Anyone who has read my posts knows I'm a dog lover and prefer knowledge of dog behavior and the most humane ways possible to deal with canine/cyclist conflicts (though I've never held it against anyone to protect him/herself when genuinely in danger of being bitten). I deal with dogs to some degree or another almost every time I ride and usually don't have any problem (with the exception of a big dopey lab that once collided with me).

Well, today was the first time in a very long time I had a serious case of sphincter pucker involving canines. I was on a rural road when I saw a dog coming out of a yard onto the road 100 yards or so in front of me. It was some kind of bull terrier or maybe a rottweiler cross. He was barking and growling but more standing his ground than attacking. I slowed way down thinking no big deal, I've dealt with this before. Then I spotted big dog #2, which looked like a clone of big dog #1, in the ditch almost directly across from me ears down and laying low. Crap, there went the option to make a fast U-turn and take off in the other direction. I stopped and dismounted on the side opposite the dog in the ditch which brought him up on the road. Both were making tentative advances but backed off when I would speak loudly to them and use the bike to ward them off. Well this sucked but still seemed manageable when big dog #3 came up on the road about 50 feet behind me.

To those who know dogs, this is pack hunting behavior and they were flanking me. For the first time in my life I was wishing I had a can of Bear Spray. I had my triangle bag on the bike in which I carry a fairly heavy padlock on a three-foot cable so I pulled that out, it was better than nothing. To my advantage all appeared to be young adult or near full grown juveniles, so they weren't as bold as older dogs might have been.

I was able to walk my way out of the dogs' territory after a few shots from the water bottle and several short standoffs. Won't be using that stretch of road again any time soon. Too bad, it's a nice road through scenic fields and I've ridden it in the past with no problems.