Country Roads & DOGS

Monty

Halt, it works like a charm!
http://www.magidglove.com/product.a...id=279&pf_id=32

"TAT 57" <tatullis@ccrtc.com> wrote in message
news:10e5p4m7v2gq263@corp.supernews.com...
> 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???

Monty

Thry this link, single unit
http://www.benmeadows.com/store/pro...sp?dept_id=2295

"Monty" <monty@nanandmont.com> wrote in message
news:clEEc.38$ks.29@newssvr15.news.prodigy.com...
> Halt, it works like a charm! http://www.magidglove.com/pr-
> oduct.asp?dept_id=279&pf_id=32
>
>
>
>
> "TAT 57" <tatullis@ccrtc.com> wrote in message
> news:10e5p4m7v2gq263@corp.supernews.com...
> > 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???
> >
>

Ryan Cousineau

In article <kgr5e09o4u1qfq4kj8df3dig3053jkn5jd@4ax.com>,
Badger_South <Badger@South.net> wrote:

> On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 12:29:33 -0400, Curtis L. Russell <curtis@md-
> bicycling.org> wrote:
>
> >On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 11:04:40 -0500, "TAT 57"
> ><tatullis@ccrtc.com> 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.

You'd have to be pretty slow or have a very fast dog for
him to keep up on road rides. On mountain bike trails,
sure (I once was in a mountain bike race where one rider
brought his small yellow dog. Rider and dog both finished
way ahead of me).

> 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?

Only once

> >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.

Mastiffs are big.

In practice, the only time I got caught on a country road
with two largish dogs, I stopped and the dogs came up to
check me out. End of incident.

--
Ryan Cousineau, rcousine@sfu.ca
http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/ President, Fabrizio
Mazzoleni Fan Club

Curtis L . Russ

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 19:17:28 GMT, "Monty" <monty@nanandmont.com>
wrote:

>Halt, it works like a charm!

Sprays of any kind have more drawbacks than pluses. It is
extremely uncertain on a day with no wind and if you are not
moving fast yourself. It is more uncertain if you are
actually moving and/or there is a wind. And for a determined
dog, Halt does not work - nor do most sprays. A trained or
extremely irate dog will work right through any spray that
does not disable both eyes and nose. If you have a serious
pepper spray that does that, you may very well disable the
dog and make it unable to locate you as you move on.

OTOH, that same spray caught by the wrong breeze would leave
you to be dog meat.

If you are large, the advice to get off with the bike
between you and the dog is best. And then be prepared to
improvise. But the dynamics change once you are a largish
animal that is somewhat static, but standing your ground.

I've never had a dog take it further than a gradual backing
off from the above, although with one I can remember
repeating it twice before he completely returned to the
porch. But I came up on a situation where a smaller person
was having problems with a dog that kept trying to circle.
Gave up when he realized he was outnumbered and I was making
very angry noises at him.

And I do remember a family that kept a bunch of smallish
mutts that were a real pain in the behind - and lived right
on a regular ride segment for the Oxon Hill, MD bike club.
The house was at a switchback, where the road cut into the
grade that led to the house, so at least one would be near
head high. At least two of the dogs were killed by cyclists
in self defense, but there always seemed to be a small pack.
Then they all went away - figured inbreeding caused a sudden
death to all the humans in the colony and the dogs followed
the pigs to someplace else.

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

PS: And then there was my wife's way. We were on our upright
tandem near Georgetown, KY when we passed a house with
what we thought was a pony. Turned out to be a sort of
giant schnauzer thing - ran along the fence making
noises. Then the fence became a large opening. That's
when my wife got off and put me AND the bike between her
and the dog...

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

Rick Onanian

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 15:01:16 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
<rogerzoul2@hotmail.com> wrote:
>:: dogs. Probably the largest breed of dog to ever live,
>:: based on various records. Various types of current
>:: mastiffs run from 130 pounds to 200 plus, so they are
>:: definitely in the running for the largest dog you don't
>:: want to meet in a dark alley.
>
>But can they keep up with someone riding a bicycle?

No, I don't think so; bicycles don't fit dogs well. However,
running, they can keep up.

<G>
--
Rick Onanian

Rick Onanian

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 12:09:31 -0700, Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@sfu.ca>
wrote:
>You'd have to be pretty slow or have a very fast dog for
>him to keep up on road rides.

How slow? 8 mph? 6 mph? I'm often going slower than that,
struggling to get up a big hill, or dead from the last big
hill as I struggle up a minor hill.
--
Rick Onanian

Garyg

"Monty" <monty@nanandmont.com> wrote in message
news:clEEc.38$ks.29@newssvr15.news.prodigy.com...
> Halt, it works like a charm! http://www.magidglove.com/pr-
> oduct.asp?dept_id=279&pf_id=32
>
>

Full-strength pepper spray works just as well on dogs as the
watered down Halt product. Plus, it can also provide a
degree of protection in case of a confrontation with the
dog's owner (or any other two-legged varmint).

GG

Roger Zoul

Rick Onanian wrote:
:: On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 15:01:16 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
:: <rogerzoul2@hotmail.com> wrote:
::::: dogs. Probably the largest breed of dog to ever live,
::::: based on various records. Various types of current
::::: mastiffs run from 130 pounds to 200 plus, so they are
::::: definitely in the running for the largest dog you
::::: don't want to meet in a dark alley.
:::
::: But can they keep up with someone riding a bicycle?
::
:: No, I don't think so; bicycles don't fit dogs well.
:: However, running, they can keep up.
::
:: <G>

Funny guy! But seriously, can/could a dog run with me at
say 15 mph average for 50 miles or so? Might that be hard
on the paws?

