sanec1
Active Member
This summer I had two close calls with wildlife. One in a small rental car involved a few deer that wandered out onto the highway. I reacted quickly and swerved around one and quickly got back on my side of the road. I couldn't help but wonder how I would have reacted on the bike. I do lots of riding at night on the backroads and will be more cautious in the future.
The second incident was not a happy ending. I was returning home at night after a nice bbq dinner and a fat Cuban cigar. It was a cool night and I wasn't in a hurry. There aren't many riding days left and it was a pleasure to enjoy the fresh air. The county road runs straight into my neighborhood and is arrow straight. Normally the bike would be running at 75 mph. Cruising along at 50 a big dog appeared, walking from the left side towards the centre of the road. There was no time to react at all. The dogs head impacted against the left crash bar. The Road King didn't hesitate or get moved off its line. I live 5 minutes from where it happened. I rode home and after a few minutes jumped in the car and went back. There was a gentleman standing at the side of the road after the third pass in the car. I stopped and explained I was looking for the owner of the dog I hit on my motorcycle. He said "the dogs dead". He asked what happened and I explained.
Moral of the story- expect the unexpected, ride to survive
I'm sorry the dog died, but it could have been me just as easily.
The second incident was not a happy ending. I was returning home at night after a nice bbq dinner and a fat Cuban cigar. It was a cool night and I wasn't in a hurry. There aren't many riding days left and it was a pleasure to enjoy the fresh air. The county road runs straight into my neighborhood and is arrow straight. Normally the bike would be running at 75 mph. Cruising along at 50 a big dog appeared, walking from the left side towards the centre of the road. There was no time to react at all. The dogs head impacted against the left crash bar. The Road King didn't hesitate or get moved off its line. I live 5 minutes from where it happened. I rode home and after a few minutes jumped in the car and went back. There was a gentleman standing at the side of the road after the third pass in the car. I stopped and explained I was looking for the owner of the dog I hit on my motorcycle. He said "the dogs dead". He asked what happened and I explained.
Moral of the story- expect the unexpected, ride to survive
I'm sorry the dog died, but it could have been me just as easily.
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