Yosemite National Park is rich with nature. Carved out of a glacier thousands of years ago, it is now home to many species of animals, especially deer. Just outside of the meadow Andy hit one. We were doing about 35-40mph, and Andy was out front. I was two bike lengths behind him and to the left. Suddenly I saw a large cloud of brown dust (turned out to be mostly fur) engulf Andy. I saw a medium sized doe spinning in the street. Once the doe stopped spinning, she hobbled off the road favoring her back leg. Andy was stopped still and upright. He did NOT go down. I pulled up next to him and asked if he was okay, he said he was. Since there was no usable shoulder, I pulled over up ahead and parked where there was room. Andy and the rest pulled up behind me and got off the road.
The impact had mangled the front fender and it was rubbing on the front tire. There was deer fur stuck in all the cracks and crevices of the bike. The bottom part of the batwing was also cracked. The impact was so great that it knocked the stereo out of working order. We got a tire iron out of Cynthias Boxster and pried the fender off the tire and wheel. After a further safety assessment of the bike, we rode on.
When we pulled into Lee Vining for fuel and food, spirits were once again high. Marty Olguin met some other riders who were from his neighborhood in Simi Valley, CA. Except for the cosmetic damage and loss of radio function, Andy’s RoadGlide was running well. The Porsche, not so much. Cynthias Boxster blew a power steering hose. Their fun weekend ended on the back of a flatbed truck heading up to the Porsche dealer in Reno.
Roger, Marty and Andy continued up 395 and over to his house in Sonora. Alan, John, Denise and I went back through the park. We had wanted to stop at Glacier Point, but the delays, crowds and heat dissuaded us. We went back and had dinner at the hotel formerly known as the Wawona.
Hope you enjoyed the photos and stories as much as we enjoyed sharing them. Special thanks to Alan Paz, Roger Lane, Marty Olguin, and John Shimada for letting me use their photos for this write up.
Hopefully others will post pictures too.