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Be careful there down under
 

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rickhardy
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 1492
Location: Needham outside of Boston - the hub of the universe

1/30/21 8:24 AM

Be careful there down under

[url] https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/queensland-cyclist-crashes-into-kangaroo/news-story/21ac98554487d428ffbbe3cce79c5e36[/url]

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

1/30/21 10:56 AM

Link does not work for me.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

1/30/21 11:12 AM

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/queensland-cyclist-crashes-into-kangaroo/news-story/21ac98554487d428ffbbe3cce79c5e36

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

1/30/21 11:55 AM

Talk about hit and run....

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

1/30/21 1:46 PM

Guuna guess not too uncommon a story down that way.

I have come too close to deer a few times. Luckly I come upon them rather than a surprise from the side. But did not know what a cornered deer might do, like trample me, or trample over me bolting off..

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lrzipris
Joined: 04 Mar 2004
Posts: 532
Location: Doylestown, PA

1/31/21 1:23 PM

That's one scary video. That cyclist was fortunate to escape with the injuries she did receive.

The only experience I've ever had like that was years ago, when on a club ride where a deer sprang out of the bushes and leapt over the rider at the front. He was lucky it could jump as high as it did, otherwise . . . .

Also years ago, when I led a lot of club rides, I always did a little "cautions and protocols" for the sake of the novices and less-experienced riders, and I would usually say something about watching out for deer.

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KerryIrons
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 3234
Location: Midland, MI

2/2/21 11:03 AM

Cats

We had a cat come screeching out of the underbrush, hit a low-spoke-count rear wheel and be catapulted right over the pace line, only to shoot back into the bushes. Don't know how the cat turned out but nobody went down. I wasn't on the ride where a deer shot out and took down a tandem.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

2/2/21 11:36 AM

Then there was the squirrel that slammed into the side of my rear zipp 404 one time.

A low profile rim scooping him into the rear end, I can't help but think might have ended quite differently.

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lrzipris
Joined: 04 Mar 2004
Posts: 532
Location: Doylestown, PA

2/3/21 12:59 PM

"There goes dinner."

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Nick Payne
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 2625
Location: Canberra, Australia

2/6/21 3:49 AM

Yeah, kangaroos are really erratic - they can change direction very suddenly. Whenever I see a roo anywhere close to the road or path I'm on, I slow right down, and even so I've had several close calls where the animal suddenly makes a 90 or 180 degree change in direction. Two or three of my cycling friends have suffered broken bones after colliding with roos and falling.

About five years back, Volvo engineers working on the animal avoidance detection systems for their vehicles spent quite a while at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve just outside Canberra, filming kangaroos in an attempt to build kangaroo avoidance into these systems, but I don't know that they have had much success as yet: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/engineers-testing-volvo-s-driverless-technology-have-hit-a-problem-kangaroos/

I have twice unavoidably run over dogs that came roaring out of backyards in full anti-cyclist mode, and amazingly managed to stay upright both times. Luckily for me they were both small dogs.

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PLee
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 3712
Location: Brooklyn, NY

2/6/21 7:57 AM

I had a pigeon fly into my crankset. Much noise, many flying feathers, bird flew off . . .

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

2/6/21 8:55 AM

Back in the '70s, we used to get chased by dogs all the time. Fortunately, that problem no longer exists and I can't remember the last time it happened. Leash laws apparently work.

OTOH, I've been attack by a goose, twice. They're a real menace when they have young they're trying to protect. Turkeys are everywhere now, but I've haven't found them to be aggressive.

The majority of close encounters these days are on bike paths that I occasionally use, because they're narrow and typically bordered by woods and wetlands. There's been lots of near-misses with chipmunks and squirrels, but no injuries or fatalities. I've occasionally seen skunks, deer, turtles, snakes and even porcupines. No kangaroos, however...

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

2/6/21 12:33 PM

"Back in the '70s, we used to get chased by dogs all the time."

When in TN, we were SW from NashVegas @ 20 miles and would ride out along farms etc.

Exactly as depicted long before I saw Marcus and David in American Flyers and the Eddie training surprise sprint, this was a common occurrence.

I always got away from the dogs sooner/faster knowing where they resided, etc.

It was a fun aspect of inviting folks out to the boonies to ride...

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

2/6/21 1:01 PM

Leash laws etc

I don’t think it’s leash laws per se, but a cultural change regarding dogs (and other things). When I was growing up, and even when I was in law school and then came to Maine in 1980, I let my dogs run loose - everyone did. Now almost no one does. May be similar to kids that now go to camps and leagues and don’t play pickup sports.

I got bit by a dog while riding in the ‘70s, I was impressed that the dog got my leg in mid pedal stroke. Not at all serious. Now in rural areas occasionally a young dog will run after me, but it’s just to run, no malicious intent. I double back or sprint to shake them not because I’m afraid, but because I don’t want to lead them miles away from home.

I ran over a chipmunk once but otherwise don’t recall wildlife encounters on the bike. Off the bike years ago we had a Goshawk family nesting in the woods and Mama dive bombed me every time I went out the back gate, putting me flat on the ground 4x.

I have no doubt that many of the dogs I’ve had would have chased bikes if they had a chance. Once our first greyhound took off after a snowmobile on the frozen river. Fortunately I was able to call him off, though I remain a bit curious what would have happened when (not if) he caught it.

I guess Parkin had a NYC wildlife encounter....

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

2/6/21 2:16 PM

Leash laws in TN 20 miles west of the city, right...

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

2/6/21 5:46 PM

Dan's probably right about the change in attitude, which may have been driven at least partially by people being arrested and/or sued when they dogs attacked cyclists and pedestrians. Now it seems everyone either has fences, electronic fences or they only walk their dogs on a leash, except at dog parks and other gathering places for dog owners where the animals are expected to run free.

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Andy M-S
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3377
Location: Hamden (greater New Haven) CT

2/8/21 3:05 PM

Oh, Deer!

Fifteen years or so ago I was commuting home in the Wisconsin winter when three deer leapt onto the paved trail just ahead of me, heading the same direction as me but going full-tilt.

I had studded tires, and was very glad to have them--otherwise, my startle reflex would have left me scattered across the trail.

Smallish critters I can deal with (save skunks), but I'm really wary of hitting or being hit by something bigger than I am.

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Matthew Currie
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 800
Location: Vermont

2/8/21 9:15 PM

I also almost hit a deer once here in Vermont. Fortunately the road was dry and the brakes worked. Kind of startling, though.

No dog restraint laws out here. My wife, one son, and I have all been bitten at one time or another, and all by dogs that "never bite."

Some years ago some people down the road had a dog which loved to chase, but fortunately did not bite. But to confuse things, the kids, when home, would call the dog off. The problem: his name was "Sic-em."

A little further down the road, though, there was a border collie that sometimes got loose. It would come flying up after me at lightning speed. I first thought I was going to be toast, but the dog, it turned out, just liked to race. The first time this happened, I poured on the speed, and the poor thing practically blew a fuse trying to get past. He finally did, then veered across in front of me, and lay down under a tree, panting. After that, I slacked off a little, so he could win without so much stress.

I don't ride on the road any more, and the border collie died. The rest will have to get their meat elsewhere.

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