A dog did ruin my tour almost two years ago, but my response to the dog's "attack" was wrong and I knew better.

Normally, when a dog comes at me, I get off my bike, put it between myself and the dog, and walk until the dog gets bored. I also hold a can of Halt! at the ready just in case the dog is vicious and keeps coming at me.

This time, however, I did stupid things. For some reason, I tried to out-pedal the dog, which was especially ridiculous as the critter wasn't all that far away to begin with. As I pedaled furiously, I turned my head back to see where he was, which caused my bike to sway just a touch. Combined with my intense pedaling and the weight in my rear panniers (I didn't use front panniers), I lost control and fell hard against my upper right thigh. A doctor who treated me a few days later made things terribly worse, and that was the end of my TransAm Tour--after only three + weeks.

My point here is not to panic and do something stupid like I did. All it takes is one mistake, and you could set in motion a rapid-fire chain of events causing severe injury.

By the way, I used Halt! only once. It DID work, and very well. Honestly, though, it made me feel bad seeing the once proud, vicious dog walk away slowly, tail between its legs, looking back at me, sad eyed and defeated. I don't want to ever use it again, but I will only if absolutely needed.

Wolfy