[RetroG]

I suit up in a hollow at the base of Peaks of Otter in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. My weapon of choice this time is the road bike. Mountain Biking in these areas is great, but with hunting season and the unseasonably warm temps mucking up the trails, I hit pavement. Or so I thought. A few miles into it on an old, windy country road, the pavement turns to dirt. Hard pack clay like dirt which is surprisingly firm and I have no problems with the skinny tires. This is absolutely beautiful riding, in and out of hollows, rolling along the foot of Suck Mountain. I'm flying with thoughts of Museeuw, Duclos Lassalle. Up ahead I approach a slow moving pick up, four furry legs pointing up to the sky rides in the back. The last day of the season and these ol' boys are off to an early start. I start to wonder, as I pass, if my legs will be the next ones to be thrown in the back!! The gunshots won't stop until an hour after sunset. Different set of rules in these parts.

On 3 separate occasions, I am chased by dogs. The first is minor. A sheltie gives up with little effort on my part. The later 2 episodes got the heart rate up a bit. At one point I hit 40 mph on a gravel road that resembled a washboard seen earlier in the front yard. Scary stuff.

Which leads me to the Q:

Have you ever been caught from behind while being chased? What was the outcome?

I've never been caught from behind and can only assume the dog will try to take a bite of leg if he catches you. Or is he just chasing ?

I'll continue to ride these roads of yesteryear as this was probably the best 30 miles I have ever ridden on the "pavement".

Cheers!!

 

[Rebus]

Suck Mountain? Awesome.

I was chased by dog two summers ago, hit the brakes, and the dog caught his nose on my back tire. He yelped, ran off and the owner yelled at me.

 

[RetroG]

Also: No Business Mountain...

Suck Mountain? Awesome.

Just Northeast of Suck Mountain. I stayed on the "main" road while traversing this one. It's a different world over there.

 

[Capt_phun]

Hey RetroG, I'm in VA as well, seems chasing dogs are the norm here. On a particular route I rode, there was a local dog who would bark and chase, first time it nearly made me wreck due to the sudden surprise of a dog jumping out of the bushes. Next time I went past him gave him a shot from the water bottle and that caused him to stop in his tracks as I yelled "NO" at him as well.
I'm regretting the day I come across a pack of hounds that want to chase.

 

[CHUM]

I'm regretting the day I come across a pack of hounds that want to chase.

That's why I carry a small can of pepper spray - I commute to work and have been chased before.

Haven't had to use it yet... I really don't want to 'cause I'm pretty sure I'll nail myself in the process of aiming

 

[KRob]

Grrrr. I hate dogs that chase and want to bite me. I mean, why should I have to deal with a supposedly domesticated "wild" animal trying to injure me when I'm just minding my own business riding my bike trying to enjoy nature........... Oh. (Light comes on.) But still, I think it shouldn't ought to be this way.

Glad to hear your weren't devoured RG. I got bit on the leg by a jeeper's dog right at the start of Amasa back trail a couple years ago. I was so mad. No foaming at the mouth though.

 

[Martin.au]

My usual response to being chased by a dog used to be unclip and kick. Not sure I can do that anymore as I'm a bit rusty. If owners don't think their dogs need to be controlled then they had better have a rethink about it. Most dogs are incredibly stupid around moving vehicles.

 

[Dwight Moody]

I've never been caught from behind and can only assume the dog will try to take a bite of leg if he catches you. Or is he just chasing ?

I'll continue to ride these roads of yesteryear as this was probably the best 30 miles I have ever ridden on the "pavement".

Cheers!!

Back when I was a youngin' up in the more northerly reaches of Appalacia (The Taconic Mountains of Upstate New York), nobody restrained their dogs and they pretty much all chased bikes. I was never bitten so it broke the skin, but dogs would often grab the leg of my jeans and give it a little tug. If you stopped and yelled at 'em, they'd back down. If you stopped and petted them they'd be your friend. (Which means they'd play the same damn game all the time, so it wasn't such a good idea) I think most dogs understand the road is public property, so it's different than if you come up on their porch.

The only dog I ever got bitten by was tied up. Tieing your dog up in the middle of the woods when all their neighbors run free gives a dog a lot of rage, I think.

 

[Knuckles]

Kovachi Wheels?
A relative of yours used to be my boss a few years back.
Small world.

 

[Mt. Biker]

A good swift kick seems to work pretty good, we used to have a dog that would chase us and go after our legs every time we went riding, til one day when one of the guys gave him a good kick, after that he still came out barking but you just had to take your foot off the pedal and he'd turn around. I love dogs but if they are being agressive they need to be put in their place.

 

[Photo-John]

Mmmmmm

Dogs that chase bikes taste good when you grill them with a bunch of good bbq sauce.

 

[davis]

RG, obviously you need to come over to my side of the border (and bring Capt Phun with ya, he knows where I live). Ya see, over here, all the dogs you see are trained to run bears exclusively. As long as you're not the real hairy type, yall's in the clear. And pepper spray only works if you actually hit the dog. That's the real advantage to a handgun, you don't have to hit 'em to scare the pi$$ out of 'em!

Hey Capt, I could use a phone number, maybe shoot me a PM, eh? We need to talk about the 2006 Slatyfork Shuffle Roadshow at Douthat....

 

[Fiona]

Word of warning

That's why I carry a small can of pepper spray - I commute to work and have been chased before.

