On 01-03-18 16:33, jbeattie wrote:

Shall we start a discussion about the long almost invisible leashes? Boy the really **** me off.

That is a serious hazard. I have many personal anecdotes, but the most memorable was defending a case where a guy broke his neck after getting a leash wrapped up in his wheel. The dog owner was a deadbeat, so he sued the maker of his CF forks -- which not surprisingly broke after getting a leash wrapped up in the wheel.

More often, though, I encounter dogs that aren't on leashes and should be. I yell at the owners as I'm being charged while climbing or descending a forest road, and the owners just stare or blandly call for the dog. The dog just keeps doing what its doing. My wife got knocked over by a big dog, which is no small issue because of her physical condition, and the response was a lame "oh, he just wants to say hello," or "he likes you" or some utter idiocy. This is in places with giant signs saying dogs must be on leashes. And again, off leash dogs have a huge environmental impact on watershed and forest animals.

-- Jay Beattie.


Once I was riding past a farm and a large dog bit me on the ankle.
Probably intended only as a threat, since it didn't draw blood. For a
long time afterwards and even now I am on the lookout for farm dogs.

Closer to the city it's the tiny "barky" dogs that seem potentially
dangerous. As I sometimes point out to their owners, it would be a
bloody mess, both for the dog and for me, if the dog were to get into
the spokes of my bike.