I had just been screwing around in the mountains west of Dell MT yesterday, when I decided to see if the School House Cafe was re-opened. 1 truck parked outside, so maybe. After landing in the dirt along the pavement (this is the strip that used to be gravel, as it sees little use, until a guy with a G-IV set up shop nearby, and paid the state to have it done, that is a whole story in itself, who he was, and who he knew) I got the ebike out and started riding towards the cafe.

About halfway there, on the gravel road with zero traffic, and not much likelihood of any, I had my head down and was wearing a billed head, so limited forward viz. I was going about 18 mph, when with zero warning, I was instantly in the middle of a fast moving herd of antelope. I had noticed them from the air earlier, in 2 or 3 different fields near the strip, right where we all met up, there were two open gates in the two fields on either side of the road, and they had apparently felt the urgent need to get to one field from the other, just as I was riding by. It was the oddest thing, as usually they are so skittish. For a second I had them in front and in back, and on both sides of me, one tripped right in front of me and I could have reached out and touched it. None actually took me down, and in an instant they were a mile away, as they can really haul ass, and were when they crossed the road. It would have been a hell of a way to go, trampled by antelope, but at least I have a good story to tell my trail riding buddies in town. Oh, yeah, the cafe was not open, it had been sold and was being remodeled.

courierguy wrote:...I had my head down and was wearing a billed head, so limited forward viz...

So you were riding your bike "under the hood" and without someone else watching for traffic. You were certainly lucky. Doesn't sound like the Pronghorn were social distancing either, and I guess neither were you when the herd was around you.

Good thing not this guy
https://youtu.be/8WppCEOg1Qs

Would have made a good meal.

Read about a guy riding his Harley in northern Iowa and a deer came out of the ditch and broadsided him. That was the end of him. Also, remember just out of Ft Robinson Ne heading west and I saw a blinking light. Turns out it was a herd of antelope or whatever is out there crossing the Hwy 20 and breaking the reflection of my headlights. Luckily I got slowed down in time.

"Grandma got run over by a reindeer!"

I was stunned by the populations of wild animals in ID. I hit a herd of Pronghorns a year and a half ago. Unfortunately 11 of them died. Nearly wrote off my F150. It was dark, in hindsight I was too fast for conditions. Not proud of it. Be careful out there.

So THATS how you get herd immunity...

Ha! That’s a good story!

I went on a long ride last night (just bike, no E) and had a deer pop out across a country road right in front of me.

I was heads up, but it was good and dark.

You can see my heart rate spike on my monitor graph, hahaha.

I flew into Smiley Creek for breakfast several years ago, noticed the cops, ambulance, etc. on the Hiway by the north end of the runway. When I got to the lodge I asked what happened, was told a motorcycle hit a deer at about 90 Mph, deer and rider both died.

Funny!! Animals are good for some hillarious moments. Bear in my yard last night. Shithead was on the porch too. Why he did it, I'll never know, other than being a shithead.....it knocked two of my solar lights off the deck posts and the rain gauge. Got it on video. What a turd!

gingerdawg wrote:Good thing not this guy
https://youtu.be/8WppCEOg1Qs

Exactly! Yeah it would have been an even better story, to get seriously injured by a pronghorn stampede, but I will take a pass, I got off lucky.

I did have a similar event last fall, riding my bike the 1.5 miles to the mailbox on the gravel road. Coming back, opening up an envelope that had a check in it (so no hands on the bars) a buck with a big rack squirted out of the trees and ran across in front of me, with about 5' of separation, at most. Maybe I need to enlarge my situational awareness when riding a bit, to look for hazards (though he would have been hard to see coming regardless) other then actually on the road with me at the time. Or maybe just move somewhere with less wild life, I guess that's why they are called "wild."

When I started driving cars that got better MPG then the road bikes I used to ride (50+ for the current Prius, V. 35-45 for my last beater 1979 Goldwing), I quit riding, after 40+ years. Too damn many close calls with wildlife. I got in the middle of a flock of sheep one time that were bedded down on the road to my place, had a big hare hit me once so hard (50 yards from the driveway) he bent the brake lever (killed him too), and with the climate here there is so little time to ride without freezing that I switched to a car for my main personal transportation. E bikes scratch the 2 wheel itch now. Birds are a lot better getting out of my way when I'm flying, then 4 legged critters are when I'm on the ground.

