Originally Posted by
mechBgon
For the deer hazard, I find that a helmet light helps quite a bit, because the reflection from their eyes shows more strongly to a helmet light than a bar light. One of my optional rural commuting routes involves going pretty fast through an area with tons of deer, it's not uncommon to see 15 on one evening.
I was surprised when I started seeing skunks after I got decent lights. I'm not sure if I was able to see them for the first time, or if it was a coincidence that they showed up for the first time when I got better lights, but I was glad to see them before I got too close.