My wee little daughter is fearless with dogs be they big or small and she does know not to approach strange dogs but will always greets them "who's a cute puppy... who's a cute puppy?" and in almost every case the dog just melts.
I think that no matter how old the dog is, this tone of voice and hearing how cute a puppy they are takes them to a happy place where cuddles abound.
Conversely, she takes no crap from dogs either and understands how important discipline is, she can handle my friend's extremely obedient 100 pound Shepard off leash and he obeys every command she gives him.
When we rescued our Min Pin she had feeding issues and was growling and snapping at everyone that came close but she would have the dog sitting and waiting while she filled the food dish and would pull her off her food and submit her on her back if she even gave a hint of growling.
And then she would make her wait to go back to her food.
She did just what I did and in no time our beloved little dog was well behaved at mealtime as she learned that aggression was not going to be tolerated and more importantly, that she was not going to be denied or teased with food.
As for cycling, I have never had an issue with dogs that have wanted to chase me as I am like the OP in that I do not give them the pleasure of running me down. I always stop and either speak nicely to the dog if it is submissive and make friends or tell them to GO HOME if they are displaying dominant postures.