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weirdest thing you've almost hit in roadway

18K views 152 replies 135 participants last post by  LoadToad1A7 
#1 ·
Whats the weirdest thing you've almost hit on your bike while riding? If you've never almost hit a snapping turtle I'm one up on you! I was riding down a county highway today and the road is in bad shape. Several potholes patched with hot mix which of course is a dark black. The rest of the highway is a light gray. I was tooling along at about 70 when I decided to start dodging some of these patches because of the rough ride. I came to a low spot where water was on both sides and I dodged a pothole. Except this pothole moved! It was a snapping turtle about 18 to 20 inches in diameter. The movement was his head being pulled back in his shell. I missed him by about a foot with my front tire. His shell mustve stuck up about a foot. I think I might have went for a hell of a ride had I run over him.
 
#2 ·
Great question that I've considered asking on the forum as well. Except I would have asked what's the weirdest thing you DID hit?

For me, I'd say a turkey buzzard that was chowing down on some center lane road kill. Really close call, I braced for impact and had to duck. Missed my melon by a couple of inches. Those birds are HUGE!

Weirdest thing I DID hit was a dead deer in the center lane in Fredericksburg, Texas- in the dark. I was doing 50 and didn't see it until it was too late, felt like I hit a curb. Was pleasantly amazed that my front wheel didn't get bent.
 
#102 ·
A buzzard for me as well, I rounded a 90 degree bend in the road, started to accelerate and the bird took off and flew right across my path, hit the left side of the fairing bounced up and missed my head by a few inches and flew 20 feet. My buddy couldn't stop laughing, I escaped with a few feathers stuck between the fairing and windscreen!!
 
#4 ·
Wasn't me but the wife was in the lead on her sportbike on the way back to Fontana Dam after running Deal's Gap and a damn fox was in the middle of our lane. She braked hard and got on the horn but the bastard still didn't get out of the way. We slowed from 65 almost down to nothing and finally swerved around it. Thing had teeth out and everything. A 20lb fox stared down 1000 lbs of motorcycle and won. lol
 
#5 ·
Had two birdstrikes, but the worst near-miss was on a 3-laner in Germany. Was riding through a forest when a deer darted out of the woods, turned, and ran next to my bike for about 30 yards. I was on the brakes, staring at him looking back at me the whole time. The deer l then ran into the trees. A German driver, watching the whole thing from behind me, was laughing his a$$ off after we stopped.
 
#6 ·
I also just missed a snapping turtle by inches a few years back. I was following the truck in front of me to closely and all of a sudden there it was. And just this past Sunday had a bird fly across and hit the bottom of my foot.
 
#8 ·
I had a great Dane pop out from the side of a house on a residential neighborhood street. I was only doing 30 MPH but was it ever BIG and heading straight for me. About 5 yards away from me it tore off in the other direction. It must have mistook me for its chew toy. :)
 
#10 ·
Years ago when I had my Springer the wife and I were returning home on I10 doing about 80mph when a JackRabbit crossed my path. It was like hitting a speed bump at 80. It kicked the back tire about 2 feet in the air.
 
#32 ·
This just happened to a sport bike rider hear in Md a couple of months ago. He went to pass a car on the shoulder andthebuzzard took off and hit him inthe chest causing him to loose control and strike a tree. He didnt make it such a freak accident.
 
#14 ·
Hit a seagull with my face while wearing a open helmet on my old bike!! :eek:
Now its either a bike with a windshield or a full face helmet!!

Close calls have been the usual tires, landscaping tools, assorted car parts, etc.

Im subscribing to this thread though:D
 
#17 ·
2 weeks ago we were crossing Push Mountain near Mountain Home, AR late on a Friday afternoon when we came around a curve to find a stick in our lane from white line almost to the yellow line. I swerved into the other lane to miss it and the thing coiled up! Turns out it was a huge timber rattler! Man was I glad I decided to try to miss it rather than just run over it. Thank goodness there wasn't any oncoming traffic !
 
#23 ·
Weirdest thing that I've almost hit was a couch....as in living room sofa! We were riding home with our neighbors late at night(and late in our riding season, as it was actually dark out), I was packing my wife, and in the lead, and Greg was packing his. We were on a very dark stretch of highway, and no traffic in sight. For whatever reason, my little voice said "move into the left lane" which I did, and fortunately Greg followed my lead. We crested a rise in the road, and we zoomed by a friggin' couch smack in the middle of the right lane! Around the bend was a pickup truck, tailgate down, backing up the shoulder of the highway, to go retreive the couch, that the idiots obviously hadn't tied down.

Never doubt the little voice in your head!

Jeff
 
#24 ·
I hit firewood on the 2nd day of owning my glide. Scared the hell out of me. Good thing it was only a block from the beer stop, i needed it.
 
#26 ·
Almost hit a case of Bud Light. I was in northwest Kansas on a two lane when I noticed a pickup truck a good ways ahead pull onto the highway. Something caught the sun and flashed real bright. I cancelled the cruise control just to be on the safe side and as I got closer I noticed a box in the middle of the road. I moved over to the right and got my feet sprayed with beer by leaking cans as I passed by. I thought about stopping to see if it was cold beer, but did not since I still had 400 miles of riding to do. :D
 
#27 ·
The weirdest thing I've ever hit was a guinea fowl on the way to the Blue Ridge parkway a few years ago. Was riding down the SR 421 headed west/north and a group or Guinea Fowl were on the side of the road. I could not change lanes and when I passed them two ran in front of the bike. You guessed it feathers everywhere. I was still finding feathers a week later.
 
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