Haven't had to use it yet... I really don't want to 'cause I'm pretty sure I'll nail myself in the process of aiming

I was told at work (post office) that some dogs aren't bothered by the spray, they just get madder. I guess the big ones are the worst (Rotts, Labs, and Pits) and some of the slipper-sized dogs are good for taking you out by jumping into your tires. I won't carry spray. If I'm at the point where I might need it, it's probably too late. I like that good kick idea and the water bottle spray works, but I use a hydropack and haven't figured how to spray from that yet.

Fiona

 

[Cloud9]

...over here, all the dogs you see are trained to run bears exclusively...

There's a very clever bear where I come from that's gained some notoriety. It has three legs, which makes it incredibly easy to track when it comes out of cover. You'd think it'd be at a disadvantage. It seems it's learned to cope. The bear has a habit of rounding dogs into an ambush of sorts, and then crushing all the canines with a log and enjoying a snack. Of course, it doesn't end there. When billyjoebob "hunter" comes along looking for his easy prey wondering why his dogs stopped barking, he gets a paw to the head, which typically does an effective job of removing it. In 4 years of this, no one's been successful (or interested much) in catching that bear, and for the rest of us hunters who actually do the hunting ourselves (instead of hiding behind a pack of dogs), we don't mind much. The locals love it. Bear hunters aren't exactly popular with anybody. Kinda off topic, I know.

 

[akitadogg]

There's a very clever bear where I come from that's gained some notoriety. It has three legs, which makes it incredibly easy to track when it comes out of cover. You'd think it'd be at a disadvantage. It seems it's learned to cope. The bear has a habit of rounding dogs into an ambush of sorts, and then crushing all the canines with a log and enjoying a snack. Of course, it doesn't end there. When billyjoebob "hunter" comes along looking for his easy prey wondering why his dogs stopped barking, he gets a paw to the head, which typically does an effective job of removing it. In 4 years of this, no one's been successful (or interested much) in catching that bear, and for the rest of us hunters who actually do the hunting ourselves (instead of hiding behind a pack of dogs), we don't mind much. The locals love it. Bear hunters aren't exactly popular with anybody. Kinda off topic, I know.

I'd be interested in knowing just which planet this so called "bear" tale of yours comes from.....I'm guessing the east since we don't hunt bears with dogs round these parts, nor have I ever heard of a bear holding it's own against trained dogs, or for that matter a couple of tenacious dogs. BS meter maxxed out

 

[fred3]

Leash law in Maine. If it's loose and it chases it's fair game. Then I call the police and they ticket the owner. I'd guess, unless they're rich, that a few $100+ tickets for a loose dog will curb their i'mtoolazytowalkmydog attitude.

 

[mzungo]

God i hate DOGS!!

Leash law in Maine. If it's loose and it chases it's fair game. Then I call the police and they ticket the owner. I'd guess, unless they're rich, that a few $100+ tickets for a loose dog will curb their i'mtoolazytowalkmydog attitude.

The scarry thing is not so much being bit as being made to crash at speed.

Hurtling down the trail in the big ring with a big grin at the end of 4 hours ride .....a large young rotwieler appears in front a 100 yrds away ....goes into the hey i am exited and gona go fer it stance they have ,ya no legs stiff head up...hmmm thinks me is that it can i hurtle past ....no thinks rotty ya bloody cant..and comes for me.

I hit the brakes gravel flying and slew the bike arround in one movment showering him with stones as i dismount and get the bike between us all the time this monster with teeth is barking and doing that dumb front leg only jump on the spot thing while trying to decide which bit of me it can get at..

Along come Bob and Sue or what ever there called, who are a good 50 yards or more away from the dog and have a go at me for scaring the dumb son of a *****,saying how i over reacted and made it worse and poor little Brandy (the Rot) would never harm any one.
Jeezi hate dog owners who have failed to have kids and think the Rotty is a repalcment child..so i threaten them with the law he gets all macho end result a really ruined day and i am now wary of my favorite trail...

So i Got a dog Dazer ultra sonic dog deterent (we cant carry guns here in the UK)

Tried it out on the local pooches, seames to work with the smaller stuff but what its like with a big wound up brute we will have to wait and see..

 

[RetroG]

If I shot a dog in Bedford, VA...

Leash law in Maine. If it's loose and it chases it's fair game. Then I call the police and they ticket the owner. I'd guess, unless they're rich, that a few $100+ tickets for a loose dog will curb their i'mtoolazytowalkmydog attitude.

If I shot a dog in Bedford, VA, they would do horrible, horrible things to me that would resemble the cult film starring Ned B. and Burt Reynolds and featured pig squealing imitations. Or, better yet, Wrong Turn.

 

[RetroG]

I Plan On It...

RG, obviously you need to come over to my side of the border (and bring Capt Phun with ya, he knows where I live). Ya see, over here, all the dogs you see are trained to run bears exclusively. As long as you're not the real hairy type, yall's in the clear. And pepper spray only works if you actually hit the dog. That's the real advantage to a handgun, you don't have to hit 'em to scare the pi$$ out of 'em!

Hey Capt, I could use a phone number, maybe shoot me a PM, eh? We need to talk about the 2006 Slatyfork Shuffle Roadshow at Douthat....

Been eyeing up the Shuffle. I'm big on Ham-n-"cabbage".

 

[Rebus]

Kovachi Wheels?
A relative of yours used to be my boss a few years back.
Small world.

I just use 'em. My brother builds wheels for John Kovachi. Damn things are bulletproof.

I'm not a rep or relative of Kovachi.

Small world, indeed.

(OP: Sorry for the derail.)