Careful, it's deer thirty out there

[VStarRider]

I have friends who are veteran hunters and I am on the phone with them every other day starting late September to see if they are witnessing signs of the rut. When the bucks start scraping the trees, it's on.

At that point, no more commuting to work on the bike. The Forester goes on full-time duty. I still do day rides on weekends, or if I go into work late and its a nice day, I will ride...otherwise, I am done.

I've only had one close call with a deer. Last summer, middle of the day, not totally paying attention on a rural county road...there was a doe with two young fawns right in front of me. Slammed on the brakes, got some chirping from the tires and the big girl got a little squirrely on me before I moderated the brakes. Missed mom by a few feet.

[Heatnbeat]

A couple years back I missed going down because of a deer due to inattention. I'd looked to my left at a new building and when I looked back a doe was just passing in front of me. If I'd seen her in time I'm sure I'd have gone down trying to miss her. Just dumb luck.