Originally Posted by qwaalodge

I deal with a similar situation but I never been chased by a dog for the last couple decades. I've encountered lots of aggressive dogs but they always dart for the poor fella right next to me or the other side of the road. Those dogs would even chase motorcycles! The last time I got chased by a dog while riding a bike, I'm still a little kid so many years ago (and that was my purely fault as I have often teased the same dog).

A few factors I could attribute, my very average looking commuter kit even though most of my rides are recreational in nature. Most riders around my place are commuters and I don't stand out at all. I also very little body odor even after those 3hr sweaty rides in 95F temperatures. My saddle always smells like new and it never gets washed. I never wash some of the things I wear and they never smell. My relative lack of odor can be attributed to the low proportion of meat in my diet. I also have a low calorie diet except on days I'm doing long rides. Smell is a big deal for dogs and they can smell things from much farther away than humans. And finally, how I move on the bike, how I pedal, more in an organic sense. I sway a bit side to side in a very fluid motion while pedaling.

Maybe dogs see all of it as a low threat signal so they just leave me alone.