[Big_Bird]

Great* with an asterisk, like Mark McGuire's home runs.

I took Thurs-Sun to head out to West Virginia with a few friends, stay at a riverfront cabin we got through AirBnB, and ride some of the great trips put together by the good folks at NER.

We had 2.7 superb days. Mid afternoon day 3, little miss deer decided to leap out to commit suicide by Goldwing. *sigh* She managed to flop herself into the gutter and died quickly. I managed to flop myself back up off the pavement and not die quickly. The bike fared better than the deer but is not unscathed. It slid a long way on its right side but did not tumble. The right radiator was leaking so I could not ride away. The crash site was out of cell signal but a game warden was just up the street -- one of the passers by sent him back our way and he radioed for a tow truck that arrived surprisingly quickly. All told, other than the crash, it almost couldn't have gone better.

Despite the agony and indignity of riding about an hour on the back of my pal's KTM 1090 (really, the WORST part of the whole day) and the nuisance of having all the recovery hassle, it was still an awesome trip.

I picked up a one-way rental car just a few miles from the cabin (another KTM ride of shame/pain, but short) and trailed the other two back to DC on Sunday. I had the A/C on and rocking the XM Grateful Dead station, looking at outside conditions flip between rain and 103 on the thermometer once we got over by I-81. I would rather have been on the Wing.

 

[UNCLEJOHN]

Great* with an asterisk, like Mark McGuire's home runs.

I took Thurs-Sun to head out to West Virginia with a few friends, stay at a riverfront cabin we got through AirBnB, and ride some of the great trips put together by the good folks at NER.

We had 2.7 superb days. Mid afternoon day 3, little miss deer decided to leap out to commit suicide by Goldwing. *sigh* She managed to flop herself into the gutter and died quickly. I managed to flop myself back up off the pavement and not die quickly. The bike fared better than the deer but is not unscathed. It slid a long way on its right side but did not tumble. The right radiator was leaking so I could not ride away. The crash site was out of cell signal but a game warden was just up the street -- one of the passers by sent him back our way and he radioed for a tow truck that arrived surprisingly quickly. All told, other than the crash, it almost couldn't have gone better.

Despite the agony and indignity of riding about an hour on the back of my pal's KTM 1090 (really, the WORST part of the whole day) and the nuisance of having all the recovery hassle, it was still an awesome trip.

I picked up a one-way rental car just a few miles from the cabin (another KTM ride of shame/pain, but short) and trailed the other two back to DC on Sunday. I had the A/C on and rocking the XM Grateful Dead station, looking at outside conditions flip between rain and 103 on the thermometer once we got over by I-81. I would rather have been on the Wing.

GLAD YOU OK ! (FOR A "BIKER BITCH ") FOR THEY DAY !:surprise::wink2: WHERES THE DEER JERKY ? YOU HAVE INSURANCE ?

 

[JoeHall]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune, but most important, you are OK. On the GW or in the car, I worry more about Bambi than about drunks or texters. Sometimes I feel like the whole state is just one big wild life refuge. And the stats I have read say WV is even worse than KY. I believe KY is just slower about picking up roadkill than WV, so it just appears we have more. LOL

 

[JJ Dunnit]

One less deer is no great loss, but to take a Wing with it on it's way out is just plain mean. Glad you are ok and I hope the Wing can be fixed.

 

[231wingman]

Glad to hear you’re okay.
There’s not much we can do about the forest rats crossing the road in broad daylight.

 

[tamathumper]

And the stats I have read say WV is even worse than KY. I believe KY is just slower about picking up roadkill than WV, so it just appears we have more. LOL

And NY is worse still.

And I believe Iowa has the record for the "ripest roadkill". I think they just leave them out there until they blow away - there are dried up, blackened deer parts all over the place in Iowa.

 

[Tisunac]

Very sorry about your misfortune. I'm glad you have such a positive attitude towards it. Most importantly - you are okay. Did your gear play a role in your unscathed fall?

My wife and I ride in WV very often. So far we were very lucky and had enjoyed only the best of roads and mountains, without any close calls with wildlife.

Hope you'll be back in the saddle soon...

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[dduelin]

This summer I have seen deer all hours of the day in my local riding area of GA and FL. Every year is worse. Like others posted I worry more about hitting a deer way out in the country than a cager taking me out in the few city miles I ride.

 

[Vince in FL]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. But glad I heard it from you. Hope it all turns out OK for you.

Vince

 

[Taddpole]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune, but most important, you are OK. On the GW or in the car, I worry more about Bambi than about drunks or texters. Sometimes I feel like the whole state is just one big wild life refuge. And the stats I have read say WV is even worse than KY. I believe KY is just slower about picking up roadkill than WV, so it just appears we have more. LOL

Just wait until you see a drunk deer with a cell phone!:nerd:

 

[WVMANDINGO]

Glad you're okay, WV tops the nation in deer strikes. It's hard to ride and not think about it. It use to be a time you only saw them in the early morning or just before dark, but now they are out all times of day. If deer and bears was not enough to worry about while riding, the state has had the bright idea to introduce an Elk population to the mix.

 

[JoeHall]

Glad you're okay, WV tops the nation in deer strikes. It's hard to ride and not think about it. It use to be a time you only saw them in the early morning or just before dark, but now they are out all times of day. If deer and bears was not enough to worry about while riding, the state has had the bright idea to introduce an Elk population to the mix.

I am thinking the guvment should just impose a curfew on the deer. Maybe if we put together a protest. LOL

 

[Farmguy]

I am thinking the guvment should just impose a curfew on the deer. Maybe if we put together a protest. LOL

And maybe move the 'deer crossings' to more convenient locations....>

 

[Johnny S]

Big_Bird, I'm also glad you weren't seriously injured. Were you pulling the Tailwind?



Johnny S

 

[Big_Bird]

Big_Bird, I'm also glad you weren't seriously injured. Were you pulling the Tailwind?

Johnny S

I pulled it out there but unhitched it for my riding around. I almost didn't and basically never do that. So another shred of good luck in a bad luck situation. I don't know what would have happened if the trailer was attached, but it can't have been good.

I should probably go buy a lottery ticket.

The trailer is still at the cabin where we stayed, about an hour SW of the crash site, and my Goldwing is about 40 min NE. So I'm like a yard sale scattered all over God's country. The owner is a good man and let me leave it there, tucked under his porch, until I can go fetch it.

 

[SteakFarmer]

And maybe move the 'deer crossings' to more convenient locations....>

 

[beckhardt]

Geez sorry to hear this. Glad you were not injured. Now you get to deal with the insurance company. That's never a good time. In the meantime you can rent a Maserati Gran Turismo to run your errands in. See, it's not all bad.:thumbup:

 

[Big_Bird]

Thanks for the thoughts and the shared deer concerns. Pesky critters.

The attachment is a little love from the comedians at work, helping me out with the insurance paperwork I need to do.

Very sorry about your misfortune. I'm glad you have such a positive attitude towards it. Most importantly - you are okay. Did your gear play a role in your unscathed fall?

Yes! Minimally scathed. Thanks to mostly good gear. A little burn through in the forearm from my mesh jacket. It was hot and I didn't wear my Darien. Oh well. Live and learn. I had good perforated leather trousers on that served me REAL well.

An hour prior to my crash, we saw a parade of cruisers go by in T-shirts and were commenting how much skin and blubber would be left on the pavement if they went down. Of the ~20 bikes that passes my crash site while we were waiting for a tow, perhaps 3 were geared up.