indyfabz

Actually, I spooked the first one. Look at the creek. You can see ripples. He was just down the trail embankment. He heard me, jumped in the water and swam across. Gave me time to stop and get out the camera. I nearly wiped out doing that.

Second guy didn’t see me until I shouted “Yesssss!” He stopped to check me out. Again, it gave me time to get out the camera.

Third guy took off when he saw us.

The day before I saw No. 1 I came face to face at about 25’ with a huge one as I was leaving camp just before sunrise. Easily 600 lbs. Probably more. He had raided the campground dumpsters. He realized what a bad ass I am and slinked away. Somewhere I have a photo of the raided dumpsters and the big pile of scat he left behind. There was a smaller pile near my tent. He had likely passed by while I was sleeping.

I have seen at least two others while riding on tour.

indyfabz

You or the dogs?

Koyote

About 35 yrs ago I was in a campground in the Great Smoky Mtns NP. In the middle of the night, a black bear came into my camp to raid my cooler. Of course, I had always heard that black bears are scared of humans, so I waved my arms and yelled "Get the hell out of here."

Bear came towards me, so I ran away while shouting "Okay, I'll get the hell out of here!"

The ranger was in his residence, watching TV at 1am -- which did not seem very ranger-like. I knocked on the door, told him what had happened, and with a totally straight face he asked, "What did the bear look like?" I mean, shoot, it's a black bear and it's the middle of the night.

My response: "Give me a rifle and I'll come back with a detailed description." Apparently, they had a 'problem bear' that kept coming into the campground - had lost it's fear of humans. They flew him 50 miles away, and he came back. They flew him 100 miles away, and now he had apparently come back again. If it was him, he was gonna get killed. I felt bad for ratting him out.

Airfehr

Bear you say.

BTW. A visible cooler in bear country tantamount to free beer sign at a biker fest.

ofajen

I don’t ride roads anymore and don’t see many dogs. Back in the 70s and early 80s, I did tens of thousands of solo miles on rural highways in our area and never got bitten by any of the dogs.

Sometimes they were just curious and sometimes barking to protect their turf.

Occasionally a dog would be confrontational but one or more of: 1) excess speed, 2) loud yelling or 3) brandishing a long Silca frame pump with the solid steel Campy head, always managed to fend them off. YMMV.

Otto

rumrunn6

similarly, about 20 years ago, while camping riverside, with Wifey, the kids & another family, we were told to lock up our food since a bear has been snooping around. um OK so we put everything in our truck, or so we thought.

while the family was sleeping I heard rustling outside, I guessed it was the bear, not sure what to do, I unzipped the tent zipper real fast & real loud & then zipped it back up real fast & real loud. then I heard the animal run away.

in the morning I went out to find we left a paper bag on the picnic table, with a plastic bag of mini bagels. the animal tore it all open &ate the bagels. I looked around for tracks & sure enough saw bear tracks. small by all comparisons. I guess I took pics of the tracks, pre-digital. no idea where they are

so glad the encounter went the way it did. I really was caught off-guard, with "what to do". obviously we messed up leaving the bag of bagels out

Paul Barnard

Has the OP come back and engaged in the discussion they started?

phughes

When I was a teenager, every day a black dog would chase and try to attack me as I rode by. My dad told me to carry a squirt gun filled with bleach and squirt the dog. I tried it and the dog stopped in his tracks. I never saw the black dog again.

I let my guard down after that and ended up getting chased and attacked while riding my bike not long after though. I didn't recognize that white dog.

rsbob 

Bleach in the eyes could cause blindness. You may have permanently blinded the dog and that’s why you never saw it again. I would think vinegar would be equally effective but not as caustic.

Tomm Willians

I don’t think that’s what he meant 🤣🤣

bikingshearer 

ofajen is on the right track, or at least one that is under-represented in this thread. A full-sized frame pump is immediately available, works pretty well, and the wind will never blow it back into your face. A Silca pump with a steel Campy head is good old-school solution, but a more modern all-metal Zefal HPX pump is even better. Mini-pumps are worse than useless for this application.

