stapfam

I am on holiday for the next two weeks but I had to take the Van into work and I agreed to do some urgent deliveries to some of my customers. I do this often and I ride back home from work. 30 miles and a few slopes so I do expect an easy saturday morning. Easy enough to give me a good start to my holiday.

So out on the road and going across Ashdown Forest. Plenty of Wildlife and the real problem is Deer. Youv'e guessed it- One deer collected on the front of the car and it makes a right mess of lamps and hoods. So deliveries cut short but The deer was OK. Got up after a couple of minutes and it was gone.

So back to work and explain that it was a deer- luckily a big chunk of Hair in the damaged panelwork so they believed that I had not run into a Brick wall or fence post.

Out with the bike and off home. First 6 miles along the seafront and it is Flat. Not long before a rider came along and overtook me. Old TCR and Telekom race kit and he was not much faster than me so I sat behind him. First set of lights and I apoligised for sitting behind him and he was out on his daily 10 mile ride. When he found Out the route I was going he looked at my bike for the first time and realised it was a TCR-C with a triple. He wished me luck on the hills so it was obvious he was a flatlander.

15 miles up the road and there was a Farmers Market in Cliffe- the picturesqe part of Lewes. Had to walk through it but as I got back on the bike- I heard the hiss. I had picked up a Pin while walking and as soon as I started riding- It went into the tyre and Tube. No problem- have the repair kit and pump. Had a job getting the tube out of the tyre--No talc so it had stuck. Bit of air in the tube and found the puncture- Got the patch ready and opened the glue- -----No glue- it had dried up--So in with the spare tube.

Rest of ride unevenfull but tried a Training system I used years ago. Today I had the I Pod and rode to the cadence of the music- may have been 65 or up to 100 but I kept to it and kept power into the legs- or lungs. It is surprising but lots of 3% slopes on this route so bottom of the slope and keep to music cadence but at a sensible gear and speed. Then as you go up the slope go onto a higher gear and keep the same cadence. Not long before I had to change up again to stop overrunning the cadence. So from what gear I started the slope in- by the top I was up a couple of gears and higher speed. Low cadence and it was the legs getting a workout and higher it was the lungs. I never pushed them to the limit and a rest was had on the few downslopes or flat bits.

So back indoors and 29 miles in 2hrs 14 minutes including the puncture. Couple of lessons learnt- I do not push myself hard enough so that cadence to music training is going to be benificial. Check the glue in the repair kits and if it has been used before- get a replacement. And 3rdly- If you are going to hit a deer with a car- hit it harder next time so it can't get up and run away. At least I would get the benefit of a full freezer for the damage it has caused.

JanMM

Glad to hear your deer lived and you were able to drive away.

We recently celebrated the anniversary of my killing a deer with our Pontiac Vibe while in New Hampshire (900 miles from home) for a family wedding. The car was about 3/4 totaled/inoperable. I turned down the offer of the deer by the LEO.

Drove a rental car back to IN and flew our son back to drive the car home almost a month later.

A couple of weeks following my deer encounter, I was on a club ride on a road with cornfields on both sides when I heard/saw a rustling to the right and then a deer bolted across the road to the other cornfield. Luckily, he was 20 feet in front of me. Whew!

Deer are so cute!

Louis

Well I always say, 'if you're going to smash a van into a deer...make sure it's a Company Van'. Y'think they'll have it fixed by the time you get back from holliday?

Glad the deer could get up and run away.

sam21fire

I used to live in Utah and it seemed there were several news stories about people seriously injured and sometimes killed when they hit deer. Maybe the deer were taller or the cars were shorter, but the deer get taken out at the knees and the body comes through the front windshield. I've heard it's a real problem with moose too.

cranky old dude

Though I love the crisp Autumn air and the vibrant foliage that comes with it, I don't enjoy driving through it due to the increased deer activity.

I'm glad you didn't get hurt.