A deer jumped out in front of me while I was riding on the W&OD, maybe two years ago, Summer 2012 or 2013. This was on one of the long straightaways between Vienna and Reston. I was riding at a steady clip when I heard a lot of rustling in the trees off to the right. I kept riding but I continued to hear the rustling. I thought it was a dog or a fox, something like that. Too much noise to be a rabbit.
Then the deer jumped out onto the trail, sort of like what you see in the first video. Fortunately, I had slowed down slightly before that point, when I kept hearing the rustling, and I had about 10 to 12 feet in which to stop before hitting the deer. So no problem. I stopped quickly enough, but it was still close. The deer turned and looked at me in panic. Then he turned around and jumped back into the trees and brush. He was about the same size as the deer in the video, so I would have had some major problems if I had hit him at speed.
That’s the only time I’ve ever seen a deer jump out onto a trail or road while I was riding. I’ve seen them off to the side of the trails or roads though. (The last time was when I was in Williamsburg, VA, last year.)
.
