Critters on the road..pics or stories

[BeastieGirl]

Considering the amount of time I've spent riding in assorted mountain ranges, I'm surprised at how few wild life encounters I have had on the bike. Only one bear - and that was in the high plains in New Mexico, just after crossing over from Colorado, not in the mountains. Saw something black and furry in a ditch on the right hand side - slowed down a little thinking it was a dog, only to have a bear stand up on its hind legs and look me over. However, it was more interested in the carrion in the ditch than me on my bike. Although it might have made a good photo op - I decided to pass and just keep on motoring. Deer - more than I can possibly keep track of, mostly just viewing on the side of the road but a few of the brake grabbing, and/or emergency swerving variety. Almost had a Canada goose take my head off on the beach strip in Hamilton, literally had to duck - no pun intended. Wild turkeys seem to be the next most common fowl I see - the occasional ground hog, raccoon - nothing else as exciting as the bear.

 

[MrMonkey]

30 min ago I was riding up Bayview ave in Toronto approaching the Don valley brick works. I was passing a woman who was merging from the right when out of the darkness a deer darted across her and into my path. Didn't really have time to react, tried to avoid it but once I realised I was going to hit it I straightened the bike up and prayed. Hit the right side of my bike pretty hard but I kept on going. Bit of a bruise on my right shin, frame slider probably helped a bit, no visible damage to the bike. I pulled over to take a breather, the woman who was merging stopped to check I was fine (thanks!), she said when I hit the deer it took a tumble but got up and ran into the park.

 

[Motorcycle Mike]

I've seen bear, deer, moose, wolves, raccoons, turkeys, squirrels, and the closest hit: Kamikaze chickens: [video=youtube;iIRIHdCzwgk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIRIHdCzwgk[/video]

 

[MacDoc]

30 min ago I was riding up Bayview ave in Toronto approaching the Don valley brick works. I was passing a woman who was merging from the right when out of the darkness a deer darted across her and into my path. Didn't really have time to react, tried to avoid it but once I realised I was going to hit it I straightened the bike up and prayed. Hit the right side of my bike pretty hard but I kept on going. Bit of a bruise on my right shin, frame slider probably helped a bit, no visible damage to the bike. I pulled over to take a breather, the woman who was merging stopped to check I was fine (thanks!), she said when I hit the deer it took a tumble but got up and ran into the park.

wow - and correct thing to do - don;t swerve - keep it straight ....good on you ....

 

[Face]

Critters I have hit:

After having fun on the left then right sweepers then accelerating up the on-ramp from Yorkdale to EB 401, I had a large flock of birds take off from behind the other ramp at the top of the hill. I ducked, but still bounced 1 off my helmet. When I got home, there still was a feather stuck in my top vent.

Riding at dusk in PA (after being delayed by PA's finest) going about 50 - 60 mph through a straight tight wooded section, I had a juvenile deer come out of the woods. All I saw was the head ducking by my right knee, then I felt it bounce off my leg. The head must have hit the leading edge of my fairing, and after bouncing off my leg, the guys riding behind said it was spinning like a top on the roadway. I stayed upright with very minor damage to the bike. Probably the luckiest outcome of a dear hit possible!

 

[MacDoc]

Waiting on a cassowary at Etty Bay when thos wandered by



big goanna wandering about. Down at Etty Bay which is pretty reliable for cassowary but the male lost his chick a week ago so has not been around as much

Would be a good thump is you hit it but you'd really have to NOT be paying attention.

Now hitting a cassowary would be seriously bad news as they are endangered and it's a big chunk of bird.
You might just need that armor....he'd be quite happy to gut you ...they stand 5' tall

Ah hell -

SO waited for a couple of hours - reading and working on line, no cassowary and 120 km to home.

Geared up, music on, just pulling away.....someone points...

got my fill of cassowary photos today.

Should have taken the helmet off to concentrate a bit but hey...

 

[homme de fer]

So did the bear just run away? What damage did you and your bike sustain?

Good question. I was leading 5 or 6 riders at night through Piseco NY and never saw the bear come across in front of me; the headlight from my Ducati just never did a good job. Anyhow, I hit the bear in the rear end with my head and cartwheeled down the road. My buddies managed to miss hitting me, the bike, and the bear. I couldn't get up but managed to crawl off the road. After a few minutes, my head cleared enough to make the decision to get back on the bike to make it to our cabin that was no more than 2 or 3 kilometers away. I had to pull the plastics away and it didn't sound right, but I made it back to the cabin. I had some really bad problems with a concussion and ended up with a $14,000 medical bill; the vaunted US medical system misdiagnosed my broken wrist but I purchased travel insurance before hand and didn't have to pay a dime.

