Deer suck!
 

If you couldn't guess by the title of the thread, I hit a deer last night (or more aptly, the deer hit ME) which has pretty much ruined my car. I was driving approx 35 mph on an urban/suburban 2 lane street, when it literally "came out of nowhere".

As you can see from the pictures, it hit the side of the car destroying the front left quarter panel and denting in the drivers side door. The head of the deer is what smashed into the windshield. I was driving with my window down, which scared the bejeesus out of me! In the initial shock, I thought the deer had actually landed INSIDE the car!

Irony truly is theme of this story, though. The accident occurred less than 3/10 of a mile after I made a left turn onto the street from a highway exit ramp. As I approached the exit ramp, I let a speed demon driver fly past me, towards the red light at the off/on ramp intersection. I casually coasted past him as the light turned green (it is a double left turn lane) and merged in front of him. Then, 3/10 mile down the road, with the aggressive driver behind me... BAM. I wonder what the heck was going through his mind....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...so/damage2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...so/damage1.jpg

The story does end somewhat happily. I decided to bite the bullet and buy my first road bike! The hope is, if my car is indeed a total loss, I won't care too much. Learning how to ride it, though, is a new challenge for me. So far its looking harder than learning to drive stick.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...so/newbike.jpg

Car doesn't look anywhere near totalled to me. Heck, it doesn't even look like the headlight's broken. New windshield, bash out the fender dents, a little epoxy on the mirror, and you're good to go.

That'll polish right out ;)

Good to hear you're OK.
That car's far from being totalled though.

The pic is a bit out of focus, but are those really brackets and straps on the bike's pedals ?
If so, get rid of them and get something like Shimano's SPD system. It'll be a lot safer.

So you need a fender, door, mirror and windshield. That's not too bad as far as deer damage goes. Atleast it's all stuff you can get at the local junk yard (possibly even in the same color) for about $100, minus the windshield of course (although if you have the tools and know how you can even get that). Depending on how much your deductable is and how much you really care about matching paint, I'd just replace the parts myself and not get the insurance company involved since it would count as a negative mark on your driving record most likely.

Back when I got T-boned in my Supra by a Dodge Intrepid a couple years ago I didn't call my insurance company (partly because I was going to repaint the car soon enough anyways and partly because my deductable was too much to justify paying it). I had to replace my drivers side door, fender, and mud flap. Total cost, $93 from the local U-Pull It.

So you would a) have to buy a special set of shoes for biking; which are b) almost impossible to walk in for any distance? No thanks.

Nor can I see how having a cleat attaching your foot to the pedal is safer than a toe clip, where you can slid your foot right out.

It is very much fixable, and the car still drives. That said, the Grand Am has pitiful resale value. The Blue Book value on the car is only $1,900 with 126k miles. I think repair costs could easily exceed that amount. Though you can't see it, the drivers door is also smashed in to the point that the window will not roll up all the way.

I'm one step ahead of you! They've been driving me crazy, so I already took them off :D I might invest in some clipless pedals down the road but I don't think I need either tbh.

Deductible is $250. I'm not sure about it counting against my driving record; the ins. company said it is considered a "no fault" accident (but then again we all know the things ins. companies try to get away with). One thing that sucks about where I live - there is only one junkyard within an hour driving distance. To make matters worse, you must bring san ASE certified mechanic with you to take the parts off!!

Looks like it sacrificed itself for your mirror delete and a meal. It was an eco-deer. And deer is tasty, if you blend it. You saved it? If they have to die on our windshields, at least we could eat them.

You don't have to buy the hard racing shoes which are indeed a pain to walk on.
I can walk normally with my bike shoes - Shimano Touring MT-30 - just as if they were a pair of Nikes or whatever.

If you can slide your foot right out, you're using it wrong ...
The straps on the toe clip need to be rather tight to be effective.

The SPD cleat just needs a slight twist to the side in order to release.

Better watch your heels then :D

If you bike like most of us were taught as kids - pushing down on the pedal going down - you won't need either system and get away with pedal-shoe friction.

The moment you start using push and pull (on the upcoming pedal) you can't do without one of these systems.

its all relative to how much riding you do and have done.
I use, and have used, the toe clips most of my life even competing. if your used to it, you can get your feet out of those clips every bit as quickly as the SPD system and even quicker in some instances. the trick is to have them adjusted just right. :cool: