Bike vs. Bird at 75mph --Close Call--

[Savona]

So I'm riding up the 101 this morning past Universal City and was staying to the right to continue onto the 101 when it splits off with 170...
I start to pass a U-Haul type truck on the right, and as I reach the nose of the truck, in my peripheral vision I notice this huge (well it seemed huge) mass of pigeon body and outstretched wings plummeting toward me in the air..coming from what seemed like the windshield of the truck to the left. I had no time to adjust my position, not to mention that I was unable to anticipate where the bird was going to hit, and it was definitely about to hit me.

I was going about 75mph and figured just my luck, I'd probably take it in the face shield or get it caught in my lap. And the bird was still alive after presumably being hit by one of the vehicles to my left..I could see it struggling to gain air as it came hurdling toward me.

Turns out I caught it on my right mirror. The impact nearly broke the mirror off and twisted the bar and mirror clockwise about halfway around on itself. Because I could no longer see out of the mirror, I don't know what happened to the bird after the thump. I now have oily pigeon-feather swipe marks all over the back of my right-side mirror and have to tighten everything.
I'm sorry for the pigeon but glad I didn't take it in the face! Amazing that out of all the space on the freeway/in the air, I ended up hitting it mid-flight (or mid-floundering) with the mirror of a motorcycle.

[Padu]

A couple months ago I went through a pretty scary experience on I-805, when I saw this page of newspaper floating around the cars. When I got close to it, I though: no problem, it's down and kind of far. When the car in front of me passes through it, it takes its vacuum and goes up and right to my face. It was the 2 scariest seconds of my life... being blind at @80 mph on a car packed freeway is no fun!

[Ikazuchi]

Bah....


A few years ago I was on 680 (east SF bay area) when a plastic tarp that was crumpled up in the back of a truck flew out. I watched the thing for a second.... realized I couldn't sweve left or right (cars to each side).... and it wrapped itself across the front of my bike and body. Felt like it was going to pull me off like a big sail. Took me a few seconds to get it down off my face....then a few more to get it off my bike. That pucked up my butthole just a bit.

Of course...durring the panic I lost the truck... so nothing happened to that idiot.

[Naked_Pepsi]

Originally posted by Savona

I'm sorry for the pigeon but glad I didn't take it in the face!
That sounds like something one of my highschool girlfriends would say when reminiscing on a night of freaky sex with me. :D

[malkey]

A mate of mine got knocked of his old XJ650 when a bird hit him in the chest.

[druiid]

A harley rider I know from the mid-west hit a turkey. Those damn things are heavy... took him down and he skidded for a couple hundred feet I believe. Wrecked his bike and messed him up pretty badly as well.

[racinteach]

the other day on the 101 headed towards the twisties....a riders ultimate fear....a huge chunck of tire bouncing around the freeway ...flew off the truck in front of me..guess where it went....smack dead center of my visor.....after the ringing in my ears stopped I realized I still had a visor.....and a slight headache...

[cracked lid]

DANG! :eek:

I almost hit a huge freakin' crane this last summer. That worried me a little.

[hornet]

birds suck i have hit 5 birds a rabbit a ground hog 2 dogs and several cars 2 trucks you might say im lucky dependes how you look at it .

[quicksilver]

My roommate took a birds beak in the chest. Hurt so bad it made him cry.

[smokescreen]

One of the doctors I worked for was riding his GSXR 1000 when he thought he ran over a squirrel. A few moments later though, the squirrel came up over the windscreen, hit him in the visor, then flew off of him. In a more honest moment, I believe he admitted to screaming like a girl.