Almost?

I've been chased by dogs hundreds of times and have never had a real problem. In 50 years of riding I only remember a few dogs I really thought wanted to bite me.

Back in the day I was chased by at least one dog on almost every ride (I grew up way before leash laws were enforced or maybe even before they existed) and generally didn't think it was that big of a deal. These days, in most of the US, being chased is infrequent, Kentucky and Missouri being exceptions. I try to look at is as an interesting diversion and usually have fun trying to out sprint the dogs. They are wicked fast (probably 40 mph) for a short burst, but lose interest quickly at anything much over 20 mph. In Missouri and Kentucky we tried to be going at least 18 or 20 mph when we passed places we though we were likely to be chased. As a result I think we went by quite a few before they noticed us.

Interestingly on the Trans America almost every dog that chased us with only one exception was on either flat road or a downhill. I wonder if we were just lucky, the dogs were less interested when we were climbing slowly, or if they would have frequently been on uphills if we were going the other way.