I've had good luck with the "get off your bike approach". But, in the last decade, I've seen a new sort of pitbull, both in Houston and San Antonio. This is a breed of pitbull raised purely to fight and attack. After one of these "insane" pitbulls launches an attack, either you die, or the dog dies.

These dogs are being bred in large numbers, both in inner-city ghetto neighborhoods, and out in rural wooded areas (where the cops are seldom around). They are not raises by "responsible" people, and often escape their pens and begin to hunt around the neighborhood for someone to tear apart. Last year, two people (a child and an elderly man) were killed in just a week by pitbull attacks.

So, for the new "insane" pitbull, you need to ride FAST. But, if he catches you, there is only one outcome. You must kill him. Or he will kill you.

(Someone will post to say: "My pitbull Muffie is sweet and gentle and she lets my baby pull on her ears"....these folks have never MET, SEEN, or RUN from the new breed of insane pitbulls being raised at every public housing project and every rural trailer park in south Texas).