Hit a bird today
#1
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Hit a bird today
.. that's right, a bird. Stupid seagulls. A few were eating from some remnant mcdonalds bags by the side of the street. I had just turned a corner after pumping up a nice hill and was gaining good speed. All the others kept eating or walked away, but this one slowly starts moving into the street. I slowly edge farther into the street, zero traffic. Then the bird takes off, and starts flying. Now I'm starting to swerve away from it but its picking up speed and it went right into my front wheel.
Luckily I didn't clip in this am and so landed on my feet holding my handle bars, and there's this bird struggling to get out of my spokes. It dropped a french fry in the process and managed to get itself out after a few seconds and no help from me. I start walking away, get on the bike looking back, and the bird was slow to get up, grab its fry and walk back to the food.
Luckily I didn't clip in this am and so landed on my feet holding my handle bars, and there's this bird struggling to get out of my spokes. It dropped a french fry in the process and managed to get itself out after a few seconds and no help from me. I start walking away, get on the bike looking back, and the bird was slow to get up, grab its fry and walk back to the food.
#2
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Oh, seagulls! I'm glad the rat-with-wings was ok, and your bike, too.
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Unpleasant, and potentially gruesome. But least you didn't "taste pigeon":
https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...ed-pigeon.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...ed-pigeon.html
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Glad you and the bike are ok. I was hit in the head by a Barn Swallow. It was a glancing blow, so really no big deal. The bird zig-zagged on one of aerobatic maneuvers they execute and bam! I barely saw it before the hit.
Almost hit a turkey a few weeks back. They rest of the flock got off the trail. One old tom didn't want to be bothered. I braked to avoid that collision. Would hate to wind up in pile with one of the guys!
Almost hit a turkey a few weeks back. They rest of the flock got off the trail. One old tom didn't want to be bothered. I braked to avoid that collision. Would hate to wind up in pile with one of the guys!
#6
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Glad you and the bike are ok. I was hit in the head by a Barn Swallow. It was a glancing blow, so really no big deal. The bird zig-zagged on one of aerobatic maneuvers they execute and bam! I barely saw it before the hit.
Almost hit a turkey a few weeks back. They rest of the flock got off the trail. One old tom didn't want to be bothered. I braked to avoid that collision. Would hate to wind up in pile with one of the guys!
Almost hit a turkey a few weeks back. They rest of the flock got off the trail. One old tom didn't want to be bothered. I braked to avoid that collision. Would hate to wind up in pile with one of the guys!
#7
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weird day for bugs today, but turned out ok. A bee landed on my eye behind my glasses and didn't sting me - that's like the first time I haven't been stung by a bee when I hit it. Some bug made into my nostril, but I blew it out instantly - don't know what it was.
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Twice hit pheasants with a car. One got stuck in the grill, the other came through the windshield. That was exciting.
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I had a duck take me down hard once. The damn bird spooked and flew right into my rear wheel when I was doing 20 mile plus. Took me down hard. I had to bang the front wheel on the side of the road to straighten it out enough to pass through my fork blades and take off the front brake to ride home. Plus I was picking out duck feathers from my campy NR rear derailleur for a while. It shifted fine though even with a few extra duck feathers,

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I've been hit by a Canada goose... Twice, I think. Neither got into my spokes, though, so that was good.
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1. Dumb thing was safely off to my right, but on seeing me it bolted toward the pond on my left. I ran right over it with both wheels, caught an amazing amount of air, then landed w/o crashing.

2. Dumb goose safely off to the side of the path with goslings. Stupid thing tried to attack me. Just as it spread its wings and went airborne, coming head on...my right brake lever (mtn bike) caught it in the breast, knocking it backward out of the air.

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Having lived outside of town most of my life, I have hits several birds of various species over the years. However, I owned a minivan with a large, flat, steeply sloped windshield that I think fooled the birds into thinking the windshield was a part of the sky. It was like a reflection of the sky. Birds hit that vehicle frequently! Would make you jerk/dodge/duck if you saw it coming or jump from the loud WHACK if you didn't.
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#19
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I ran into a pigeon once on the sidewalk. It was riding home north from UW when I was there one summer, I think it was University Way.
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Hit a bird? 

