Tuesday B1 crash

[mfarnham]

There was a nasty deer incident on Beach this morning. With no warning a deer bolted in front of the group. The front two riders (Mike A. and Mark D.) t-boned the deer and went down hard. Richard T. went over his handlebars. Not sure if anyone else went down.

Mike and Mark were both taken to hospital, with likely shoulder damage in each case. Both were quite dazed, with a possible concussion in at least one case. Richard appeared unscathed.

Mike's bike was picked up by family. Mark's was stored at the house in front of where the crash occurred. If he wonders where it is, Deborah put the information in his phone. I think I remember the address, so someone could PM me if they need to get that info for him.

I'm not sure where each ended up, but my guess based on emergency responder chatter is that Mike went to Vic General and Mark went to Jubilee. Again, not sure.

Scary, but good to see each of them talking before they were taken off.

Martin

[POC]

It was scary as we had no chance of avoiding the deer. We rolled into the bend, after picking up speed again after waiting for a dropped rider, just after the crosswalk and smacked right into it. The group behaved impeccably. TS riders displayed great calmness and tendered to the injured until the emerge services arrived ensuring as well that drivers were made aware. Police, ambulance and fire services were quickly on the scene. Best wishes Mike A and Mark D for a quick recovery.

[Fozzy]

Speedy recovery to both Mark and Michael. Thanks to Hugh for the advanced warning.

[Marc]

Feeling ok, either broke or fractured my shoulder and left thumb. Scary though, could have been way worse.

Thanks to everyone for taking care of us broken folks after the fact

[MikeA.]

Scary stuff this morning!

My shoulder is pretty swollen and had it not been for the titanium plate the collar bone would be a mess right now. As it stands it is inconclusive if there is a fracture, gotta go back next week.

Heal well Marc, let me know how you are doing.

[Rolf]

Geez. Thanks for taking one for the team, guys. Heal fast!

We should maintain a running inventory of all deer-related incidents and their respective costs to present to various local governments when the issue of animal control arises.

[John D]

We should maintain a running inventory of all deer-related incidents and their respective costs to present to various local governments when the issue of animal control arises.

At which point I'm guessing they'll say "Um, so why not just stop riding two-abreast in big groups at 35km/h in the pre-dawn darkness?" To which we'll say....what???

Dave Spiers had a great idea - we should crowd-source a project to fund local hunters to "spray paint" the urban deer using fluorescent paint-ball pellets.

Mike and Marc - get well soon guys!

J.

[mfarnham]

So we'll see you both at Wednesday Night Cross tomorrow?

Glad to hear you're both feeling a bit better. Hope the healing happens fast.

Martin

[leftcoaster]

Hey Marc,

I left your bike at Trevor and Tammy's (the house that was right there). If you need a hand, I could pick it up and drop it off at your place. Let me know,

David

[Louise Wallace]

Glad to hear that the two of you are doing not too bad. Heal up quickly!
Louise

P.S Nice recap Martin

[Bosie]

Ugh! Get well soon!

Assume the deer walked off without a scratch as they always seem to?

[RichT]

I went down to see Marc at the General this afternoon and found out he was discharged. Was going to head to Jubilee to see Mike and thought I should double check the forum. Wow glad to hear your both out of the Hospital already hard to believe.

While at the General I decided I should get checked out as my left shoulder was giving me grief and my left love handle ballooned in size three fold since the accident this morning even after having a healthy lunch! X-rays showed no broken bones all is well......

Glad to hear Marc & Mike are back at home hope you both have a speedy recovery.

Cheers ~ R

[jpauly]

Sorry to see there are more members of the club. I wish you both a speedy recovery. Thanks again to Hugh for the advance warning.

[jbarrett]

Yikes, very scary. What a relief to hear you're both recovering as well as can be expected.
Wishing you tailwinds on your full way back to normal strong.
Joe

[Mark C]

All the best to both of you heal up and we will see you out on the bike again soon.

Cheers Mark C

[alan boden]

God it was scary to see you lying in the middle of the road this morning Mike...I'm glad injuries aren't as bad as it looked this morning. Marc, that road rash/bump on you head and you holding that arm, looked ominous as well. Sounds like you two are coming out of it better than expected. As usual, no deer bits all over the road - Bambi gets away with another one...

[Julie]

It's not fair deer are not cruel on purpose, like people. Humans (the most invasive species on the planet & dictating ourselves to the rulers of the planet) destroyed the earth to make it habitable beyond luxury for ourselves. They are surviving in a foreign environment. What about the humans that do the exact same thing as deer & beeline across the road as pedestrians, cyclists & cars? They are causing the same damage, but they know & understand the unnatural environment we've created. They are the ones who need to be tagged & labeled
I'm sorry it happened & yes deer are a risk, but so are people doing stupid reckless stuff all the time & they should know better (unlike deer, who are confused by the environment we've created)
I'm not trying to be heartless & I'm sorry it happened, but I'll forgive a deer way faster than a person (not to mention the continual gross negligence of construction crews leaving roads dangerous and no warning)
It sickens me.
I'm glad nobody was seriously injured
In the future if they suspect concussion or serious head injuries you go to vgh
I'm sorry it happened I'm happy everyone is okay.

Please don't hate me for loving deer, they're so innocent to me. I know I make an ass of myself I'm not trying to start a war. I just want to defend them & point out the ratio of deer versus human caused crashes. Maybe that should be catalogued, there is no justification at all for the humans that are acting ignorant to their own environment. (If that hasn't persuaded you: Think of deer like toddlers, they do the same thing all the time (without parents it'd be worse), because they don't know any better)
I'd say deer cause 5% of cyclists & MVA accidents, we cause 95%.
We're symbiotic with nature, we need it to survive, it is not the enemy.

[Paula]

Ditto on what Alan said.

Take car Mike and Marc! I'm really glad that in the end it isn't as bad as it looked like it could have been. But damn!!! Injuries can take a long time to heal, shoulders especially. Give yourself time to recover, lots of Physio, good massages and TLC.

When you are ready, I would recommend Craig at Absolute Therapy on Oak Bay avenue. He gave me incredibly painful massages that really help me over the hump with my shoulder last year.

There will always be another 6 am ride.

[Marcus]

Ouch. It is good to hear that those involved seem to be recovering well. Kudos also to Julie for posting a deer friendly perspective. I realize deer (not to mention racoons, pot holes and black ice) can be a nuisance or dangerous but many motorists say the same thing about cyclists and we don't have 10,000 lumens coming at us. Maybe coexistence is like sharing the road.

Marcus

[Paul C.]

Marc and Mike

Good to hear you are healing well.
I belive thats the 5th or 6th deer incident with tripleshot.Check with Jim Pauly.
And no counting Racoon incidences.

If no one else has asked....
How are the bikes??
See you both at coffee, soon !