Riding When Animals Are About

I was talking with a ride buddy the other day, recounting stories of the open road, and we got to comparing our ‟near misses”. In my 20+ years riding, I've managed to have a few.

I'm happy to say none of them has resulted in my being ‟offed” but I think that's more luck than judgement. Either way, I thought I'd share some of the things I've done that managed to get me out of what might have been quite literally sticky situations.

Preparedness

The best way to deal with any animal running out in front of you is to be constantly mindful of the possibility. For example, what environment are you riding in? What animals might you expect? What time of day is it?

Like any time you're out riding, you need to be looking up and constantly seeing what is ahead of you. What do the road signs say? Is one bush moving more than another, or at least more than the breeze? Are there any roadkills on the pavement?

You also need to be relaxed. If you're constantly panicked, you're likely to tire out quickly which will reduce your reaction times. Not only that, but gripping the controls too tightly will reduce your control of the bike.

Small Critters

In my experience, if the critter is small - say smaller than a cat - the best thing to do is pretend that it's not there. I think I've managed to hit a chipmunk or two in my time and can honestly say I didn't feel a thing beyond a slight bump. While it's hard not to panic when Chip or Dale rushes out in front of you, it's far better than trying to lift your bike out of the ditch.

If this happens, the best bet is keep your head, stay straight and keep going

• don't gas it and don't brake. Chances are, that little creature is way more scared of you and will get out of your way and if not, you can always clean your tread off later.

Deer

In my experience, deer are the ones you're most likely to encounter, especially if you ride near woodland. Though generally more active at dusk, I've encountered them in the dead of night and during the day.

Deer generally are unpredictable. You're most likely to see them on the edge of woodland, watching you. As you get closer, they'll spook and head in any direction, including straight at you.

Your best option again is to keep a constant throttle and don't change direction. Don't look at the deer, but instead watch it in your peripheral vision. If it starts to move, you can steal a quick glance. If it's headed in your direction, I'd recommend either an emergency stop, or gassing it.

The last time I encountered a deer was out in the sticks very late at night. I didn't see much of it until I saw the eye shine about 20 feet away. I think it bolted as my then ride-companion rode past and was coming straight at me. With no time to react, I somehow managed to slip the clutch and gun the engine. As I was on a Harley, the engine hitting the limiter produced quite a powerful noise and the deer turned tail and fled with what looked about the same amount of fear it had provoked in me.

Bears

Nowhere near as common as deer, I've only encountered bear on a couple of occasions. In both cases, it was a bear sat in the road.

If this happens to you, there's two real options. Go back the way you came or proceed with caution. Slow right down and give the bear a wide berth. Better yet, stop altogether at least 100 feet away and take a photo. But leave the engine running just in case you need to make a quick getaway.

Horses

More common in well to do areas, horses aren't really a wild animal per se, they're just a nuisance. They alway seem to be just around a corner, at least when I'm riding.

Unless they're incredibly well trained, they also tend to spook easily. It's a good reason to not pretend to be Randy Mamola, at least in populated rural areas. Like bears, slow down and give them a wide berth.

Most horse riders will give you a wave in return, but get too close any they only wave with one finger.

Livestock

Obviously, this is most common around farms, though you'll encounter two types

• the flock and the escapee.

The escapee is the worst, as a single cow or sheep is likely scared and unpredictable. Take it slow and easy.

Flocks on the other hand are much easier. Because farmers generally think they own everything they can see, they've no qualms about taking up the entire road and blocking any progress you were about to make. As such, sit still, turn the engine off and take in the heady aroma of all the animal ordure.

Moose

These are the worst. I've only ever encountered two of them, and one was dead.

An early morning jaunt through the algonquin one morning saw me run across a tractor trailer that had hit a moose. The big rig sat the one side the road with a large dent in it. The moose carcass sat in a pool of blood that covered the road. All of this was being guarded by a cop that was doing his best not to retch. Suffice to say, riding through blood is slippy…

The second time was worse. It was a different day and very early in the morning, but in the same part of the world as the other moose. As I was riding along merrily, thinking how fantastic it was that there was not other traffic out, I saw a movement to my right. Not 20 feet away, a moose had broken cover and was running alongside me and worse, starting to head my way.

Normally, I'd advocate constant speed, but in this case as the moose was already along side me, that would just prolong things. Instead, I pinned it.

A couple of minutes later, the needle dropped back below 160, as did my heart rate. Luckily, Moose cannot accelerate so quickly.

Everything Else

Alligators, Camels, Kangaroos, kids - It all depends on where you ride, I guess. There's so many potential animal hazards out there, you might question why on earth you ride a motorcycle in the first place.

If that's you, remember that such encounters do remain rare. The above constitutes almost my entire experience with animals on the road during a 20 year riding career.

The other thing to remember is stay calm and that you are in control. I've heard some riders advocate ‟laying it down” rather than hitting something, but if you have the forethought to deliberately crash your bike in such a situation, you've almost certainly got enough skill to ride out of it too. Either way, nothing will serve you better than good all-round riding awareness.