I hit a deer this morning. My go-to summer ride is a sunrise trip from my house in Fort Collins up the Big Thompson Canyon (Hwy 34) to Estes Park, sometimes breakfast or coffee, & then back. Often there are animals out at that time of day, and this time of year is especially sketchy because of mating season & the particularly bad half-light/half-dark sunshine in the canyons on the way back. As I came down just after 8:00 AM, I was going about 40-45 and following a car because the light was so bad it was easier to see him than the road. As I came out of a right hander, I saw a small deer--head about my mirror height--sprinting like crazy across the road from the left. Didn't see him until he was almost into me. He was going at a 45 degree angle and I assume making a really poorly calculated attempt to try to get in front of me. It's crazy how instantly you recognize this is bad news & you have to avoid a collision if at all possible. I tried to lean more to the right, hit the gas, and braced for impact. I'm guessing I didn't lean any more at all but I did pick up a crucial foot or two so that he didn't get fully in front of my bike. I think his head/neck hit the front just below my left mirror & my hand hit neck and caused a massive bike convulsion & short tank slapper, maybe just back & forth once. The collision was violent & slowed me down dramatically, but I didn't come close to going over the bars, or at least I don't think so. After impact I didn't hit the brakes or anything; just kept going straight & slowed to about 30 and started trying to figure out if the bike was still ok. My hazard lights came on & I assumed that meant something went bad & the bike would stop running in just a few seconds. But it kept running & everything felt fine: the engine sounded the same, the handling felt fine, my bars didn't seem bent. It took me a minute to realize somehow the hazard switch had been depressed, so I just switched them back off.
I didn't look check my mirrors until what seemed like 5 seconds later, so by then I'm hundreds of feet down the road & didn't see anything. Looking back, I probably should have stopped & figured out if the bike was safe to ride & if I left a dead or wounded animal in the middle of the road, but I didn't. I just kept riding. Sent an email to the Division of Wildlife later telling them what happened.
When I got home all I saw was my left & front fairings broken in a few places with a little bit of hairy deer remnants on it. My left hand got very mildly scraped (I was wearing my full textile gear & gloves).
It's a good day to still be alive. Enjoy your fall rides & be safe out there!
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