Hello deer.

Kowalski675

So there I was yesterday evening, on the red route at Stainburn, when I come round a corner to find a young deer on the trail directly in front of me. He/she takes one look at me, decides that he/she doesn't like what he/she sees (cant blame him/her - I was wearing shorts) and runs off down the trail for about 20 yards, before jumping into the bushes and making his/her exit. Not every day you see that. Anyway, just thought I'd share that with the class, apropos of nothing.

He/she was faster than me (admittedly not difficult), and his/her suspension appeared to be working much better than mine too, lol...

cooldad

Er as the youngsters say, cool story bro.
I was once beaten up a hill by a cow. In my defence it was a very scary cow. With horns and stuff.

Chunkers1980

A ladyboy deer, how quaint.

Kowalski675

cooldad wrote:

Er as the youngsters say, cool story bro.
I was once beaten up a hill by a cow. In my defence it was a very scary cow. With horns and stuff.

Cows are weird. And very big.

Kowalski675

Chunkers1980 wrote:

A ladyboy deer, how quaint.

Lol. I wasn't suggesting it was a shim deer, but I wasn't looking to see what kind of genitalia it had, so it was more of a "delete as appropriate" thing...

The Rookie

cooldad wrote:

Er as the youngsters say, cool story bro.
I was once beaten up a hill by a cow.

If it was beating you, I doubt you tried hard to get away, I've heard you enjoy that sort of thing.....

Nice story, reminds me of when I came face to face with a Moose in the US 4am one morning (Jet Lag!)....now that was BIG!

cat_with_no_tail

cooldad wrote:

Er as the youngsters say, cool story bro.
I was once beaten up a hill by a cow. In my defence it was a very scary cow. With horns and stuff.

FFS, as nobody else is going to help you out here, I'll save you CD.

That sounds like bull to me.


*high-5s CD*

Ouija

Lol. Got stared down by a snake the other week while going up to Bickley gate in Dalby forest. Came round the corner to the bottom toll booth, swerved to avoid some poo and there it was, just sat in the middle of the road sunning itself. A Adder about 60cm long. Just looked at me and sidewinded itself across the road in front of me giving me the evil eye the whole way before disappearing into the grass. Seen a couple of dead ones on the road and the occasional shed skin but that was the first live one i'd seen up close.

Funny the things you see when riding. Once saw a small south American type brown bear (think Paddington) crossing in front of the toll booth exiting Dalby forest a couple years ago a few days after the circus had been in town. Just stood there and looked at me coming towards it for a few seconds and then shuffled off into the bushes.

Can't count how many deers have crossed my path. Even had a squirrel land on my head once while going under a tree and then leap down onto the path and scurry off. And even had a skink run across the road in front of me in Dalby (think snake with legs that moves in a forward direction rather than doing the sidewinder thing).

Kowalski675

I want to see your flying cat.

stubs

Skinks and Bears :shock: You need to stop sniffing the chain cleaner.

step83

Deers are pretty common here usually the little Muntjac ones go bounding across the singles tracks. Whats more dangerous is the dogs on those bloomin extending dog lead things on a reel, they really annoy me. Owner on one side of the firetrack, dog someone in the ferns on the other side and a long lead stretching across.

Kowalski675

I saw a deer the previous time I was at Stainburn too, but from maybe 30 yards away, unusual to get right up next to one like this time. Numerous pheasants there too - could make a nice game pie, lol.

Ouija

stubs wrote:

Skinks and Bears :shock: You need to stop sniffing the chain cleaner.

Once had a Kamikaze Ninja frog change gears on my bike for me. Riding round Throxenby mere ("throx" being the old anglo saxon name for "frogs", so there's a clue in the name) at the beginning of spring. At that time of year thousands of little frogs come out of the mere and sit in the middle of the road during the night for a couple of weeks. When their small, it sounds like your riding over gravel or someones sprinkled nuts all over the road. As the weeks go by they get bigger and fewer in numbers (get up early enough and you see lots and lots of squashed carcasses on the road before the birds peel them off leaving dark patches on the road). Buggers have a death wish. Soon as they see your lights coming towards them they jump straight into the path of your front wheel.

Riding over them one year one of the buggers jumped straight into the spokes of my front wheel, went round and round getting diced (bladed spokes) and then span out past my right ear.... but not before ricocheting off my right hand shifter and knocking me down a gear... bastard.

