THE WRITE GRIP by Stevie Lynne ‘Tis The Season To Be Soggy TWO TIRE TIRADE by Robert Hunt

- CONTINUED the twenty seven that crossed the road sequentially after I’d picked up and stopped for the fi rst one. After the fi fteenth one or so, I was laughing in my helmet pretty hard. Just remember that because you may have missed the fi rst one, the second one or couple of dozen might be closer than you think. Then there’s the fact that even one deer that you see in plenty of time may still be completely unpredictable. I was out for a ride in during a weekday lunchtime at Patapsco State Park, again, going slowly and enjoying a beautiful afternoon. As the old Toaster putted along the one lane park road, a younger doe started running silently beside me – moving parallel to the road. As we moved toward a gentle curve up ahead, the treeline beside the road began to run closer to the pavement, whereupon our little forest princess decided she’s rather run on the other side of my road – which she accomplished by leaping smartly right over my head – like Superman – no windup, no warning and in a single bound. I have a central nervous system built for deathsport – when things go pear-shaped everything slows waaaaaaaay down. I remember leaning forward under the windscreen, turning my head sideways life a bird, and calling the play by play as Bambi fl ew by within 8 or 10 inches of my head – “Hoofi es. White Furry Spots. Nipples. Hoofi es.” And then she disappeared back into the forest. The noise you may be making as a motorcyclist has a lot to do to infl uence the behavior of an individual animal or herd of deer, too. I always suspected that louder bikes produce panic in the herd, but an experience I had recently proved it. My Slash 5, with its stock Zeppelin Exhausts, being pretty quiet, tends not to scare or spook the animals into running. My R90S, with sport pipes, tends to provide more upset. While riding a Zero Motorcycles DSR electric test bike, I was out near our old home in Broad Run, when I rode up alongside about 18-20 deer who were munching stubble in a farmer’s fi eld. I slowed way down as a came up next to the herd – prepared to stop if any deer did anything squirrelly. To my amazement, the Zero’s silence produced a response of utter calm in the deer – making no noise at all, not one animal moved. I was no more than 15 feet from the edge of the group, and each one looked right at me – “Wonder how that human can fl y by without making any sound?” – and then went right back to munching, completely unafraid. Don’t try that with your dragpiped Sportster. So stay focused. Scan both edges of the road. Slow the heck down, and choose your lane position as close to the center of the road or highway as is safely possible. Wear serious gear with serious armor and choose a helmet that will really protect you. If you are on a closing course with an hooved menace stay straight up and down, don’t swerve (they’re unpredictable and quicker than you are), and concentrate on using your brakes to shed as much speed as you possibly can. And knowing what you now know, it may still all come down to luck. A little luck never, ever hurts. Greg Shamieh is a lifelong motorcycle enthusiast, writer and historian who lives in the Two wheeled Haven of Maryland’s Middletown Valley. He rides for daily transportati on, sport, travel, meditati on, inspirati on and illuminati on. His works appears on the web at rollingphysicsproblem.wordpress.com and Greg welcomes your comments here as well. PICTURE FROM INTERNET SOURCE