Shooting season.

You can tell we're in to the shooting season with all the carrion on the roads. This is not my favourite time of year for riding the country roads as getting head butted by one of these game birds is no joke. The only avoidance precaution I can think of taking is keeping fingers crossed they don't get spooked when you ride passed them. What's your defence from them?

Only thing I ever hit was a pigeon. It made a bit of a mess on the screen, but no real damage. I think the pigeon would have a different opinion, though.

I hit a pigeon with my chest at about 30mph. It felt like I had been punched.

Last month came round a bend at about 60 mph to find three moronic pheasants right in the middle of the road. Two made the right decision but one didn't. It came straight at me and hit my right hand guard. It slightly damaged the guard, almost caused me to lose it and felt like someone had hit me with a hammer. The pheasant was dead and left blood and feathers all over.

Last month came round a bend at about 60 mph to find three moronic pheasants right in the middle of the road. Two made the right decision but one didn't. It came straight at me and hit my right hand guard. It slightly damaged the guard, almost caused me to lose it and felt like someone had hit me with a hammer. The pheasant was dead and left blood and feathers all over.

Free lunch then

I’m very wary of birds in the road, a mate was killed when a pheasant hit him in his visor. The impact broke his neck. So basically the only thing is to keep speed down in areas where they are present.

[quote=So basically the only thing is to keep speed down in areas where they are present.

Where I live that means everywhere so I'd never make much progress. Pheasants are obviously part of XR's plot to decarbonise the world. Throw in the foxes, deer, badgers and God knows what all else we are obviously doomed to extinction (bikers that is).

[quote name=So basically the only thing is to keep speed down in areas where they are present.

Where I live that means everywhere so I'd never make much progress. Pheasants are obviously part of XR's plot to decarbonise the world. Throw in the foxes' date=' deer, badgers and God knows what all else we are obviously doomed to extinction (bikers that is).

[/quote]

Pretty much the same here. And when you're not dodging the wildlife the farmers cover the roads with mud. Our hill currently resembles the Somme on a very wet day.

Hit one yesterday, van was ok but I don't think the pheasant will be of danger to other road users.

The mud - the narrower lanes round here are sometimes so muddy you can't even see the tarmac. And it's not just the lanes - a fairly heavily used B road was awash with mud whilst two large tractors seemed determined to add even more. My bike ends up looking like a dirt bike which it sadly is not. Hence I end up hosing it down in the rain and feeling a right twit.

I have a hose connected on the drive for the same reason. The bikes and cars have to be hosed down after every trip.

The pheasants have buggered off to the fields at the moment, they're usually squatting in our garden which at least keeps some of them off the roads.

The biggest hazard round here right now are the badgers. They seem to have some kind of death wish but they cause a lot of damage if you hit one.

Badgers are pretty chunky. Hit one and you may well be coming off. Even going over one that's already road kill is likely to give you a brown trouser moment. Years ago I hardly ever saw a badger dead or alive but saw loads of squished hedgehogs. Now I see dead badgers daily but rarely a hedgehog, dead or alive. Apparently the badgers have eaten all the hedgehogs.

Badgers are pretty chunky. Hit one and you may well be coming off. Even going over one that's already road kill is likely to give you a brown trouser moment. Years ago I hardly ever saw a badger dead or alive but saw loads of squished hedgehogs. Now I see dead badgers daily but rarely a hedgehog, dead or alive. Apparently the badgers have eaten all the hedgehogs.

I hit a bat once .

I hit a bat once .

Was he from out of Hell

I hit a bat once .

 

Was he from out of Hell

I went back the next day to see if I could find it but it was gone when the morning comes .