Kowalski675

I got hit on my right hand and brake lever once by a blackbird, but my Alpinestars gloves shrugged it off. Also got hit in the face at about 50mph by a sparrow sized bird once between Sedbergh and Hawes, that made a right mess, lol.

welshkev

When I ride FOD deer are pretty common. There's loads of wild boar there too but I've only seen them once. Now they're scary as fook cos they don't back down!!

97th choice

Do you lot live in the ghetto? Otherwise when did spotting woodland animals when in their natural environment become such a shock?

welshkev

97th choice wrote:

Do you lot live in the ghetto? Otherwise when did spotting woodland animals when in their natural environment become such a shock?

Well now you mention it, pontypool is a bit of a shite hole

Kowalski675

97th choice wrote:

Do you lot live in the ghetto? Otherwise when did spotting woodland animals when in their natural environment become such a shock?

It wasn't a shock. Like I said, I'd seen a deer there the previous time, but it's rare that you get within arms length of such timid wildlife.

paulneenan76

Once met a shire horse halfway up a bridleway on one of our Thursday night rides. Bloody huge and was as suprised to meet us as we were to see it. Badgers aren't scared of getting in your way and like to run in front of you - Horrible things - but Ive been lucky they've not turned and gone for me - by all account they're violent little f*kkers.
Woburn deer park is a very unnurving experience at night as you can hear them running either aside of the road but can't see em until they cross your line if sight, leading to a sudden bowel movement!

Kowalski675

I ran over a huge badger once. Made a right bang and lifted the corner of my car up, but when I got out to look there was no sign of it.

Richie63

Kowalski675 wrote:

I ran over a huge badger once. Made a right bang and lifted the corner of my car up, but when I got out to look there was no sign of it.

Quite hard to miss a car you've just exited I would imagine. You on something?

step83

paulneenan76 wrote:

Once met a shire horse halfway up a bridleway on one of our Thursday night rides. Bloody huge and was as suprised to meet us as we were to see it. Badgers aren't scared of getting in your way and like to run in front of you - Horrible things - but Ive been lucky they've not turned and gone for me - by all account they're violent little f*kkers.
Woburn deer park is a very unnurving experience at night as you can hear them running either aside of the road but can't see em until they cross your line if sight, leading to a sudden bowel movement!

An those are the big ones with antlers an crap, im worried driving my car past there at night let alone riding it

YeehaaMcgee

Cat With No Tail wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Er as the youngsters say, cool story bro.
I was once beaten up a hill by a cow. In my defence it was a very scary cow. With horns and stuff.

FFS, as nobody else is going to help you out here, I'll save you CD.

That sounds like bull to me.


*high-5s CD*

Bloody city types. Cows have horns too, you know

cooldad

I thought sheeps were your speciality.

YeehaaMcgee

Any livestock, frankly.

BloggingFit

Plenty of Muntjac my way and always end up chasing a couple down single track on most rides. Stags are out and about too and they tend not to move away so much. Occassionally get cows out for grazing on a few of my routes which gets interesting at times.

Northwind

It's the woozles I worry about

UncleMonty

About this time last summer I was riding into work one morning, I took my usual shortcut through the back of a business park over some lightly wooded fields down towards a level crossing. Halfway down I spook two deer in the field to my left, they bolt and make off for some cover, problem is the the railway embankment is about 300m ahead and the safety of the woods is over to my right.

I'm going at a fair speed by now and they're bounding through the wast high grass just 20m to my left, not sure what type of deer they were but they could really move with massively long strides taking them way above the tall grass, they run with me for a while pull clear then cut over the track ahead of me and then they're gone.

I never seen wild deer like this before and felt privileged to experience this, it felt more like the Serengeti than the outskirts of Leeds.

batmo

I almost went base-over-apex once when a pair of rabbits having a scrap barrelled into my front wheel, completely oblivious to my presence.

paulbingham

Last tuesday, riding round Thetford forest on fire road 12 with my daughter she started crying. I stopped thinking she'd fallen off her bike, only to see her still sat in the saddle, just slowing down. Asked her what was wrong....

she repllied "I just ran over a snake and think i killed it!!"

Didnt belive her, so peddled back a bit, expecting to see a large twigg... Nope!! it was a very long Adder. Went to take a photo as proof and bloody thing kept hissing at me. Not sure if it was unhappy about its photo being taken or pissed at being run over by a 12yr old ona MTB.

As for my daughter, she wasnt worried about being bitten by it, just very worried she'd killed it!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/squiretwizz/9077800465/

Oh and seen plenty of deer, includinh the odd white one, round Thetty!.

Grovsie29

Plenty of deer on Cannock Chase. The FC reckon there is around 850.