mskibinski

riding to work. Going down 76th street, a rural country road, near Grand Rapids, MI at6:15 AM and a deer jumps out of the brush while I was descending down a hill and I T-boned the sucker at 20+ mph. All I saw was a flash of brown and white in front of my headlight and my face/shoulder felt like it hit a brick wall. Thankfully, my front wheel was under the body and it didn't taco it. I saw the deer go flying and I slid down the road. I was stunned. A car that was coming from the other direction and saw the whole thing, stops and ask if I was alright. After checking, I tell him I'm alright, and he said that was the coolest thing he had ever seen. Thankfully, no major damage to me or the bike. I feel like I have a slight case of whiplash and like someone punched me in the jaw and also have a lot of skin missing from my arm and leg, but I was pretty lucky. The bike has a bent derrailuer hanger, but that's about it. The deer absorbed most of the energy of the impact. That was the most surreal thing that ever happened to me and I'm still kind of in shock.

Chris_in_Miami

Wow, that's pretty wild, glad you're ok! Good thing that you had a sympathetic witness

TimmyT 

Wow! That is soooo weird. Glad you're OK. I probably would have said the same thing to you.

irwin7638

Glad you're ok. That's one of my biggest fears here in Michigan. I lived in Barry county for 15 years and those critters are everywhere! Glad you're OK.

Marc

Ira B

Sure glad you are ok.

Hitting a deer is my single biggest concern on my commute. I ride home at night through a lot of heavy woods that are just crawling with them and there are several very fast downhills.
Two days after my 2nd son was born the nurse who helped deliver him was killed on part of my commute when she hit one with her car. Came right through the glass and broke her neck.

SlimRider

OMG...

Glad you're alright!

That must have been a really exciting experience. Don't worry about your scape skin. In several weeks, you won't even be able to tell it was ever an injured area...

Good Luck in you're future trekking!

- Slim

SouthFLpix

You guys have cool animals to run into on your country roads. All we have is alligators and pythons. I actually came close to hitting a juvenile alligator once. His look of shock must have mirrored mine.

seeker333

I've had close calls with deer but no collisions. They are common here, with >200 collisions with cars in the county annually, mostly in the fall during hunting season. I dread the thought of hitting one. Glad you are OK, OP.

A bird flew through my front wheel last June. I tried to dodge it to no avail. I thought it had perhaps flown in front of wheel (near ground) rather than through it, since it doesn't seem possible. After the ride I discovered small feathers stuck to 2 spokes - opposing spokes from each side of hub. So, the bird DID fly through the wheel.

Years ago a squirrel ran between my wheels straight across the MUP. I didn't believe my own eyes, until a walker near me said "Did you see that squirrel run underneath your bike?".

A bee/hornet flew into my lip for just a second and stung me. I was on a big hill at the time approaching 30mph, so it was a little distracting.

There's a white cat down the road that hides beneath cars at night and likes to playfully jump out as I pass to try to grab my foot, crank, or wheel. It's happened four times now, but not lately. Since I only glimpse it for a fraction of a second it always startles the crap out of me.

Had a neighborhood dog that used to chase me. He apparently was far-sighted, as I actually ran over him with rear wheel, on two different occasions. A car later dispatched him to canine hell.

Then there's the humans in motor vehicles...

zeppinger

Damn, that is pretty cool. All I ever seem to hit around my neck of the woods are Koreans....

threemonkeys

That's going to be a great cocktail story you'll enjoy for many years. Sounds like it sure could have turned out tragic.

DG Going Uphill

A couple of years ago I was on a group ride climbing in Mill Valley, CA up Tam. To my left was a very high cliff as I climbed, maybe over 30 feet. Above me I heard some rocks sliding a little. I looked up to see a young deer falling over the edge -- he must have misread the distance needed to stop. Barely missed me. He fell hard and was there shaking, unable to move. We thought he broke his back and called the sherif to have the the poor thing put down. After waiting about five minutes, it just jumped up and took off with only a slight limp. Deer are tough!

GMJ

Hopefully bambi was ok too.

matimeo

Dude.

brumskee

For me it was the deer who did the T boning. Nailed me at the rear wheel. I got uncliped in time to keep from going down. The only damage to my beloved lugged frame Serotta was a trashed rear wheel where Ms Doe stuck her foot thru. Ms. Doe disappeared into the bushes as fast as she came.

bengreen79

In case you didn't see this - similar thing happened in WI about a week ago:

BridgeNotTunnel

Totally crazy.

You're also incredibly lucky it wasn't worse.

I only see the occasional squirrel when I pass through Ward's island in the morning.

Otherwise, people with dogs on leashes present the biggest animal related hazard for me.

vtjim

I've seen deer but never been close to hitting one.

jrickards

A couple of years ago, there was a girls cross country running race. My son's friend was in 2nd place when a deer ran out of the woods and took out the 1st place girl: my son's friend passed her and won the race.

Can we call you "Deer Hunter"?

Glad you're ok.

MNBikeguy

I'd like a few pounds of sausage please!
Seriously, glad you're OK. All I've had to contend with is a lot of squirrels.

Surrealdeal

Dude you just lived out anxiety that sits in the back of my mind. I pass within close range of deer every so often on the MUP - never consistently enough to be predictable but often as I come around a bend. Each time it happens I think to myself that if they decide to cross instead of go back into the woods one of us is going to be in a world of hurt.

Tundra_Man 

Hit one on my motorcycle once, but never on bicycle. Glad you're OK.

Deer have to be among the stupidist animals on the planet.

hiyer1

Be thankful mate, could have been a lot worse. Did the deer walk away from it?

When I bike at night on the trail, there are deer everywhere, they usually prance alongside me as I ride, one has never jumped out immediately in front of me though, that's intense...at my speeds if I ever hit one I'd probably be toast

Marauder9

I hope you took it home to eat and it's head is now on the wall above the fire

Glad you are OK.

Ratchet

All we have is alligators and pythons? Are you kidding me********** (course, I live in the northwoods, where all we have are deer and squirrels, too---both of which I am afraid to hit)

To the OP, glad you're okay. You have one heck of a story to tell, though. I hit a dog once. Meh. Not so exciting.

EKW in DC

Glad you're OK. Makes the little fly that got stuck in my eye yesterday seem trivial.