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Darren Tapp was out on his gravel bike in Co Fermanagh at the weekend when he was joined by an unusual companion
You can't beat Ireland, north or south, for bike riding at this time of year but when Fermanagh-based Darren Tapp took to his gravel bike for a ride in the woods at the weekend, he got a lot more than he bargained for.
Tapp does some of the social media content for the Lakeland Gravel Grinder sportive and he ventured out onto part of the course to ride it on Saturday. At one point, in Belmore Woods, he stopped to take a few photos and when he turned around a deer had wandered over to check him out.
However, rather than become startled and run off - as you'd expect - this deer came over to Tapp to check him out. It even tried to go with him when he eventually rode off after shooting the brilliant video above.
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Tapp took up the story for stickybottle when we spoke to him, saying he was shocked the deer came so close to him, for a long period, and had even followed him up the track when he moved off.
"You don't normally see this, do you? Deer would normally run from you. But when I stopped I heard the noise of hooves behind me and I got a fright and when I turned around, there he was.
"It seemed very tame but I think it's unlikely anyone would have had a deer as a pet in this area. A couple of people have said to me that because this is a buck, he may have been thrown out of a pack when he got to a certain age and maybe he came over to me just out of loneliness. It was a very strange experience either way."
