I've never been that scared on the bike before. This mean looking dog just came out of the woods and started chasing me and barking like crazy. I have two dogs at home, but this one was pretty vicious looking. Unfortunately I was going up a slight incline and I wasn't going very fast when he started chasing me, so I had a hard time shaking him off, which was probably what made it so scary. He chased me for a good 30 seconds and then dissapeared. I kept sprinting though. :D

Anybody else get chased recently? Anybody get caught by the dog? :eek: I'm pretty paranoid now about dogs.

Anybody else get chased recently? Anybody get caught by the dog? :eek: I'm pretty paranoid now about dogs.

Never been caught though. Three times spring to mind. Once, mountain biking on gravel tracks two huge vicious beasties chased us (this would have been about ten minutes after a bear lumbered across the track not far in front of us). I was sure they were going to catch one of us as well, as they had the angle, but at the edge of their property they both stopped. Guess we were not a threat then.

Another on a road ride, a bunch of us were chased by a dog that didn't even bark. Couldn't catch us. But then he sat down on the side of the road, looked up it and waited for the next group, not far behind. It seemed to be his recreation as this is a popular cycling route.

Most recent was this spring in Spain. Climbing a very steep cobbled road out of some little town two tiny dogs started to give chase. I wasn't worried about them, but they were persistent. Chased me up the hill for the better part of a minute, yapping all the way.

So, you went home and returned with the TEC-9 right?

Just last week on a ride that passed through the Gila River Indian Reservation FOUR dogs came flying out of a yard barking and showing teeth. I didn't see or hear them until they were almost on me and it scared the pooh outta me. Seemed they were gonna rip the rear derailler off!!! I was trying to get away from them and started moving toward the center of the road, and fortunately a car came the other way, slowed down and honked the horn until the dogs retreated. The whole time I was yelling "git, git" at the beasts.

We've been chased by packs of dogs on the Salt River Res. on at least four other occasions, it's not a pleasant experience. I WILL bring pepper spray the next time I'll be passing through.

I was riding on a country road a few weeks ago and had a K-9 encounter. I rode next to a barn as the owner was on a ladder working on the roof. Suddenly, I saw his dog on the side of the road make eye contact with me and off he went. The owner yelled to call the dog back, but then it had target lock on me. I started my sprint as the dog came along my right side looking at my leg as it was a ham bone, barking and showing its teeth. I started to scream like a lunatic at the top of my lungs. The dog gave me a "WTF?" look and backed off. My throat was sore and hoarse the rest of the ride, but I kept my leg.

I've never been that scared on the bike before. This mean looking dog just came out of the woods and started chasing me and barking like crazy. I have two dogs at home, but this one was pretty vicious looking. Unfortunately I was going up a slight incline and I wasn't going very fast when he started chasing me, so I had a hard time shaking him off, which was probably what made it so scary. He chased me for a good 30 seconds and then dissapeared. I kept sprinting though. :D

Anybody else get chased recently? Anybody get caught by the dog? :eek: I'm pretty paranoid now about dogs.

I was getting chased so much on one of my rural routes, I've quit taking it, despite hitting the dogs along the route w/ pepper spray a few times.

I feel for you there - that's a tough scenario climbing a hill. bet the HR was up there a bit.

The pepper spray sold at bike shops will work. Big dogs need a direct hit on the nose or eyes. It's just such a PITA carrying it around, and during the winter when it's cold, they'll only spray 5 feet or so. My experience has been they back off pretty quickly when sprayed, leave you alone for a week or so, then chase again. But they will generally back off when you point the spray at them. It's just not a good distraction at 17-18 mph. You've got enough going on at that speed without having to worry about dogs/pepper spray/aiming, etc

I love dogs... I own 2 black labs...

In younger days we'd make sure to give a whistle about 50 yards before a specific residence just so see if their Aussie Shep, and Border Collie were ready to play... We had to test them several times before we got that comfy with these dogs though. They would run from their own yard, never in the street, never barking and showing any aggression, and all the way down about a half mile of cornfield that they lived next to...
They always made sure to spring out of the yard fast, then loose a few yards during the sprint, but they always tried to reach the edge of the cornfield first.

Border Collie's are quick... and although he's a different breed, we still nicknamed him Eddie..

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I used to have a long commute where I would drive in with my bike, ride home, then ride back to the office the next morning. I used to do this about twice a week for half the year. Basically every morning I bike commuted, I was chased by a border collie from an old farm house. Damn that guy was fast. The first time scared the crap out of me as he nipped at my right leg for what seemed like a quarter mile. I was really afraid of him causing me to crash. I got used to him though. It became kind of game. I would start my sprint as he charged off the porch. He had no problems catching me at a 30+ mph sprint. Eventually he would back off right away when he caught up to me. He'd always chase though. Unfortunately this came at about mile 3 of a 30 mile commute. I wish I had more of a warm up for such a violent effort.

You didn't stop to take a picture?

Last year, right about this time, I was riding along and saw a big ol' German shepherd-type dog on the side of the road. He perked up when he saw me, and I got a little worried when he started running.

Turned out he just wanted to race- he ran along side me for about a quarter mile, then stopped, turned around and went back to wait for the next challenger.

1. Bark back
2. Yell "No!"
3. Water bottle
4. Frame pump

I only had to resort to #4 while in north carolina...and only once.