A friend of mine who lives in the Hill Country outside of Austin, TX took delivery of a brand new 4-door crew cab pickup over lunch one day, and then drove it back to work that afternoon. A large whitetail buck ran out of the woods on his right side, and hit the back door so hard the antlers penetrated the door skin... Killed the buck, of course, when his neck snapped.

He took it straight back to the dealer to get it fixed. A few days later, they called to tell him it was ready for (pardon the pun) pick up... On his way back to work... You guessed it! A herd of deer ran across the road, and one (a doe this time) hit that exact same door hard enough to break the doe's neck, and basically destroy the door. Back to the dealer...

This time, when the truck was ready, he decided to drive it straight home. About a mile from home, a deer ran out in front of him, wiping out the grill and a bunch of the front end.

True story!

As long as we're telling road kill stories...on the way to work one morning at O dark thirty in Central Oregon, a heard of elk ran right in front of me. I hit a big cow with a 1988 Mazda 323 station wagon. She flipped right over the top of the car. A highway department snow plow driver stopped and the both of us drug her off the highway and hid her behind some trees. The Mazda left the scene under it's own power.

About a week later I stopped at the scene to pull the ivorys out to keep for souvenirs. The only Thing left was a couple back bone vertebrates and hair.

The insurance company totaled the car and gave me $2000. I bought it back for $400, fixed it up, and drove it for another 10 years. My wife named it "The Elk Slayer".

I shortened the front end of my duramax about 3 feet by hitting a big cow moose doing 120km/hr. If it weren't for the 6" lift and big steel bumper I believe I wouldn't be here today. After hitting the moose I was just along for the ride, through a big ditch and about 50' into the trees. Couldn't see anything as my hood was folded up in front of the windshield. I ended up with one sore knuckle, no rash or whiplash from the airbag. I cant find more pictures right now, but here the gist of what my front end looked like in the dark and trees...

This is the damage done to a Cessna 150 when a yearling white tail deer decided to run across the runway when the student pilot was taking off... the pilot was able to get the mains just over the deer.. pretty sure that spooked the deer and it jumped into the tail and was thrown over the top of the vertical as it ripped off the strobe (blood on the strobe)... the kid just pulled off the power and landed at the end of the runway... We removed the tail, inspected the fuselage to find no other damage and installed a tail off a different wreck that the owner had.. The student loaded the yearling in the back of his truck and made jerky of it..

Brian


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Brian-StevesAircraft wrote:

There's probably a story behind the bent airplane in the next row back too.

hotrod180 wrote:

Brian-StevesAircraft wrote:

There's probably a story behind the bent airplane in the next row back too.

Microburst... threw it into a tree... that’s the bird that donated tail parts to repair the deer damage..

Brian


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Brian-StevesAircraft wrote:

hotrod180 wrote:

Brian-StevesAircraft wrote:

There's probably a story behind the bent airplane in the next row back too.

Microburst... threw it into a tree... that’s the bird that donated tail parts to repair the deer damage..
Brian
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Glad the tail made it! Where was the aircraft when the wing broke?

8GCBC wrote:

Brian-StevesAircraft wrote:

hotrod180 wrote:

Brian-StevesAircraft wrote:

There's probably a story behind the bent airplane in the next row back too.

Microburst... threw it into a tree... that’s the bird that donated tail parts to repair the deer damage..
Brian
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Glad the tail made it! Where was the aircraft when the wing broke?

Tied down and parked.. microbursts are weird.. took two parked airplanes right out of their ropes, threw one into a tree, the other on its back.. but did not touch the 182 untied with its cowling sitting on the ground right next to them..

same storm took out our three bay hanger that we replaced with the carocell floor hanger.. deposited the three bay building in the next door neighbors back yard but did not do any damage to the three airplanes parked in it...

Brian


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