View Poll Results: Has a bird ever hitched a ride on your helmet?
Yes, I've had aviary hitchhikers.
4
5.88%
No way, birds need to pull their own weight.
64
94.12%
Voters: 68. You may not vote on this poll
Bird Hitching a Ride
02-21-08, 02:23 PM
#1
2nd Century TBD
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Bird Hitching a Ride
OK, I gotta ask if this has happened to anyone else, as this completely amazed me...
I'm riding down a country straightaway at about 18-20 mph (slight 1-2% downgrade), minimal wind, cold, but sunny. I'm pretty well bundled up, so when I feel something on my helmet, I pretty much dismiss it and continue on my way, probably another 100 yards, before I notice a feeling like my head has a touch of extra drag. I reach my hand up to feel on top of my helmet, and knock a bird off the helmet
which quickly recovers and flies away.
If it hadn't happened to me personally, I wouldn't have believed it. Are birds just that lazy during the cold winter days?
(I did check my helmet and balaclava for bird droppings when I made it home... no issues).
I'm riding down a country straightaway at about 18-20 mph (slight 1-2% downgrade), minimal wind, cold, but sunny. I'm pretty well bundled up, so when I feel something on my helmet, I pretty much dismiss it and continue on my way, probably another 100 yards, before I notice a feeling like my head has a touch of extra drag. I reach my hand up to feel on top of my helmet, and knock a bird off the helmet
which quickly recovers and flies away.If it hadn't happened to me personally, I wouldn't have believed it. Are birds just that lazy during the cold winter days?
(I did check my helmet and balaclava for bird droppings when I made it home... no issues).
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02-21-08, 04:52 PM
#3
Dumb@s$ Jarhead
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I did have a bird hit me in the head while decending on PCH, going about 45 mph. It was a glancing blow... at least for me 
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02-21-08, 05:15 PM
#6
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The only bird that stands a chance of landing on my helmet is a peregrine falcon.
02-21-08, 05:31 PM
#7
Senior Member
I've had particularly territorial red-wing blackbirds peck at my head, but they never wanted a ride. Little b@stards, they get on your 6 o'clock and then dive in high, out of the sun. You don't have a chance.
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Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace
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Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace
1980 3Rensho-- 1975 Raleigh Sprite 3spd
1990s Raleigh M20 MTB--2007 Windsor Hour (track)
1988 Ducati 750 F1
02-21-08, 05:40 PM
#8
Two at a time is more fun
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Had a Mississippi Kite dive bomb me and gave me a glancing blow off my helment one time. I suspect I was somewhere near its' nest.
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02-22-08, 02:20 PM
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I had a turkey fly into my lap once when I startled a flock. Its a good thing it landed in my lap and not in the front wheel.
02-23-08, 09:29 AM
#16
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On one particular streach of road there is a red tailed hawk that often leaves it's roost and glides in front of me like it's leading me on some sort of vision quest.
02-23-08, 10:12 AM
#17
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When I started the Hou-Austin MS150 one year with a team away from the official start, there were about 20 vultures circling us for quite awhile.... we were wondering if that was a bad sign. 
I've had a bird pull a touch and go from the hood of my car at about 45mph... no close bike encounters though.
I've had a bird pull a touch and go from the hood of my car at about 45mph... no close bike encounters though.
02-23-08, 11:23 AM
#18
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I never had a bird encounter while on the bike, but my car did eat one through the hoodscoop (subaru WRX), messed up my intercooler pretty badly.
02-23-08, 11:51 AM
#19
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haven't had a bird issue yet, but i was riding and i hear this noise, and of course i look up to see a squirrel falling out of a tree that it tried jumping across. hit the road from about 25 feet up and almost hit me on the way down.
02-24-08, 08:32 AM
#20
2nd Century TBD
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Guess I must have just been 'lucky' that day... will have to keep an eye out for the circling vultures, though -- doing my first century this summer -- if I were a vulture I'd call that a good bet!
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02-24-08, 09:30 AM
#21
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One time a pigeon defecated on my cousin's hot dog while we were at Universal Studios in Orlando. That was hilarious.
02-24-08, 01:07 PM
#22
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Was downtown and turned onto a main road from a side street and had a pigeon fly up and hit me in the chest. Scared the hell outta me. Here we call them flying rats.
