UFOs....

[DAKSY]

Cruising on I-90 across the Hudson this AM on the way to work, toolin along at maybe 65 in the go fast lane & keeping a safe distance to the pickup in front of me...
I'm pretty much lost in my head when I see BRAKE LIGHTS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
WTF?!?
I start lockin em up & downshifting like a mutha,
when I spot something airborne...something BIG, spinning,
maybe 30 feet in the air & it's comin DOWN 3-4 car lengths ahead towards the middle lane...
I realize rather quickly, that it's a 4 x 8 ft piece of sheetrock, not sure how thick, but 1/2" would be my guess...
Whaddya think - 45 lbs?
It pretty much disintegrated when it landed, missed everybody somehow, & I escaped unscathed!
Man if that thing ever hit me, I'd a been mahtzoed!

Brings up a question...
What's the wierdest thing YOU'VE seen airborne while on the road?

[nightrob]

I caught a sparrow in the chest at about 60mph, it fealt like a cannon ball had hit me (i would guess) it knocked the wind out of me but I stayed on the bike. Also I swear I had a black trash bag follow me for miles one time.......

[pjciii]

Hit a duck at 65 with the old lady on the back. saw it coming, couldnt miss it so just braced for impact. all i could see was the one side of the ducks head and that one eyeball looking at me. raised my arm up but did not let go of the handle bar and drove the bike. took the shot in the elbow and right shoulder. then it hit the girlfriend. she thought the tool bag fell off and hit her. and then looked in the rearview morror and saw the duck spiral into a mini van grill. hit a 4 foot construction cone on its side coming out of a curve on the freeway at 60. stuck up under the bike before being spit out by the rear wheel. again just drive the bike..all's good though. just part of the ride sometimes..

[DBotkin]

I took two birds in one day up in SD. In the morning we were doing about 80, on our way back to Chadron, NE to pick up the key I'd left on top of the gas pump. Mr. Robin came in low & fast from the left, nailed me right in the shin. We confirmed the kill when we went by him in the other direction... I felt that one, wish I'd been wearing chaps.

So later that afternoon we're running about 75 or so on Route 44 through the Badlands, running like hell to try to outrun a big storm. We managed to keep ahead of the storm, but had killer crosswinds the whole way. Mr, Grouse comes in, low and fast from the left side again. He's a hell of a lot bigger than Mr. Robin, that sucker would have hurt bad if he hadn't hit the left passing lamp... and exploded. We were covered with grouse feathers and blood. Had to pull off to get pieces of Tweety off the bike. Yecch.

Neither would have even begun to compare to a sheet of drywall.

[fourhour]

Not in the air but I came real close to hitting a ladder in the right portion of the left lane, I-93 in Concord NH on the way up to Laconia. I was petrified for the other bikers heading the same way...............

[Dave63]

A small bird (make/model unknown) hit the small spot between the forks and headlight bucket and wedged in there. I tried to help him out, (at 60 mph) and he kept trying to bite me.

I figured he didn't want my help and watched him flouder a bit, before getting unstuck, only to get matted by the car following me.....

Nature at work.

[FXD-Tim]

I was on I-95 between DC and Richmond doing the typical speed for that stretch of highway. I came up on a utility company bucket truck and decided not to follow in its lane. I figured a nut or bolt might bounce out the back. It wasn't 2 minutes later when a large cardboard box bounced out the back and onto the pavement. As I watched it bounce I imagined what would have happend to me if I had not changed lanes.

The image of the bouncing box plays in my head any time I'm behind a pickup truck or hauler filled with "stuff" in the back. I either find a way to pass or drop back.