I left the bike there and went back to get it a couple weeks later on the insurance company's dime; it was way cheaper for them to pay me to get than to get a tow truck to bring it back. It wasn't in that bad shape, considering the hard knock it took, but I didn't feel like trying to repair the plastics and electrics so they declared it 'totalled'. Cut my cast off 5 weeks later and bought a BMW 650 Sertao. Had two surgeries on my wrist since and I'm back to 'normal'. I believe the bear eventually died as the people in Piseco know the bear well and they never saw it again.

 

[MacDoc]

WOW!!! Gutsy to ride after that major come off. !!!!


••

Glad i was not on the bike yesterday.
Long drive to Kununara in the northern outback and nailed a roo at 130 ( the speed limit there ).
Four wheel drive didn't even lurch...GF was ****** ( she was driving ).
Luckily in was killed outright and no joey in the pouch

 

[Wingboy]

Good question. I was leading 5 or 6 riders at night through Piseco NY and never saw the bear come across in front of me; the headlight from my Ducati just never did a good job. Anyhow, I hit the bear in the rear end with my head and cartwheeled down the road. My buddies managed to miss hitting me, the bike, and the bear. I couldn't get up but managed to crawl off the road. After a few minutes, my head cleared enough to make the decision to get back on the bike to make it to our cabin that was no more than 2 or 3 kilometers away. I had to pull the plastics away and it didn't sound right, but I made it back to the cabin. I had some really bad problems with a concussion and ended up with a $14,000 medical bill; the vaunted US medical system misdiagnosed my broken wrist but I purchased travel insurance before hand and didn't have to pay a dime.

I left the bike there and went back to get it a couple weeks later on the insurance company's dime; it was way cheaper for them to pay me to get than to get a tow truck to bring it back. It wasn't in that bad shape, considering the hard knock it took, but I didn't feel like trying to repair the plastics and electrics so they declared it 'totalled'. Cut my cast off 5 weeks later and bought a BMW 650 Sertao. Had two surgeries on my wrist since and I'm back to 'normal'. I believe the bear eventually died as the people in Piseco know the bear well and they never saw it again.

That Ducati (our Ducati...lol)is in Alberta now,and on the road nearing 100k.

 

[homme de fer]

That Ducati (our Ducati...lol)is in Alberta now,and on the road nearing 100k.

The motorcycle equivalent of the circle of life. I think of her often but a dual sport fits my riding much better.

I've also got footage on YouTube of me on the Nipissing Trail a couple years ago where the rider in front of me almost hit a deer that ran out of the woods; he put his front wheel right up between the hind legs. That ride was a ton of fun.

 

[kruzuki]

A few for me.
On Lanstaff Rd just east of Yonge a goose flew at me protecting it's nest. I ducked and its claws scraped across the top of my helmet!

Coming back from Laconia a few years ago, a deer was standing by the road looking like it wanted to cross, so I slowed down. Eventually I came to a complete stop on the interstate as I wasn't sure what the deer was going to do. It leisurely crossed the road literally 5 feet in front of me.

Once, north of Wawa, on some side road, saw a pickup parked in our lane, a little off to the side. The driver was leaning out the passenger wndow poking at a bear that was on the higway. The bear scampered off the sdie of the road and up the embankement. We were just sitting there on our bikes, not 20 feet away! The bear could have gotten ****** off and taken us both out!

 

[Flywheel]

Last year, while motoring along to Misery Bay PP on Manitoulin Island, I encountered a:

a) Bear.
b) Moose.
c) Deer.
d) Cougar.
e) Emu.

Fortunately, it was just far enough ahead to be harmless, dashing across the road. I remember going for the brake and downshifting while thinking...an emu? Here? I'm glad there wasn't an accident. I'm not sure the insurance company would have believed me. The locals were certainly skeptical.

 

[MacDoc]

I would have - have driven by this place many times

http://whiterockostrichfarm.com

Face to face with a wild one in Australia tho - not scared of me ....on the other hand I was backpedaling ....



Ugly SOB

Oh wait - EMU...hmmm Whiterock is Ostrich

But hell - there are some 300 Emu farms in Ontario yikes !!!

