Country Roads & DOGS

After a 5 year absence from road cycling I am back on the bike. I ride some
great rural roads mainly in farm country. It seems every house I pass has a
large dog and they all love to chase the bike. What's the best way to deal
with the dog???

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 11:04:40 -0500, "TAT 57"
wrote:

After a 5 year absence from road cycling I am back on the bike. I ride some
great rural roads mainly in farm country. It seems every house I pass has a
large dog and they all love to chase the bike. What's the best way to deal
with the dog???

Buy a Newfoundland that likes to run. Second choice: Buy a Wolfhound -
they all like to run. You give up 30 pounds, but you're still over
150.

When you get to the English Mastiff's house, you're on your own. Your
dog will probably outrun it, though.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 11:04:40 -0500, "TAT 57" wrote:

After a 5 year absence from road cycling I am back on the bike. I ride some
great rural roads mainly in farm country. It seems every house I pass has a
large dog and they all love to chase the bike. What's the best way to deal
with the dog???

I'm nearly a 'chased by dog' expert, and in my experience, every one is
different.

What did you do the first time this happened? I presume none of them has
caught you yet, so you must have ridden faster than they can chase you? If
that's the case, just keep doing that.

You might plan your route so that you're going on the downhill at the most
vicious chasers, but other than that, it's pretty hard to hit them with
sprays and things.

There's a wealth of anecdotal info in the ng, just google for it. If you
want to be really harsh, just time your ride to coincide with the passage
of a large asphault roller truck - think Wiley E. Coyote. ;-p

-Badger

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 11:04:40 -0500, "TAT 57"
wrote:
What's the best way to deal with the dog???

groups.google.com/groups?&as_ugroup=rec.bicycles.*&as_usubject=dogs& as_scoring=d
--
Rick Onanian

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 12:29:33 -0400, Curtis L. Russell
wrote:

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 11:04:40 -0500, "TAT 57"
wrote:

After a 5 year absence from road cycling I am back on the bike. I ride some
great rural roads mainly in farm country. It seems every house I pass has a
large dog and they all love to chase the bike. What's the best way to deal
with the dog???

Buy a Newfoundland that likes to run. Second choice: Buy a Wolfhound -
they all like to run. You give up 30 pounds, but you're still over
150.

I'm not sure I'm, duh, following you here. What do you mean give up 30lbs.
Do you mean have a -bigger- dog to intimidate the chasing dog? Won't they
just get into a scrap?

When you get to the English Mastiff's house, you're on your own. Your
dog will probably outrun it, though.

Are Mastiffs notorious chasers, and/or fighters? What about a Rodesian
Redback? I saw one of those on the trail the other day. Nice looking dog,
very docile and friendly, it seems.

-Badger
Studying up on dog breeds...


Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

What did you do the first time this happened?....Yes I Out Ran Them...But I
ride on occasion with my wife and or neighbor and always more concerned
about them more than myself and the "ambush dog" getting into the wheel and
causing a crash.


"Badger_South" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 11:04:40 -0500, "TAT 57" wrote:

After a 5 year absence from road cycling I am back on the bike. I ride
some
great rural roads mainly in farm country. It seems every house I pass
has a
large dog and they all love to chase the bike. What's the best way to
deal
with the dog???

I'm nearly a 'chased by dog' expert, and in my experience, every one is
different.

What did you do the first time this happened? I presume none of them has
caught you yet, so you must have ridden faster than they can chase you? If
that's the case, just keep doing that.

You might plan your route so that you're going on the downhill at the most
vicious chasers, but other than that, it's pretty hard to hit them with
sprays and things.

There's a wealth of anecdotal info in the ng, just google for it. If you
want to be really harsh, just time your ride to coincide with the passage
of a large asphault roller truck - think Wiley E. Coyote. ;-p

-Badger

Are Mastiffs notorious chasers, and/or fighters? What about a Rodesian
Redback? I saw one of those on the trail the other day. Nice looking dog,
very docile and friendly, it seems.

Doh, Ridgeback, I mean.

-B

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 11:48:27 -0500, "TAT 57" wrote:

What did you do the first time this happened?....Yes I Out Ran Them...But I
ride on occasion with my wife and or neighbor and always more concerned
about them more than myself and the "ambush dog" getting into the wheel and
causing a crash.

There's not much you can do, and it's an 'every man, every woman for
themselves, sitch'. Just brief the fellow riders where to expect the dogs
and have 'em ride like heck. By the time you get a spray or waterbottle
out, they're on you. If it's really a threat, you might have to dismount
and use the bike as a shield.

Some say that if you ride the route enough the dogs will get to know you.
You might, if you're brave, stop one time and pet them. After they know you
they may ignore you - but there's an unpredictability factor in all of this
- as in bites the hand that pets them. Another strategy might be to stop
and talk to the owner, if the dogs are operating in a pack and one is
stationing themself ahead to jump at you - is that what you mean by ambush?

BTW, wasn't trying to be flippant with the 'outride them' comment. Most
advice boils down to that. If you actually get bit or crash, you may have
to get the cops involved. If you think it might come to that, change your
route, maybe?

Good luck!

-B

TAT 57 wrote:
After a 5 year absence from road cycling I am back on the bike. I
ride some great rural roads mainly in farm country. It seems every
house I pass has a large dog and they all love to chase the bike.
What's the best way to deal with the dog???

I would tell the owners and the authorities that you'll resort to force if
nesessary, and would prefer to not harm the animals.

The go buy a pea-shooter and practice, practice, practice.

Bill "there must be laws, right?" S.

In article ,
says...
After a 5 year absence from road cycling I am back on the bike. I ride some
great rural roads mainly in farm country. It seems every house I pass has a
large dog and they all love to chase the bike. What's the best way to deal
with the dog???

Have a can of Haltz ready.

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