RR3

I hit one at 45 mph in a Mercedes. Deer walked. Cost me some pretty good coin to fix the car.

I am a hunter and don't want to offend anyone but just to say they are tough and I surely would hate to hit one at much more than 15 mph on a bike.

hyegeek

I've seen enough deer to know this was NOT a fawn. I'd say about a medium sized deer for this area. Not a buck.

hyegeek

This certainly was not maximum speed. I've done well over 40 on that stretch before. Except for less than a second before spotting the deer, I wasn't even pedalling.

kickstart

Squirrels have rights too you know.

mbw

About a year ago, I got hit by a full grown buck in town in my car. I just pictured the same situation with me on my bike... I would have been killed I think. It was massive and running straight across the road into the side of my 6,000lb land rover, head hit near the front and its body came around and slammed into me.

I was going slower than you were on your bike. They use rather thick steel on rovers and it did this.

spare_wheel

what a horrific way to die. the billions of animals killed by motorvehicles each year are one of the many reasons why i drive as little as possible.

PS: and in case anyone thinks i am a simple-minded bleeding-heart vegan, there are more humane ways to control deer populations than traumatic excruciatingly-painful death.

mbw

I live in Iowa, we have way to many of the damn things and they are dumb as rocks. The son of a .... ran into me at a 90 degree angle and had plenty of other places to run.

I can support driving as little as possible, but dumb animals are not a good reason. It would be like avoiding the grocery store because of dumb people with no situational awareness and who are super slow.

Wait.... I do avoid certain times because of dumb people at the store.... crap.

Nevermind, carry on with not driving. +1 to cycling! yay. (boy that reply didn't work out at all.)

himespau 

I saw a buck with a decent sized rack last weekend.

daihard 

Sorry to hear the bad news. Praying for a prompt and complete recovery for you.

kickstart

I am not a vegan, anti hunting, or a PETA type, yet I too feel sorrow at the needless waste and suffering, but I assuage that by recognizing the fact that many if not most of those animals would still meet an equally traumatic death as their part of the food chain.
Its also important to recognize some animals, such as deer flourish because of the changes we have made in their environment, and by default have become their predators.

spare_wheel

which is why i support humane-as-possible culling. being hit by a vehicle is not humane.

kickstart

Don't get me wrong, I agree, its just that I don't dwell on it because nature is harsh too.

RR3

Well, everything is slow in Kentucky. Ours started dropping 2nd week in January.

RR3

Too many deer because they have fewer predators except the limited number of hunters. There are enough coyotes. The bigger problem with too many deer is the devastion they cause to forests and the impact on the habitat of other creatures that have disappear. (small birds that have no nature cover and the fox and coyote and feral cats from irresponsbile cat owners have killed them all off).

In my state, hunters are used to cull and manage the herd. Unfortuntaly, this public service cost me a ton of money....my yearly permits and fees run well over $500 each and every year. How much venison can someone eat? Our state government won't let you give it away to a food panty and besides butchering costs of $80 all point to a different solution other than relying upon hunters to control the deer population. So, we use cars. Hundreds of deaths, millions of yearly collisions, and billions of dollars in property damage per year. I see fresh roadkill on my roads almost every day. Hardly humane.

seldomsean

Hope you heal well and fast! A moment of silence for your departed ride. All bikes eventually die, at least this one died in a unique way. 3 months is nothing, you'll be back up and riding early summer. I feel for you, I damn near hit a moose some years ago while biking in Anchorage on an icy MUP and feel luck alone prevented catastrophe.

hyegeek

Yow! Glad you missed. The momentum equation is not very favourable with a moose. On the plus side, the moose around here are much more predictable and usually easier to see.

qclabrat

heal quickly, I hate the deer as well
other than distracted drivers, they are my enemies on the road

Dave Cutter

Around here..... in a few weeks Elderberry trees will be dropping their berries. The trees grow wild but are also used in landscapes. I've seen deer gathered on or along the road ways eating the berries. I try to keep in mind where these berry sites are so I don't surprise a deer... or frighten a doe and anger a buck.

There is an old joke about a woman calling in to a radio talk show wanting the deer crossings signs moved to a safer location.
https://youtu.be/RFCrJleggrI

Dave Cutter

Rare! And maybe an explanation.

AlmostTrick

I too feel empathy for the animals that are hit by cars, but they had a natural life up to that point. Not so for the majority of the animals we eat.

scroca

To all you deer haters, here is an interesting fact: The adult white tail deer can jump higher than the average house. This is due in part to their powerful hind quarters and also to the fact that houses can't jump.

spare_wheel

word.

chephy

Ouch! Wishing you a speedy recovery! Though you have to be off the bike for three months, you'll still have half a year to ride after that, so your whole year of commuting is not ruined!

velocity

Deer = Big Squirrel

hyegeek

If anyone doubts this, do a google image search of squirrel and spokes.