It was a dark early morning, a little chilly at -7C (~20 F) and being a Friday, there wasn't much traffic on the MUP as usual. So I let myself zip along at about 30km/hr. About 1/3 into my commute, I cross a wooden planked bridge that spans 40 ft over a creek. The planks always make a racket as they are loose and rattle as you travel over it.

As I start to cross the bridge, my light starts to shine upwards towards the crest of the bridge and I notice 2 legs standing right in the middle of the 6 foot wide bridge, white on the insides and beige on the outside. (A bold fashion statement no less) I say to myself, “Geez! A ninja pedestrian out this early in the morning? Move over you moron, let me by….” But, just as the planks start to rattle, my light continues to shines upward revealing a “deer caught in the headlights” Just then, the racket of the rattling planks spooks the deer and it starts to turn around to run, blocking almost the entire width of the bridge. With no time to brake, I squeeze right, inches from the railing, brushing the deer’s butt with my elbow as I pass.

Avoiding sure disaster, I relax a bit but just as I crest the bridge, my light shines downward reavealing another deer standing in the middle of the MUP about 10 feet past the end of the bridge! Also, spooked by the rattling and the fast approaching light, it draws back to start to bolt as I get to the end of the bridge. I felt like a goalie faced with a penalty kick at a championship soccer match. I guessed to swerve right onto the grass. Luckily, the deer”zigs” instead of “zags” and I avoid a second crash.

I didn’t fill my this shorts morning (yes I checked) but was a bit rattled for a while.

That is all… have a great weekend.

T.J.

This is why MUPs are so dangerous. Deer never get hit by cars.

You are very lucky. I know three people who lost skin due to deer avoidance/collisions. Glad you came out of it with just a story to tell.

A deer hit my car the other night. Six-point buck, dumb animal just trotted in from the side of the road and right into the side of my car. I told some friends about it and they said they've seen a ton of deer this year, apparently it's a very active mating season.

I had a close call with one the other weekend. Two in one ride might have really flipped me out, one was bad enough. Hmmm sonic deer thing on the bike maybe? Do those things even work?

Lucky is the word. Deer's first instinct is to make the first jump directly at the attacker, to freeze them, and then bound away.

Thanks!

Maybe I'll buy a lottery ticket on the way home today.

Enjoy your weekend,
Cheers!

T.J.

My record for one homebound commute is 14 deer (that I actually saw). My helmet light is excellent for deer detection, since the reflection of their eyes shows well from long range. I'm baffled why there are so many deer this year in particular, it didn't used to be like this.

helicopter wolf hunting?

the one's you really have to avoid, however, are elk. they're probably twice the weight of deer and have antlers that can do damage with an attitude to match (especially in spring)

Autumn rut? The deer are way more active this time of year? I rounded a corner on a MUP a few years ago in mid October, and a large buck is straddling the path. Holey crap! I skid to a stop about 8 feet from the buck. The rack sure looked awefully big and pointy that close up. The buck just looks at me for a moment. then *Zap* he bounds back into the forest and is gone. He probably went back to his harem and told all the does about the "human stare into the rack" encounter he just had.

I saw 3 deer on the don valley trail at night. thought they were actually coyotes
I knew they weren't foxes or rabbits since they were too tall and I know for a fact that we have coyotes in the area.
didn't know about the deer, but they were there.