I had a miracle tonight.

I had a real bonafide miracle this evening at dusk on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I’m riding my motorcycle from Virginia to Orlando FL and back, and I’m taking the Blue Ridge Parkway on my way south.

I had just entered North Carolina at dusk and there were deer everywhere so I was being exceptionally careful and diligent.

And I hit one.

I came around a curve and a juvenile deer shot across the road at full speed, it’s head down low.

It’s head hit my left ankle and my hard plastic afo leg brace.

Then it hit my waterproof left soft saddlebag and tore it off the bike completely.

I slowed down, turned around, and found the saddlebag in the middle of the road. It broke off the plastic buckle that holds it to the nylon strap that connects it under the seat to the right saddlebag.

I had my heavy alcohol sailboat stove / heater in the saddlebag and a gallon of denatured alcohol.

It blew the screw on cap off the alcohol bottle and filled the waterproof saddlebag with alcohol. And it bent the alcohol stove from round into an oval. I’ll try to straighten it out tomorrow.

Here’s a photo of the “damage”:

One tuft of deer hair in the left passenger foot rest!

A split second difference and my motorcycle would have been totaled.

 

Thank you all for your prayers for my safety on this trip.

 

Nothing wrong with it, not even a bruise.

 

Amen! I was just praying fervently for protection from collisions with wildlife minutes before it happened and had been doing so for most of an hour beforehand. So honestly I wasn’t as shaken up as I thought I would have been.

 

I’m tired and cold today. That collision with the deer last night has really sapped my confidence and desire to continue and my mind is seriously considering going back home.