 

[AF4iK]

LOL some funny animal pics in here. I'd be tripping out if I came across some of these. I've come across the usual stuff in Ontario... flock of turkey, a moose that refused to move, turtles...

 

[Flywheel]

Toronto has always been home to a generous amount of turkeys, but the real ones are moving in, no joke. Friend of mine caught one on camera in his backyard--downtown.

Dumb as rocks, but they're coming for your paint and chrome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9A0GlIhRk

 

[00ninja]

Good question. I was leading 5 or 6 riders at night through Piseco NY and never saw the bear come across in front of me; the headlight from my Ducati just never did a good job. Anyhow, I hit the bear in the rear end with my head and cartwheeled down the road. My buddies managed to miss hitting me, the bike, and the bear. I couldn't get up but managed to crawl off the road. After a few minutes, my head cleared enough to make the decision to get back on the bike to make it to our cabin that was no more than 2 or 3 kilometers away. I had to pull the plastics away and it didn't sound right, but I made it back to the cabin. I had some really bad problems with a concussion and ended up with a $14,000 medical bill; the vaunted US medical system misdiagnosed my broken wrist but I purchased travel insurance before hand and didn't have to pay a dime.

I left the bike there and went back to get it a couple weeks later on the insurance company's dime; it was way cheaper for them to pay me to get than to get a tow truck to bring it back. It wasn't in that bad shape, considering the hard knock it took, but I didn't feel like trying to repair the plastics and electrics so they declared it 'totalled'. Cut my cast off 5 weeks later and bought a BMW 650 Sertao. Had two surgeries on my wrist since and I'm back to 'normal'. I believe the bear eventually died as the people in Piseco know the bear well and they never saw it again.

To add onto Homme's post........

I was there riding sweeper. Let me tell you......it was very surreal to see nothing but taillights shining in perfect staggered formation one second, then the next seeing tail lights all over the place, so to speak.

It was pitch dark and then all of a sudden his Duc came into view of my headlight. I didn't register what I was seeing at first but then I realized it was my good friends red Duc on the ground spinning on its side.

 

[Newfiezedder]

My closest call so far was with a big bull moose back in Newfoundland, driving down a 2 lane unlit highway, uncoming car flashes his lights so I think Police and slow to the limit (80Km/h) as I come down a hill into a turn there is Mr Moose standing in the dead center of my side of the road. Hard on the brakes, little to hard, back tire locks and starts to slide out, realized I am not going to stop in time so straightened it up, off the brakes and quick dip around the nose of the beast. Left the skid mark on the road that was there for over a year, the one in my underwear came out in the wash

 

[MacDoc]

once in a lifetime on Vancouver Island

The smallest fawn I've ever seen spooked from the grass in front of us and galloped down the road away from us.....
Then stopped just at a crest almost out of sight...
I'd gotten the camera out and it came bounding back towards us and then stopped

Finally scampered between the bikes and disappeared...

 

[JoeyB]

Re: once in a lifetime on Vancouver Island

No pictures here but yesterday was a critter filled day.

3 skunks and a porcupine (all 4 were road pizza), 2 turtles (about to be road pizza), kamikazee chipmunk, couple of cranes, some kind of bird of prey/falcon, a good sized deer and some halibut on a plate. Plus farm animals.

 

[RichinOville]

Re: once in a lifetime on Vancouver Island

In my riding career, in no particular order, I've hit or come across the following:
Last year, was able to avoid hitting a fairly large racoon but still clipped him with one of my front rotors. Several years ago, took out a flying female turkey with my front fairing while going 120kmph and got yolked on my engine and jacket. Eventually the front fairing and headlight had to be replaced. In the 80's, at night on the 401 in Milton, I was passing a tractor trailer and he killed whatever bounced off of him and hit my right leg. On the way to Killarney, one year, saw what I thought was a big dog standing in the middle of the road, straddling the centre line. When I got closer it turned out to be a small(ish) black bear. I stopped my Ural, and gunned the engine a couple of times and he/she ran into the woods. Came around a corner on the BRP and rather large turkey vulture was taking off when it saw me, but it being big and slow, I had to duck my head to miss one of his flapping wings (wingspan was about the same width as a car). Same thing happened in my car just outside of Erin the next year. I've also had not so close encounters with flocks of turkeys, a family of moose, and a herd of deer. And of course, insane squirrels and chipmunks. lol