When deer fly

Today, KP and I decided on an 82 mile route. 32 miles on Skyline and then a loop through Luray and George Washington Park. It was hell. I think we thought once we came off Skyline our work was done but in fact it was not. This was a course that kept on giving, and giving, and giving, and giving.

Now comes the unbelieveable part. At the end of our ride at about mile 78 we were on a bit of a descent so naturally KP was quite a bit in front of me. I see something out of the corner of my right eye that grabs my attention. I look to the right, I focus, I realize there are two deer running across a farm and if I do not brake they will hit me. I hit the brakes, they run right in front of me at which point I realize they will be hit by on-coming traffic. An SUV heading in the opposite direction of me hits the deer, the deer is spinning through the air at which point I realize I now have to accelerate or get hit by the spinning deer. Something hits my back tire as I hear the hoofs clop on the ground behind me, I skid a tiny bit but manage to stay on my bike. I stop, as does the badly damaged car, the deer is convulsing behind me. Needless to say, I was shaking so hard I did not want to continue to ride but of course I had to.

Mind you, because I am still waiting for COBRA paperwork from my former employer, my health insurance company has informed me I technically do not have health insurance. I had just described this to KP before the deer incident. Needless to say, given my luck today I did not opt for the brick run.