OK. Just the other morning I was riding down a secluded byway, snatching a little quiet time away from droning lawnmowers, barking dogs, and the ceaseless whine of traffic on the state highway. Suddenly I heard a frantic crashing coming from the woods, and in less time than it takes to tell about it, a whitetail deer bounded across the road just ahead of me, a chestnut blur against the weathered gray of the asphalt. I didn’t even have time to brake.

It took several minutes for my heart rate to fall back to normal. I can’t speak for the deer, but I’d wager that she was a little overwrought, too.

Well, I said to myself once I stopped shaking, It’s a freak occurrence. After all, I’ve seen plenty of deer before today. But I’ve never had one cross the road only a few feet in front of me. And I pedaled on. Only to have three more close encounters before I’d gone as many miles. First, I came on a doe with both a fawn and a yearling in tow. At least they stopped at the edge of the road before turning tail and disappearing back into the woods. Then a solitary doe ambled across ahead of me, pausing in mid-passage to watch me approach before she, too, bolted for the cover of the roadside alders. Lastly, a trio of young bucks blocked my way, uncertain whether or not to let me pass unchallenged. But then they bounded off at the first sight of my camera.

I put in a lot miles on back roads, and I see far too many deer who didn’t make it across the asphalt killing zone. Not to mention skunks, raccoons, porcupines, squirrels, chipmunks, frogs, and turtles. At some seasons of the year it seems as if I can’t get the smell of death out of my nostrils. So it was good to find eight deer Alive on Road for a change. I just hope they stay that way.

 
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