A Close Encounter of the Deer Kind

We had been enjoying beautiful fall weather. Crisp and clear with mild temps. Everyone hated to see the weekend coming to a close. But, we all had to go back to work the next day.

So Foxace and I reluctantly loaded up the scooters for our trip back to eastern Pennsylvania from upstate New York. We so enjoyed visiting M4 out in the woods, that it was often difficult to leave serenity behind and head back into the rat race.

We knew we would have to be very careful on the road from M4's to the highway. Deer. They were everywhere. Especially in the woods of upstate New York along the Hudson River.

Foxace led the way down the gravel drive to the dirt road that would take us two miles to the paved road. Surprisingly, we did not see one deer the entire length of that road. It was quite normal to spot three or four at any given time. But, none were to be seen on this Sunday morning.

We reached the paved road and headed south on NY 9D, across the Bear Mountain Bridge toward the Palisades Parkway. South to the New Jersey Turnpike?

But, wait, Foxace has decided this day is too glorious to waste and we are off on an adventure. After a while, tracking west and south on New York back roads, we find ourselves on New Jersey route 519. This is one of our favorite roads.

Traffic was light as we settled into the familiar sites along NJ 519. We were one with the motorcycles and the earth. We had planned to stop for lunch but, as often happens on holiday weekends on the east coast, our favorite watering hole was closed. The day was still lovely and crisp clean air washed over our faces as we continued southward.

Then, near Milford, NJ, I saw something moving up ahead on the left side of the road. As I slowed to a stop the scene before me moved into slow motion. Since I was some distance back from Foxace, I was able to take in the entire scene without getting involved in it. I realized instantly I was witnessing my worst nightmare.

Suddenly there were seven deer crossing the road. The first three completed their crossing safely. The fourth one, a yearling, was the smallest of the group. She stopped in the middle of the road. Startled into a frozen statue as Foxace and his FXR came at her. Three others stood just on the pavement to the left, not sure what they should do next.

Foxace had slowed his scooter down substantially from about 50mph to close to 15mph. and had begun to maneuver his bike in such a way that, if the deer held her position, would carry him safely past her.

Meanwhile, I had gotten my Sporty stopped by the side of the road.

You know that deer did NOT stand still!

Just as Foxace maneuvered the front wheel past her front legs she jumped.

The result of that jump, in which she clipped the front tire of the FXR with one of her front legs, was a terrible thud of steel on flesh. The scooter went to the right side of the road. Foxace went in the opposite direction, landing in the middle of the road, I saw him rolling off the pavement into the ditch as I started to dismount.

The poor deer landed five feet in front of me. When she saw she had landed in front of another monster, a look of pure terror swept over her face. In spite of the fact that she must have been badly injured, she could not get up fast enough. As soon as she found her feet she was up the embankment and into the woods, never to be seen again.

Meanwhile, there were deer everywhere. One almost ran into me as I raced across the road to check on Foxace.

He was up on his feet in no time, racing to his scooter. We got the FXR up on the kickstand and surveyed the damages.

Thankfully, Foxace was not injured except for a little road rash on his chaps & jacket. The scooter was, at least, in driveable condition. The windshield was badly cracked. The left mirror was gone. The clutch housing was shattered. The gear shift was bent. Foxace was able to coax the FXR into third gear and drive home without benefit of shifting.

The sun was beginning to set, and the air was cooling quickly as we limped the remaining 30 miles home. It was nearly dark by the time we arrived and I was grateful I had my electrics on.

Foxace was scheduled to be on the road for the remainder of the week. He made a list of the necessary parts for repairing the FXR and handed it to me later in the evening. I would spend at least one evening collecting parts.

The following Saturday the weather was still holding crisp and clear with mild temps. Foxace and I got both scooters out of the garage for cleaning and maintenance. There was a lot of work to be done if we were going to ride Polar Bears on Sunday.

As he began to hose down the FXR Foxace noticed the frame appeared to be covered with mud that would not hose off. He got a rag to wipe the mud off the frame. He soon realized the "mud" was not mud at all. The deer had shit on the scooter when she hit the windshield!

As Foxace cleaned he noticed that the deer shit was taking the paint off the frame. Now he not only had to make repairs to the clutch housing, gear shift, and windshield, replace a mirror and make sure both fenders were straight. He also had to repaint the frame where the deer shit had eaten the paint off. Might as well repaint both fenders too.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize the FXR would be off line a bit longer than expectd.

After that, Foxace and the FXR were called "deer slayer". We know the young deer most likely did not survive the night. She must have had some very bad internal injuries and probably a broken leg.

After all was said and done we were able to laugh at this one. Grateful it had not been any worse than it was.

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