Beware of Bambies on Palomares Rd

[boardstrapd]

Yesterday around 7pm I got up close and personal with Bambi on Palomares Rd. This was my 2nd time going down Palomares, my 1st being a newbie group ride 2 weekends ago. Speed limit on Palomares is only 25-35mph, and being a newb I told myself before the ride I'd limit myself to 40mph at the most, which I did.

I was heading north, throttling up out of a right curve about 2 miles from Niles Canyon, into a short straight stretch where there's the bottom side of a hill on the left, and a 10-15 foot angled dropoff on the right. All of a sudden a mid-size deer appears along the right side ahead of me. Of all things Bambi could've done, she stepped out right onto the road.

I'm guessing I was doing about 35-40 when I hit her. I can still vividly remember seeing her face right on my windscreen... I'd probably be able to pick her out of a lineup. Not sure what exactly happened next. All I remember is the tumbling along the road that seemed to last for an eternity.

Fortunate for me, the road wasn't busy at all. The cager behind me, who was driving a safe distance from me, stopped, helped get my bike up and out of the way, directed traffic around us, and made sure I was ok. Full leathers, gloves, and helmet did their job! Other than bruises and soreness, all my joints are ok. Nothing broken. Phew! Damage was mainly bodywork, as I was able to ride back to Niles Canyon to call for a tow.

So I've learned a valuable lesson about riding in the canyons. Never take those deer or animal crossing signs for granted. While I wasn't going at break-neck squidly speeds, this could have been prevented had I slowed down and become extra cautious while going down an unfamiliar stretch of road. I remember I first saw the deer running along the side of the road and was thinking 'Hey look... a deer!'... when I should have slowed down/stopped immediately, expecting the deer to become a hazard. That precious second or 2 could have been used to make an emergency stop. Of course there could be situations where you have a cager on your ass, but you should always be looking out for potential hazards no matter what. Hopefully this serves as a reminder to us all to take extra caution when in areas that Disney characters live.

Oh, the deer was ok. Cager told me she ran off. Can't blame her for just doing her thing, acting like, well, an animal. Hope she's ok.

Now I've got to deal with getting an estimate, insurance, yada yada, but I'm very thankful to be ok! I've only been riding for 2 months, but this in no way is going to stop me from riding. Too much fun, and I'm still standing, so as soon as I'm able and my bike or new one is available, I'll be riding again.


You can see the damage on myspace: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=135612&albumId=1614951

[Nemo Brinker]

You came out well for hitting Bambi--congratulations. Glad you were geared up! Get checked out by a doc, too, just in case something happened that you can't feel yet. Pain can peak up to a week after the wreck, in my experience.

Go to Alanrider for the crash estimate. Good luck getting riding again soon.

[PorradaVFR]

Indeed. Deer cause more deaths than ANY other animal precisely due to vehicle accidents. Glad you rode away.

I've had one almost-too-close deer interaction on Pescadero, fortunately I guessed LEFT and deer went RIGHT and we passed within inches of each other. I hope to not ever repeat the experience - I'm still picking foam bits out of my underoos. :)

[KennyMonster]

As I just recently learned in Proficient Motorcycling (if you haven't read it yet, read it!), dear will usually jump forward in the direction they are facing first even if that is right in front of a car. They also tend to get scared by proximity rather than sight or sound.

Glad you are ok. I just rode Palomares tonight, and I didn't even have deer on my mind... though apparently I should have.

[cvcruiser]

Riding rewood near the willow park golf course, I almost ran into 2 big turkeys. They where walking across and right before I was going to plow into 1 of them they finally said screw this a flew off the road. Good thing as I was heavy on the brakes and couldnt steer.:troy

[lumpia]

Damn dude, sorry to hear about the crash! You should save the insurance claim and streetfighter it:teeth

I'll hit you up tomorrow...

[jleone]

Wow that ferring damage is pretty extensive. Nice to hear both of you walked away from the event.

[OtoHNS]

Originally posted by cvcruiser
Riding rewood near the willow park golf course, I almost ran into 2 big turkeys. They where walking across and right before I was going to plow into 1 of them they finally said screw this a flew off the road. Good thing as I was heavy on the brakes and couldnt steer.:troy

I was at Redwood earlier this week and saw a deer stopped dead center of my lane about a mile north of the golf course. It wasn't a close call but was a good reminder why the public roads are public roads.

[4tuneit1]

DEER GORE PICS--

Warning pretty graphic

http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?threadid=777869&perpage=21&pagenumber=1

[sinncere]

Originally posted by lumpia
Damn dude, sorry to hear about the crash! You should save the insurance claim and streetfighter it:teeth



+1 :thumbup

[boardstrapd]

I've been seriously considering street fightin it, but I eventually want to hit the track later... plus she's so damn sexy with the plastics! I'm having my bike checked out by Evolution Suspension this weekend. Luckily there are some matching used body parts on eBay right now. As long as the frame is straight, I'll try getting her back to normal, either w/out a payout to keep the title clean, or as a salvaged buy-back. Gotta see what Geico is gonna offer before making that decision. Or I may give her up fully and scoop up an orange tribal 600RR that's been the apple of my eye as of late...

[NorCal Factory]

Glad to hear you are allright. I swear by the electronic deer whistles. http://www.xp3hornet.com/ has them. I have turned on the whistle and seen deer 150' away look at me instantly.

Since deer are pretty stupid it's no guarantee that if they hear you they will stay out of your way.

I have ridden iin serious deer country for years with no incidents and figure any help is good.

Give it a shot.

[uraniaclio]

Yeah....hitting deer sucks. Your best bet is to be aware of time/season/place and ride at a chill pace. My deer strike made me a much better rider because it scared the living daylight out of me. I keep thinking how I could have reacted differently and I don't have an answer. That finally slowed me down.

:thumbup and get back on the saddle. +1 on getting yourself checked out y a doc.

[Christieland]

Yet another reason to not ride Palomares if your skills are taking you beyond your line of sight. I enjoyed riding it when I was a less experienced rider, because at the speeds I was going I still felt I had enough margin for error to deal with deer and cars popping out of driveways.

But now, I will not ever let it rip on a road like Palomares where there are homes and driveways lining the road. Way too dangerous. That's when bikers get killed, when a car pops out of its driveway and you're having a spirited Sunday run in the east bay, going too fast to slow down for the new obstacle in the road.

A shame, because the turns and scenery there are awfully nice.

Glad you and the deer are okay!

[afm199]

I love Palomares, but I take it easy, deer are a consideration.

Five years ago I hit a deer on Mines Road on my B12. Over the bars at 80 mph, destroyed my helmet, jacket, riding pants, gloves, boots and day. I walked away with a sore knee ( hit the bars on the way over them) and a hematoma on that leg from ankle to my wee wee. I limped for a year after that , but that was it. My bike was totaled ( $12k damage and counting on a KBB $5k bike).

That was the last time I have gone balls out on the back roads.