Badger_south

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 16:52:35 -0400, "Roger Zoul" <rogerzoul2@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>Rick Onanian wrote:
>:: On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 15:01:16 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
>:: <rogerzoul2@hotmail.com> wrote:
>::::: dogs. Probably the largest breed of dog to ever live,
>::::: based on various records. Various types of current
>::::: mastiffs run from 130 pounds to 200 plus, so they are
>::::: definitely in the running for the largest dog you
>::::: don't want to meet in a dark alley.
>:::
>::: But can they keep up with someone riding a bicycle?
>::
>:: No, I don't think so; bicycles don't fit dogs well.
>:: However, running, they can keep up.
>::
>:: <G>
>
>Funny guy! But seriously, can/could a dog run with me at
>say 15 mph average for 50 miles or so? Might that be hard
>on the paws?

Lesse, what are your times for the Iditarod? <g,d&r>

-B

Max

In article <10e5p4m7v2gq263@corp.supernews.com>,
"TAT 57" <tatullis@ccrtc.com> 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???

pull a cat on a skateboard.

.max

--
the part of <betatron@earthlink.net> was played by maxwell
monningh 8-p

Badger_south

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 21:55:14 GMT, Max <betatron@earthlink.net> wrote:

>In article <10e5p4m7v2gq263@corp.supernews.com>, "TAT 57"
><tatullis@ccrtc.com> 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???
>
>pull a cat on a skateboard.
>
>.max

Wheeled catapult, eh?

-B Is that a vicious attack-cat in your jersey pocket?

Ryan Cousineau

In article <dp66e05gi0bed98b372fi97vl5d6kevoir@4ax.com>,
Rick Onanian <spamsink@cox.net> wrote:

> On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 12:09:31 -0700, Ryan Cousineau
> <rcousine@sfu.ca> wrote:
> >You'd have to be pretty slow or have a very fast dog for
> >him to keep up on road rides.
>
> How slow? 8 mph? 6 mph? I'm often going slower than that,
> struggling to get up a big hill, or dead from the last big
> hill as I struggle up a minor hill.
> --
> Rick Onanian

It's not the hills that the dog will have problems with.
He'll probably cream you there. It's the flats and the
descents. On the flats, my tempo speed is about 30-35 km/h
depending on the day and my mood, faster in a paceline. I
don't know of very many dogs that can exceed 30 km/h for
more than 5 minutes.

For cyclists interested in bringing along their own dog on
the road, I recommend a very small dog, one which can be
carried as cargo. Not very useful for self-defense, though.

I love dogs, and haven't had a serious problem with a dog
since a large chihuahua bit me in grade school. But there
are dogs and circumstances in which I would say warranted
lethal force. Since I don't travel armed, the next best
option is to use one's bicycle as a weapon: it's a big,
metal, distracting thing, and if you can get the dog to go
after it, you might be able to pin the dog under it, at
which point you have probably won. All bets are off when
dealing with multiple dogs. Ride the heck out of there and
hope you're faster than either the dogs or your slowest
riding companion .

--
Ryan Cousineau, rcousine@sfu.ca
http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/ President, Fabrizio
Mazzoleni Fan Club

The Real Bev

Rick Onanian wrote:
>
> Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@sfu.ca> wrote:
> >You'd have to be pretty slow or have a very fast dog for
> >him to keep up on road rides.
>
> How slow? 8 mph? 6 mph? I'm often going slower than that,
> struggling to get up a big hill, or dead from the last big
> hill as I struggle up a minor hill.

I once paced a dachshund running flat out at 7 mph, but I
don't think he could have kept it up very long. If you have
to slow down on a hill, wouldn't he have to slow down too?

--
Cheers, Bev
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo If
it weren't for pain, we wouldn't have any fun at all.

The Real Bev

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
>
> Rick Onanian <spamsink@cox.net> wrote:
>
> > Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@sfu.ca> wrote:
> > >You'd have to be pretty slow or have a very fast dog
> > >for him to keep up on road rides.
> >
> > How slow? 8 mph? 6 mph? I'm often going slower than
> > that, struggling to get up a big hill, or dead from the
> > last big hill as I struggle up a minor hill.
>
> It's not the hills that the dog will have problems with.
> He'll probably cream you there. It's the flats and the
> descents. On the flats, my tempo speed is about 30-35 km/h
> depending on the day and my mood, faster in a paceline. I
> don't know of very many dogs that can exceed 30 km/h for
> more than 5 minutes.
>
> For cyclists interested in bringing along their own dog
> on the road, I recommend a very small dog, one which
> can be carried as cargo. Not very useful for self-
> defense, though.

Depends on how far you can throw him. The more he weighs the
closer you'll have to be, but the longer it will take the
big dog to eat him.

> I love dogs, and haven't had a serious problem with a dog
> since a large chihuahua bit me in grade school. But there
> are dogs and circumstances in which I would say warranted
> lethal force. Since I don't travel armed, the next best
> option is to use one's bicycle as a weapon: it's a big,
> metal, distracting thing, and if you can get the dog to go
> after it, you might be able to pin the dog under it, at
> which point you have probably won.

And then the dog throws up his paws and says "OK, King's X,
you win, see you next week..."

> All bets are off when dealing with multiple dogs. Ride the
> heck out of there and hope you're faster than either the
> dogs or your slowest riding companion .

Carry dog biscuits. Others have said that it's bad to train
a dog to chase bikers for treats, but things are very
different when the beast is looking for lunch.

--
Cheers, Bev
==================================================================

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