you folks can advise me on how you deal with darting creatures at night. What do you look for? How do you spot them? I did not see him until he smacked into my front wheel. He came from across the road on my left side. This has really freaked me out and as I heal, I am seriously worried of riding at night anymore.

Get a good set of lights! The Suggestions for the Dinotte lights are excellent; What works for me has been one of the Light & Motion Stella 200Ns. For the past two years I've been running a 12-watt, two-lamp Cygo-Lite Night Rover. Both give good light to see by down the trail and a wide beam that covers the edges of the trail well. The Dinottes tend to throw a lot of light, but the beam is a little bit more narrow.

I hit a deer at about 15 mph or so this time the year before last (while running without headlights), and have had a couple close calls this past month for that matter. And hit a 'possum squarely a year ago this week while pulling a paceline ;-) Both are some long and wild stories, but neither the deer nor I crashed or got hurt. The possum was probably pretty sore for a long while, but apparently survived the experience as well. The one suggestion I would make (in addition to getting serious about headlights and riding no faster than your guardian angel can fly) is to get some time in on a mountain bike riding cross-country and singletrack. When your "rock dodge" fails to keep you from hitting the critter (rocks stay still; possums don't) you can usually power over him like crossing a small log or rock, and stay upright and in control of the bike.

The deer I managed to hit a glancing blow, and not dead center... so both of us wound up okay and upright.

And there's that fellow in Colorado this past summer who ran squarely into a black bear while descending a hill...

I thought this thread was going to be 'Raccoon First Aid Advice'.
Am I the only on who is curious about what happened to the raccoon?

I don't know. I do know that the raccoon was not there when I got up and made sure that nothing on me was broken. I hit him pretty hard, so I'm sure that he was injured... but not injured enough to hang around.

The average cyclist has a collision with an animal once in his riding career. You were lucky that it was a raccoon, you'll probably never hit another animal. If you were unlucky your animal would have been a moose or a bear, and you would certainly never hit another animal. :)

People do all sorts of strange things - like riding around at night, when the north woods creatures come out. It's their time to get on with things. Get a helmet mounted light, along with your regular lights, and that little $8 bell. At night, tap it every 50 to 100 yards as you go. That thing works like charm on the Twalkers (humanicus idiotus bipedis) I encounter on MUP's in broad daylight. It should work better on nocturnal animals, which are probably smarter.

In the end, ya buys yer ticket, and ya waits in line...

I have really gotten to prefer a bike with 1) front suspension and 2) flat pedals when I ride at night (which is essentially daily, and for decades). These much improve my ability to recover on the occasional occasion when I hit something utterly unexpected. I have excellent lights but insufficient ability to see when automobile headlights are in my face or weather conditions are poor. It is nice to just curse rather than crash.

I know a guy who hit a small animal in broad daylight on a suburban cycling trail. Fortunately, the animal managed to time his sprint across the trail just right so that he hit the spot between the guy's front and rear wheels, and also missed his cranks. However, he wasn't fast enough to get all the way through before the guy's rear wheel rolled over him. Somehow, the animal managed to keep running after this and continued into the bushes on the other side. The guy got a bit of a shock as his rear wheel leaped into the air, but didn't go down either. He wasn't too sure what had happened until the guy riding behind him, who had a much better view of it all, explained it to him.

What's my point? Well, there's not much you can do to avoid things like this, even when you can see clearly. There are dangers in everything we do, you just have to live with them sometimes.