kr32

I saw this on Competitive Cyclist.

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ro...30.2323.1.html

Sort of pricey but I guess can you really put a price on safety.

So far I have only encounter dogs twice and out ran them both times.
I have not had any experience with the other two except a close call being doored once. I saw it at the last minute and swerved to avoid. I didn't say anything either, just road away. Thinking back I am not sure who was at fault, them for opening the door without looking back or me for riding so close to the car in the first place.

cranky old dude

1. Dogs....left to run loose by stupid people.
2. Cars.....unsafely operated by stupid people.
3. Other cyclists....who are too stupid to ride safely.

Geez, I only can come up with one reason.

Sorry to read of your crash and I'm hoping you heal quickly and well.

I've experienced hitting the pavement from #2, not yet crashed or been a snack to #1, and am constantly doing my best to avoid #3.

Terex

Most accidents (many multiples of the ones you've listed) are caused by actions of the cyclist. Inattention, over-cooking corners, not descending safely, bumping wheel of someone in front of them, etc. I know lots of people who have had these types of accidents, and the severity has been everything from medivac flights (2) to a simple pick themselves up and dust themselves off.

I'm the only person I know in this area who has been hit by a dog (I stayed upright), and I know of no one who's been hit by a car. The only full-sized dog I've ever seen running loose in NJ is the one that hit me. Deer are a MUCH bigger problem.

I know of two cyclists who have had severe accidents, and been picked up by passing motorists. One of the cyclists hit a deer while going downhill at 40 mph.

gcottay

Best wishes for a smooth and complete recovery.

For me, rider skill is the biggest factor in getting into and out of trouble.

Coming to a dead stop for a possibly aggressive dog is one of my favorite tricks.

Loose Chain

Oh definitely, you are making me feel good, , please take a break, ha, ha.

Feel better soon please and yes, I am doing much better too. Thanks all.

Wanderer

Nashbar has some nifty little clips, that hold a can of Halt! right on the handlebars.

Snaps right out, holds very well, very handy to grab and shoot.

Cheap, too!

Phil85207

My experiences with dogs have been the wild kind out in the desert, called coyotes. The first time I wasn't prepared and it was a real adventure. I did manage to out run them but that was the worst anaerobic experience I ever had. Now when the road takes me out into the desert I carry "wasp and hornet spray". It will shoot at least 15 feet in a stream and though I have not had the occasion to use it yet I feel sure it will be effective. In my case its usually more than one dog and they have lunch on there minds. I keep the spray in my jersey pocket so it handy but it would fit in the water bottle cage too.

bgary

I have not had any problem in the suburbs, but the city was a war zone. Belligerent, gang-banger, drunk/high, or just plain stupid drivers combined with many stray dogs. There are now bike lanes which put you right in the path of the swinging doors of parked cars.

There were two incidents in one week that altered my thinking regarding dogs. First was the biggest Doberman I have ever seen, loping up and down the sidewalk with his frumpy owner waddling after him. "Herman! Herman!"

The dog was running by me, and taking a playful snap as he went by. "Does Herman bite?", I inquired. "He has bitten." For the second and subsequent passes, Herman was snapping at my Buck pocketknife. Fortunately, nothing came of that incident.

About two days later, I was finishing up one of my bike/lift/run workouts, doing wind sprints in the park across the street. It was after midnight, on a night in the middle of the heat wave of '88. I was dressed in shorts, shoes and socks. A man was walking his dog, a puppy, but fair-sized. The pup was nipping at my ankles, so I asked the owner to leash his dog. I got a smart-assed reply. I told him I had had a skin graft on my leg the previous year and did not want it injured. An even more smart-assed reply, this time as he stood face to face with me. I was still aggravated from the Herman incident, and a bit short-tempered from the workout intensity and the heat, and I am happy to report that he was the unlucky recipient of the best roundhouse right of my pugilistic career. He crumpled, and the puppy started nipping his hands and feet! I still laugh out loud every time I think about it.

After that, it was pocketknife and pepper spray whenever I left the house. I was car-free, so it was stand my ground or lose. I never had to spray a dog directly. There was one that got a warning shot off his starboard bow, and when he got a whiff of it, he ran. There were a few others that took off at the mere sight of the canister pointing at them. Dogs are normally not as aggressive when not defending their turf, but if they consider the street to be their turf, they can be bad news.

I like dogs, and will try to befriend them first. Dogs that are loose on the front yard will frequently just want to run alongside when I bike by. One such dog was at a house 2 or 3 miles from home. It was a house that predated the surrounding development, and I later found out the owner lived there since she was a little girl. The dog, Jonesy, was a black Lab, old enough to have a bit of stiffness in his gait. He used to come running out and accompany me for about 100 yards as I rode by. One sweltering day, he looked a bit haggard, so I stopped, cupped my hand, and poured water for him. He finished the whole bottle and gave me that "Thanks, dude" dog look. Well of course, after that, I always had a Milkbone in my pocket for him and eventually befriended Judy, the owner.

In general though, I do not subscribe to the Sierra Club mentality that animals are animals, and I am food. I have a firm belief that animals that are aggressive toward humans should be taught to fear humans. It's better for all parties.

AzTallRider

This isn't such a great idea, since fear is the root cause of most dog aggression. Much better to condition the dog not to be aggressive, and to do so using sound scientific methods, like Operant Conditioning. I love dogs, am on the board of a breed-association, etc. Most any desired behavior can be trained/conditioned unless there is a genetic or psychological anomaly in the dog. If the correct training approach is tried and fails, then the smart thing unfortunately is to put a truly aggressive dog down, or find it a home where the aggression doesn’t cause problems. But when a dog that exhibits aggression is running loose, 5 will get you 10 that the owner is not someone who is going to be training the dog to not be aggressive. The use of spray or the like may have the effect you desire in getting the dog to leave you alone, at least in the short term, but it won't be because you have made the dog less aggressive or afraid of you - it was in all likelihood already afraid of you - you are just convincing it to have a flight response instead of a fight response, in that one particular situation. Training the dog is of course not our responsibility as riders going by, and I am not arguing against the use of anything that does the job in protecting you. I’m just saying that fear is not the answer. When it comes to dogs, it's truly a case of the greatest fear, being fear itself

jcinnb

SOrry for the recent incident. I am trying a new 30 mile route, through "the country" to try to get some relief from traffic, and yard dogs have been on my mind. Your post did not do much for that, but I have picked up a few tricks in the thread. Hope you are 100% and stay that way.