Killed a Turkey

[JWR]

We met up for a Sunday morning breakfast ride today.
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Here are the riders steeds, a 1400 Kaw, 1200 Kaw, 1000 Honda, my 800 PC, and the Black ZO6 Corvette in the background.

The 2002 Corvette started life at 405 HP, after a few mods, it is now 590 at the rear wheels.

We left the Dragon, hit the Cherohala Skyway.
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About 10 miles down the mountain we scared up a few turkeys, the last one didn't make it.
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You can see the slide marks on the left side.

A good day of riding and fall weather.

Oh yeah, the Corvette owner had a blast going with us.

Hope everyone had a great day.

Jerry

[BusyWeb]

Thanks...for sharing.
Is it still FALL at there TN?
Looks a very nice day to ride.....(don't feel cold temperature by seeing photos???)

[JWR]

We had 73 degree temps Saturday and Sunday.

Cooling off this week, in the 50,s most of the week, and wet.

Jerry

[Easy Rider]

About 10 miles down the mountain we scared up a few turkeys, the last one didn't make it.

Which is precisely why I will never take a bike out on the road without a decent sized windshield.

Rocks, blackbirds, and pigeons are bad enough; I suspect a turkey directly to the head (or even the chest) at 50 MPH would make for a VERY bad accident. :cry:

[JWR]

Yeah Easy, that would have a good hit without that shield,(we were doing a wee bit more than 50ish) I did have time to duck my head.

[bonehead]

A buddy of mine, years back, hit a deer and it really messed him up. Long rehab time. Just gotta be ready for anything, I guess.

[Sarris]

Buzzards are the worst here. If they don't hit you (they can weigh 25+ lbs.), they crap when scared and flying off.

Buzzard shit will take the paint off your bike if you don't get it off quick.

Don't ask how I know!

:skull:

[dhgeyer]

Did you bring it home to the little lady to pluck and freeze for Thanksgiving? We have a whole flock of them in our neighborhood. They walk around our garden like they own it. Swear I'm a'gonna git me one for the holidays. Easy head shot with my .22.

[JWR]

After I caught my breath and was happy nothing bad happened, I was to far down the road.

I was glad there was no blood or guts.

Things like this is good to keep the old blood pumping. I guess this is why I don't mind riding in the rain or wind???


Jerry

[alanmcorcoran]

I bounced a hummingbird off my helmet a few months after I got the GZ. The things are like giant bees, but it startled the crap of me. It happened so fast that I didn't have time to panic and do something stupid (like crash!)

I've since had various forms of road trash blow across my path that I've run directly over, mostly paper, cardboard or plastic, but one was metal. They trained us on running over things and swerving in the MSF class - I guess I mostly just learned how to run stuff over. When I hit the metal thing I had visions of my tire blowing. I took a look at it afterwards and couldn't see any obvious cuts, but who knows.

There is all kinds of non-living crap wafting around on the freeways out here. I HAVE swerved around suitcases, clothing, shoes, furniture and semi-tire treads and I've seen rakes, ladders, and mattresses in adjoining lanes. I really don't want to attempt to jump someone's Perfect Sleeper at 75 mph for my first stunt on the Strat.

When I went to Monterey last September, towards the end of the Big Sur section, three deer ran across the road in front of me, but they were far enough ahead that I saw them with enough time to slow down.

So far, no turkeys.

[dhgeyer]

I was on a nostalgia visit to the village I grew up in (East Aurora, NY) back in 2004. I was cruising up Lawrence Ave real slow (thank God) looking for a house some family friends lived in in the 50's and 60's. It was right at dusk, and I was crawling, trying to see house numbers and features. There was a line of pine trees that came right out to the road. A deer had jumped from behind those trees, probably 15 feet back from the road or so, and actually descended into the road directly in front of me. If I'd been going faster I'd have hit it for sure. Since then, I try to avoid riding at night. Larry Grodski, one of the most respected motorcycle trainers in the USA was killed by a deer strike a couple of years back. Also, in the latest issue of Motorcycle Consumer News there's a recap of the 2009 Iron Butt Rally. There were 101 entrants. The winner did 12,000 miles in 11 days! They had 1 fatality - a deer strike. My daughter hit one with the car here in town this Summer. They come out of the brush or trees so fast, all the training and skill in the world won't save you. They're nocturnal, so I'll stick to the car at night if at all possible.

I've hit small birds, not too much of an event. I was doing 70 or so on the NY State Thruway a few years ago and a hummingbird splattered all over my faceshield - just like a big bug. I had a little trouble seeing through the remains till I got pulled over and cleaned it up. A crow tangled with my right crash bar when I was doing 40 or so riding down along the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 2005. Must have been on my 2004 VLX. I stopped to see if I could help it, as it was flopping around by the road. Before I could get to it, it recovered and flew away. Tough bird!!

But, like Alan said, so far no turkeys.

Old timers have told me that, as a rule of thumb, you don't want to hit anything on a motorcycle that you couldn't eat in one meal.

[burkbuilds]

I usually never see deer hit on I-75 between Chattanooga and Atlanta, but the last two Monday mornings I've seen 5 carcasses on the road from the night before, crazy! I got used to seeing them in the Rock Springs area last year on Hyw 27 but it's a state highway near a National Battlefield area and you kinda expect to see them there but not on that stretch of I-75. I don't even want to think about hitting a 100+ lb deer at 70mph in the dark! The biggest thing I've hit is a small bird that flew past my bike and then did a U-turn right back into the handlebars a few weeks ago, if that's the worst thing I hit I will consider myself blessed!