The deer, a sizable doe, came blasting out of the tall grass in the ditch before I had a chance to even think about what was happening.
Fortunately for me, the doe was quick to react, spinning around and running back across the ditch and into the adjacent field. The deer proceeded to run parallel to the road for a few hundred yards before crossing — by that time well in front of me — into the woods on the other side. bike fork components
The encounter lasted mere seconds, and while memory and reality might be two different things in this case, because it happened so fast, I’m pretty sure I could have reached out and touched the deer at one point when it came charging out of the ditch.
I didn’t see the deer until it was practically on top of me. How it managed to avoid bowling me over, I’ll never know.
But I’m glad it did.
It was Sunday morning, and I was in the middle of a ride on my new e-bike near Roseau River Wildlife Management Area in northwest Minnesota when I almost got run over by the aforementioned deer.
I’m on hyper-alert for deer when I’m behind the wheel of a vehicle this time of year, but the thought of having a near-miss on my e-bike hadn’t occurred to me until it almost happened. In this case, though, I’m pretty sure the deer would have hit me and not the other way around.
Regardless, the potential for severe injury would have been significant (probably to me more than the deer).
Fortunately, I wasn’t going more than about 10 mph at the time.
The places I ride see very little traffic, but I’ll definitely keep a closer watch for deer from here on out. I could see such an encounter occurring along the Grand Forks Greenway, as well, given that the green space along the Red and Red Lake rivers is a haven for whitetails.
As for the e-bike, I took the plunge and bought one in early July after borrowing a friend’s e-bike for a couple of weeks.
I hadn’t done much bike riding in several years, but I’ve already put 40 miles on the e-bike. It’s become an evening routine on my trips “up north,” a great way to see wildlife — preferably not as up-close-and-personal as the recent encounter — and a mode of exercise I find much more enjoyable than walking on a treadmill.
E-bikes, of course, provide an electronic boost to pedaling that can be especially helpful when traveling on soft gravel roads or uphill terrain. Bicycle purists might turn up their noses at the vehicles, but for those of us at or near senior-citizenhood — or casual riders in most any other demographic, for that matter — e-bikes are great fun. I’m not sure I would have invested in a regular bike at this point in life.
Based on the numbers, I’m not alone in that view.
E-bikes have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, with U.S. sales in the neighborhood of 1 million units and the potential for sales to soon exceed 3 million, according to information I found online from the Light Electric Vehicle Association.
The e-bike I purchased provides five levels of pedaling assistance and can also be operated with a throttle, which in turn requires no pedaling to propel the bike. I want the exercise benefits pedaling provides, so I generally keep the assistance feature at Level 1.
I have, however, upped the assistance to Level 2 in places where the going is harder. A top speed of 20 mph would easily be doable.
As with anything new, there’s always the possibility of the novelty wearing off, of course, but for now, I’m thoroughly enjoying my new purchase. Frankly, I don’t see that changing.
And I’ll definitely keep on high alert for deer.
The Grand Forks outdoors community lost a pioneer this month with the passing of George Newton.
Newton, who founded the Dakota Hunting Club in 1969 on 150 acres of land he bought west of Grand Forks, died Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at Lakewood Care Center in Staples, Minnesota.
According to his obituary published in the Grand Forks Herald, Newton initially founded the club for pheasant hunting but later added kennels for public dog boarding, a stocked trout pond and sporting clays course.
Newton sold the hunting club in 2006, but I had a chance to visit with him on several occasions over the years and always enjoyed our chats. An avid sportsman, Newton was a member of several outdoors-related organizations, including the Grand Forks Gun Club, Ducks Unlimited, the Grand Forks County Wildlife Federation and United Sportsmen.
Mark Hadlich, a Grand Forks waterfowl enthusiast whose association with Newton dates back to 1971, emailed me Thursday morning to pay tribute to a man he said “was more than a fellow hunter that liked ducks.”
Newton, Hadlich says, encouraged him and his brother, Robin, in all of their endeavors both personal and professional.
“In generous ways, he touched the lives of area sportsmen and sportswomen by creating the Dakota Hunting Club and Kennel,” Hadlich wrote. “He wanted to involve everyone that was interested in the outdoors. … Those included hunters, bird watchers, dog handlers, youth participating in new activities, wildlife club members and fundraisers for ducks. But it would also be a feeble attempt to list all his non-outdoor contributions here.
air shock for mountain bike “I am thankful that I lived in a community with a George Newton,” Hadlich added. “He was a treasure and will be missed.”