The day I met some curious turkeys in the Santa Cruz mountains

[Miguel!]

Years ago, I was on a motorcycle ride through the beautiful Santa Cruz mountains surrounded by redwoods. The road I was on was winding and steep, with sharp turns that is challenging on a large BMW R1100RT motorcycle. I had ridden this road many times before and always found it beautiful and exhilarating.

As I was cruising along, enjoying the scenery, I came to a straight section of road that was a few hundred yards long. To my left, the hill rose up steeply, and to my right, there was a sheer drop. I was coming down the hill rather slowly because I knew the turns were tight ahead. Suddenly, three young male turkeys jumped out into the road in front of me. I stopped to watch them. I love birds and bird watching and they were fascinating creatures. 

Then, something unexpected happened. The turkeys ran up to my motorcycle and started just hanging around the engine. I've heard that turkeys are attracted to the rumbling sound of engines, and this was no exception. The turkeys were quite curious. They would cluck at me and peck at my engine. After a bit, I was worried about a car coming around the turn just behind me and not being able to stop in time, so I decided to move on. I let off the break and glided down the hill to the next turn. I was surprised that the turkeys chased me down the hill.

 

Eventually, I got too fast for them and they fell behind. I laughed to myself as I rode away, completely enchanted but the experience. Just around the next corner, I turned the engine back on and continued on my way. I never saw the turkeys again, but I will always remember that chance encounter. It was a truly memorable experience.

 

Happy Thanks Giving. Miguel

*Not my photos

[Bernie]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and thank you for the nice story.

I find turkeys on my rides on a regular basis, or rather they find me, and of course they like to test my braking skills and system.

 

[wbw6cos]

Cool ride tale, Miguel.   Great photos, too.   (still great if they are not yours)

[duckhawk64]

Nice story. I see a lot of turkeys and have close encounters every Spring. 

The closest call was when I came over the top of a hill on a two lane township road and had a cloud of 4 or 5, poults,  fledged turkey chicks, flying  around me about helmet height. I was doing 40-45 mph. This is a big reason I always buy RTs, or put fairings on my non-bmw bikes. With any luck, the windscreen will help deflect an errant turkey from knocking me off the bike.

I drive slower, these days. Especially over the tops of blind hills and curves.

[Bluenoser]

17 hours ago, duckhawk64 said:

Nice story. I see a lot of turkeys and have close encounters every Spring. 

The closest call was when I came over the top of a hill on a two lane township road and had a cloud of 4 or 5, poults,  fledged turkey chicks, flying  around me about helmet height. I was doing 40-45 mph. This is a big reason I always buy RTs, or put fairings on my non-bmw bikes. With any luck, the windscreen will help deflect an errant turkey from knocking me off the bike.

I drive slower, these days. Especially over the tops of blind hills and curves.

@Chef Paul had one glance off the top of his helmet when we were at FART.  We laughed about it at the time, obviously not funny if you get full impact.

[Miguel!]

18 hours ago, duckhawk64 said:

Nice story. I see a lot of turkeys and have close encounters every Spring. 

The closest call was when I came over the top of a hill on a two lane township road and had a cloud of 4 or 5, poults,  fledged turkey chicks, flying  around me about helmet height. I was doing 40-45 mph. This is a big reason I always buy RTs, or put fairings on my non-bmw bikes. With any luck, the windscreen will help deflect an errant turkey from knocking me off the bike.

I drive slower, these days. Especially over the tops of blind hills and curves.

OUCH!! Glad you survived that near catastrophe. Miguel

 

[Hosstage]

Flying bowling balls.

[Motorhead1977]

On 11/24/2023 at 3:57 PM, Hosstage said:

Flying bowling balls.

They've always reminded me of B-52s when they take off. (I grew up around a SAC base)