Hazards

When we’re out riding the country roads, we have to be aware of possible hazards….like slow moving farm tractors, with sharp blades sticking out everywhere….debris on the road….pot holes…washed out gravel from people’s driveways after rain storms…animals either running after you or darting out in front of you.

Last year, on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, a deer jumped over a fence, and at the edge of the road, it slipped & fell…right in front of us. The deer was so frightened by us and the fall that I never saw anything get up on its feet so fast, as that deer….its four legs were going in every direction and I was surprised that it didn’t get tangled up in them. But, thank God, it got onto its feet and darted away as fast as it had appeared. Many deer have jumped out in front of us, but this was by far, was the closest call we have had with deer.

Once, two very large dogs ran out in front of us, at the same time. I don’t know how we managed it, but we missed both of them. Unfortunately, there was a lot of traffic in both directions on the road and one of the dogs, as it dodged us, ran in front of a pickup truck and was injured.

Another hazard to street bikes is the bicycle rider…Not the cross-country rider, but children. We slow way down and make sure that they are aware of our presence, before we pass. The reason we put extra loud pipes on the bike was because of two teenage girls on bicycles who apparently were not paying attention, or just plain didn’t hear us approaching from behind…They suddenly turned into our path and we were forced to quickly swerve to the right and into someone’s yard. Luckily for us, there was no curb or ditch…just green flat grass.

I failed to mention that we also have to watch out for horses, Amish carriages and cars that don’t see us coming….And cars that run red lights.