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I always try to avoid wild life on the road but on occasion something gets killed
You ride the way you we can always look back on stuff and say if i had done different then there wold have been a different outcome but you are you and you did things your way

Brian
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Glad all is well and all you lost was some mirror chrome. I'd say, with the situation/conditions, your moves & reaction were the norm. I have a tendency to swerve for any road debris (critters included) and luckily ride solo 99% of the time. All a rider can do is maintain safe distances, stay staggered and try to look beyond the near objects.
 
my take -- Happy to see you avoided hitting the ducks. I always try to dodge critters on the road - in a car, truck or MC. I just dont like killing or maiming them. One thing about hitting an animal as opposed to trying to miss it -- what if the animal was a 150# deer? IF possible, try NOT to hit the deer - and THAT just might save your life. A baby duck, well maybe not so much, but, Im saying IF possible, dont run over the baby or mother duck. When riding or driving, there seems to always be an unforeseen situation we have difficulty avoiding. Those times (my opinion) is to slow as much as possible and as quickly as possible to lessen the fall or impact damage.
In my opinion - this case - you did right. It's a plus that you only had minor damage and no injuries.

Bill
 
Not an expert here, but the staggered lane riding allows you full use of the the traveled lane for swerving. The problem would be if you switched and applied the brakes hard. You've now put the person behind you in a spot. Glad everything turned out ok.
 
YIKES!!!! Glad you an Will were not hurt. Mirrors, well I've replaced the ones on Wifey's bike a bunch, (due to her "setting" the bike down...) I am real slow to make judgements about what another rider does/did. You and you alone had the sight picture of what was in front of you.

That being said, I would probably have avoided the animals as best I could, but would not have used evasive maneuvers I would use for a larger animal, car, person, etc...

Hope Will wasn't too upset.
 
Very good advice here and I thank you all..:)..I do love a animals but Im also thinking maybe taking out a duck or to would have been safer...I will also try to do a better job at looking for small objects in the road ..We did hit mirrors but it it only knocked them out of adjustment so lucky there to....I do wonder if someone lets say hit something larger like a small dog ,could one expect to go over the bars?...I hope none of us find out...Thanks again Mat...PS....Lawdog...Will is not upset ..We will keep this in mind thought..:)
 
There was a bike/deer I heard about last year in Belgrade. It did N0T end well for the biker. While he did survive, he had seriously debilitating brain damage and will never have a normal life. Yes, he was wearing a helmet. I don't think you can ever say what size weight animal/object is going to result in a crash. Way too many variables, speed, angle of impact, bike size and road conditions, etc...

Kind of like use of force, you have a split second to make the call, and a life time to question it, (and the Monday morning quarterbacks who will analyze it). That's why I am reluctant to judge what another rider did in the heat of the moment. You did what you thought you had to. That's good enough for me.

I will be off this coming Sunday. Weather permitting, maybe we can ride!
joe:s
 
Thanks Joe...I may need to have some teeshirts made that say { I break for ducks}....LOL.....Hope sunday works out for us..:)......Mat
 
Situations like that, instinct takes over, you did what your programmed to do. IMO, you partner was riding too close. I try to ride with enough distance between the bikes to allow for something like this to happen. I like to play the "what would I do if...." game.
 
Lawdog314 said:
There was a bike/deer I heard about last year in Belgrade. It did N0T end well for the biker. While he did survive, he had seriously debilitating brain damage and will never have a normal life. Yes, he was wearing a helmet. I don't think you can ever say what size weight animal/object is going to result in a crash. Way too many variables, speed, angle of impact, bike size and road conditions, etc...

Kind of like use of force, you have a split second to make the call, and a life time to question it, (and the Monday morning quarterbacks who will analyze it). That's why I am reluctant to judge what another rider did in the heat of the moment. You did what you thought you had to. That's good enough for me.

I will be off this coming Sunday. Weather permitting, maybe we can ride!
joe:s
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Joe, I believe I know the person you mention. If it's the one I know, It happened on the Pond Road in Sidney and he has been on a long road to recovery. He is doing much better now but still appears to have some deficit due to the trauma. It was a tough recovery for him AND his family.

Mark, It's tough to say how I would have reacted since the shoe was on your foot and if I put it on it may not fit quite the same. Every situation we get caught up in is different. As someone posted earlier, your speed, Will's speed, distance between you, location of the ducks, the road itself, oncoming traffic, all play a part.

Just glad you're ok...
 
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