I've never been bitten, and it's been 20 years +/- since I have had an unfriendly dog encounter. The last one, I watched Fido come tearing down the driveway out of a house/yard in the country and go after a rider about 150 yards ahead of me (I yelled to warn the guy - because of the wind, he couldn't hear me). That rider appeared to escape without nothing more than a good scare, and when the dog spotted me, he retreated up the driveway to reload, keeping an eagle eye on me as I approached. I got my pump in my dog-side hand (left in this case) and held it out where Fido could see it. He clearly knew what it was, or at least that it would function as a club. He held his ground and gave the stink-eye as I rode past, but kept his distance. No doubt in my mind some other cyclist had introduced him Mr. Silca or Mr. Zefal before.

I carry a full-sized frame pump and some CO2, mostly for belt-and-suspenders flat-fixing security, but I stand (or ride) ready to use the pump for dog discouragement. I hope I never have to again.

Iride01 

On a charity ride recently I tagged onto a large group of riders, mostly from two of the larger cycling clubs here. A few times we road past some barking dogs and the actions of the cyclist were more dangerous to be around than were the dogs. In one case the dogs were behind a fence, yet still it disrupted the orderly proceeding of the group.

Though riding with them was enjoyable, if this is the way they always behave around dogs and other perceived threats, then I'd be scared, but not of the dog!

phughes

prairiepedaler

Hmmm, dogs chasing? Probably a good idea to vary the route home from your shift at the meat packing plant.

Jax Rhapsody

Usually a "git cho ass home," does the job. I thought one was gonna chase me a few nights ago, but it ran away... then another one that wanted to chase it, stopped right in front of me, and I almost ran it over. First dog made a wise choice, the stupid choice woulda gotten it pistol whipped.

livedarklions

My dad told me to use bare spray, but the syringe full of Nair was ineffective.

livedarklions

A wise man once suggested avoiding eating tarantula meat or dressing like a bumble bee.

indyfabz

Hah! Who was that? Can't remember his name.

rsbob 

failed to read the last sentence, so you are correct

livedarklions

You're definitely not the first guy to zone out before the ending of a shaggy dog story.

308jerry

That's too funny.....

indyfabz

I remember going to see Disney's "The Shaggy D.A." in 1976.

rsbob 

Dog exploitation! So foul! Or canine

79pmooney

My question on this whole thread - are these suggestions for us riders or the dogs chasing?

And a fun story of a silent chase by a really fast dog - the apex of my racing years. Mid summer. Race bike, training wheels, club race sewups. I was riding 20 miles west of Boston through the woods of far west Lexington. Headed down a hill I'd nver seen before. Crossed a large house set well back form the road. As I crossed the walkway, a dog saw me and arose from the front steps. I poured it on. Looked over when I reached the property limit. That dogs was just a few steps back! Immediately beside me. Then just paced me down the hill, never getting his nose forward of my BB. No bark, no growl, not even heavy breathing.

Hill leveled off, he turned around and trotted home. Work done. And the whole time, both of us knew he could surge ahead and beat me over any finish line. I went on truly humbled. Years later my neighbor brought home the same type dog. Whippet. I've had a soft spot for them ever since. Classiest bike chase ever.

79pmooney

Sixth grade, I used to come home on my 3 speed. At the bottom of the hill lived a dalmatian that always chased. Outrunning it was impossible with the hill but one day I lured it into the telephone pole. Never chased me or others again.

Another racing days story - early March. Long ride to the NH border with my riding partner. (We'd turn off the east-west state rt and up a very quiet rural road to the unmarked border, turn around and head home.) About a mile from the border we pass a big tree in front of an old farm house. Dog under the tree hears us, raises its head. "Bikes! I chase bikes." So this dog that hasn't taken move fast since last summer gets up and waddles after us. Hilarious. We were laughing so hard we could barely stay in front of it.

A few minutes later we returned, Again dog hear us and thought the immediate "Bikes!" Looks. Lays his head back down and pretends he never saw us. (This story and the one the post above took place the same year. The bookends to my dog chases.)