Commuting - Deer 1 Bike 0

I collided with a deer at 20mph on the way to work this morning! I was riding down a pretty busy arterial road that's the main alternative north-south route other than the freeway. There's houses on both sides of the road and i'm less than 5 minutes from downtown larkspur when a big deer, antlers and all, runs out of nowhere from behind a parked pickup. I presume it must have ran into my front wheel because I hit it's shoulder when I catapulted over it's back. I then slowly sit up to watch it carry on running to the other side of the road and away into some bushes. Luckily for me, me and my bike landed on the right side of the road and noone had been behind me at the time. The front wheel is tacoed and the right brake/gear lever is all bent from where it must have hit the deer or the ground. The police were good though, one stopped within a minute of it all happening. They even took photos of the road rash and small cut on my nose and a did a full police report just in case and then gave me a lift to work.

Work thought this was all hysterical because in the 6 weeks I've been riding to work I crashed on my first day coming down a windy hill in the rain and scratched one helmet and then I scratched another one today. I think I'm cursed!

Paul

That sucks! I've been fortunate to not have any accidents while commuting. Not so much as a flat tire!

Sorry about the bike!

I've wondered what it would be like to collide with a deer. I see them sometimes while out on rides, but never on my commute.

Note to self: avoid deer.

Not so much as a flat tire!

NEVER SAY THAT OUTLOUD!!! :rolleyes:

Good thing there's a police report, when they find that deer he's in big trouble...I hope you wrote down his license number. :D

I almost hit a deer about a year ago. It was around 2am and I was riding home from work, my route takes me past large fenced botanical garden and the bike trail runs parallel to the fence with about 8-10 feet of green space between the trail and the fence. I heard something running beside and peered into the darness next to where my headlight was shining to see a big doe running beside me. She started to turn into me and just as I braced for impact, then she did a quick turn and ran behind me. So far I've run over a dog and and bunny and came out of both unscathed, but running into a deer...I think you're lucky to come out of it with only a few scratches and equipment damage. Sorry to hear about the damage. I would have no idea how to avoid a deer, it was just lucky that the doe missed me that night.

I bet he didn't have any insurance either :)
My wife is happily telling all our friends that I got ran over by a deer and the ribbing at work has been endless. I'm never going to live this one down.

I bet he didn't have any insurance either :)
My wife is happily telling all our friends that I got ran over by a deer and the ribbing at work has been endless. I'm never going to live this one down.

you could just remark at how wussy they are. they can't even ride a bike all the way to work. let alone smack a deer and be healthy afterward.

you seriously need to concider a new route to work your current one is hazardous to your health lol!! glad to hear you and the deer are ok you can always fix your bike. ;)

Not so much as a flat tire!

NEVER SAY THAT OUTLOUD!!! :rolleyes:

NO FLATS IN ALMOST 15,000KM!

There, I've said it out loud. :p

I'm just trying to figure out how one would encounter a deer in such a place as that.

Don't be surprised if someone gives you a helmet with deer whistles on it. :lol:

Glad you came through without serious injury. I hope these deer incidents don't come in 3s. (See my commute comment today)

i'll laugh hard if someone puts a wire off the front of your bike with a picture of a deer on it, with a caption:

DON'T HIT THESE

:p

We'll get you antlers for your helmet for christmas. :)

I think you should change your handle to "Rudolph".

I would be getting my hunting license and going deer hunting this fall!!!

I bet he didn't have any insurance either :)
My wife is happily telling all our friends that I got ran over by a deer and the ribbing at work has been endless. I'm never going to live this one down.

glad you're OK. Here's your new avitar.

:)
CD

I'm glad to you're okay. Flying over a deer and sustaining nothing big and incurring less than $300 of damage seems pretty fortunate.

Same thing happened to me about three months ago. And I can tell you, it's no picnic. I think the only difference between my accident and yours was that I didn't fall off my bike. Oh, and it was a squirrel not a deer. So, I suppose that's not quite the same thing.

Wow, I hope I never hit a deer. I have a short wheelbase recumbent, and the first thing to hit the animal would be my large chainring. That would be a bloody mess.

Apologies for the pun.

Wow, I hope I never hit a deer. I have a short wheelbase recumbent, and the first thing to hit the animal would be my large chainring. That would be a bloody mess.

Apologies for the pun.

I've seen a couple of 'bents around the city, most of them seem to have a guard around the large ring, so you don't gore pedestrians by accident.

I've seen a couple of 'bents around the city, most of them seem to have a guard around the large ring, so you don't gore pedestrians by accident.

I've been considering getting one, since I took the bike into a craft fair this weekend to meet up with my wife. Since I was walking the bike, I wasn't that concerned. I still put the chain on the large ring, so the most someone should have gotten was a greasy mess on their leg.

I'm not sure a chainguard would help much when I'm riding. Whether there are teeth on the front of the impact or not, you're going to break some skin wide open, and the wound will be dirty and greasy. I try to ride where a pedestrian is least likely to be: in the lane.

Just to put things in context, the area where I live is mostly state or national parks with a string of small towns running parallel to the only freeway in the county. There's a lot of deer in the county but I'd never seen one that deep inside a town before, normally just near the various 'Open Space' areas.

I've been considering getting one, since I took the bike into a craft fair this weekend to meet up with my wife. Since I was walking the bike, I wasn't that concerned. I still put the chain on the large ring, so the most someone should have gotten was a greasy mess on their leg.

I'm not sure a chainguard would help much when I'm riding. Whether there are teeth on the front of the impact or not, you're going to break some skin wide open, and the wound will be dirty and greasy. I try to ride where a pedestrian is least likely to be: in the lane.

Maybe a bumper? hehehe