Got any good night riding stories? The best thing about riding at night in the desert, is the lack of sizable critters. It always has freaked me out at night riding up north at dark. The worst thing I can hit at night down here is a ground squirrel at best, or at worst a Javalina. Up north, a deer or an elk would have ruined my ride. Let alone, a moose. I was always a bit freaked out and conscious of that.
I had a German Sheppard charge me once, in Utah. He came out of nowhere, and I saw him coming. I sped up just enough for him to hit my engine guard (instead of my front tire, where i’d have rolled), and bounce off. The dog ran off, and I spend the next few hours trying to find the owner, but I never found him. Damn dog bent my engine guard.
I had a buddy once hit a shitzhu dog, out in the middle of nowhere Nevada. That one was weird. He just….”poofed”… and we rode on.
This last Easy Rider tour I had a deer cross right in front of me, out in the Texas Panhandle. It happened so quick, I only had a chance to drop my clutch but nothing more. I wasn’t paying attention, and to be honest I can’t spot deer for shit. It was about a 90 pound Doe, at It was the closest I’ve had to going down. My timing was good. Or the Doe’s was.
I’ve been lucky, thataway. The riding gods have always been with me, it seems.
Any stories out there?
When I loved in Montauk (NY), I’d have to ride up a steep hill to get to the main road, and the next door neighbor had two big German Shepherds that would always charge my bike as I went by… They never caught me, though, until one did one day… He got a head start and even though I gassed it, he got to my right-side footpeg, and tried to latch on but, at the speed I was going, it SMACKED him in the face and spun him around…. After that, when I went by, both dogs just sat on the side of the road, barking, but never charged the bike again…
Just like the way I usually learn. The hard way! Haha nice story
OOPS! Should have been “lived” in Mantauk… forgot to proof-read!