Close encounters of the deer kind

Deer pose a constant threat to motorcycle riders here in Southwestern Virginia (and to cars as well). Robert Pauley, a veteran biker, was killed last year when he hit a deer near Riner. I know others who have had close encounters with the four-footed road blocks and I've had to break or swerve more than once in recent weeks.

But Saturday night brought my closest call yet. Heading home after listening to music at the Floyd County Store, I had just passed over the bridge near Ray's Restaurant on U.S. 221 north of Floyd when I saw a doe standing on the side of the road right across from the entrance to Great Oaks Country Club. I braked and slowed from 50 miles per hour to about 20.  As I neared the intersection, the doe darted into the road. I swerved to the right and into the entrance road to the golf club.

Everything went fine until I hit the grass that surrounds the planter in the center of the entrance road. The wheels lost traction on the wet grass and the bike went down, trapping me between the bike and the planter. At the time, I had slowed to maybe five miles per hour but my left leg was pinned beneath the bike with my ankle caught between the left side foot peg and the shifter.

Several cars passed as I tried to free myself from the downed bike but I was mostly hidden behind the planter on the entrance road. I was reaching for my cell phone to call for help when a couple in a pickup truck stopped. They had spotted me while driving northbound on U.S. 221 and turned around and also called the State Police for help. They managed to lift the bike off my leg and I crawled free.

We righted the bike on the kickstand as Trooper Keith Gregory arrived. My ankle and knee throbbed from being pinned but I was able to walk it off. Gregory and I inspected the bike and nothing appeared bent or broken. He followed me the short distance to Ray's and I used their rest room to clean up before climbing back on the bike and heading home. Once in the garage, I checked the bike over and found nothing bent, scratched or broken. My only injury was a scrape on my left leg, caused either by a rock in the grass or the edge of the planter. My leg may brushed it when the bike went down.

Unfotunately, I did not get the name of the couple who stopped. I wish I had.

I was lucky. Others who have encountered deer or other animals on the highway have not been so.

Let's be careful out there.