It was on a climb. I'm working on my climbing technique and I start to hear some seriously viscious barking behind me. I look back and I see a big black dog charging at me from probably 50 yards away. I jumped out of my seat and mashed as hard as I could to the top of the hill which was probably 30-40yrds away. There wasnt much left of the climb and the other side was a decline so I started to gain speed as I went over the top. The dog was still closing on me and I must have lucked out because right when the dog was next to me and close enough to nip at my foot I started to pull away. For good measure I grabbed my water bottle and gave him a good squirt in the face. That stopped him in his tracks. What is really amusing is that about a mile down the road the owner of the dog caught up with me in his truck and started to curse at me for squirting his dog in the face. He probably called me every name in the book and made sure I know what he thinks about guys wearing "spandex." I didnt curse back, but I pulled my cell from my jersey pocket and said "I'm calling the cops on you and your dog." So I guess considering the city police station is right down the road, he slammed his brakes, pulled a U turn and sped off.

I dont understand why I look like lunch.

Holy cow- that sounds pretty scary. Sounds like you handled it very well and didn't escalate the situation. Nice work!

Not to hijack your thread/experience... but I was riding with a buddy of mine this weekend and he was bit by a Boxer.

The whole experience was surreal, as the initial attack seemed far too choreographed between the two dogs we confronted. The first dog was a larger dog of the mutt variety. He gave the initial charge on one side and juxtaposed to him was the main culprit (said Boxer). My friend didn't have enough energy or adrenaline to muster up a sprint and so he slowed down (a fateful move he now regrets). As he was going to go towards his water bottle with similar technique as mentioned by the OP, the Boxer beat him to the punch, so to speak.

Although the bite itself was not flush to the skin, the dog did implant 5 small holes in the side of his leg (which resulted in an insane amount of blood).

My friend dismounted after a loud scream (which luckily scared the dogs enough to divert their path and intentions) and sought out a friendly neighbor to patch himself up. In the interum, the Boxer's owner came outside and I made her privvy to the details. She was truly an astonding woman - she was so aloof and nonchalant in her response of, "oh, well, I don't know how this happened, she's always on her leash."

The fallout of this tale is that this same Boxer had bitten at least 2 other individuals. The other dog (the antagonizer) has been adopted by the entire neighborhood and yet has no identifiable owner (this is another twisted tale in that a couple of the neighborhood-folk came to this dog's defense "oh, he's just a big ole' Scooby dog and wouldn't hurt anyone" - rr-ii-ght). And my friend went to the emergency room to procure some precautionary shots. As for the dog, the local police will quarantine the dog for a few weeks (i.e., house arrest). In the end, my buddy will be fine... but I doubt his wife will trust him to come play with me again.

This supports my thought that the best plan of action is to dismount as quickly as possible and put the bike between you and the dog. Although the OP got away, he got a confrontation from the dog owner (good job on keeping calm btw) and if the dog HAD caught him, going down at 30 mph would be no fun. Tio's story makes me think the time spent reaching for the bottle could have been used to get the bike in between them.

I'll swing the whole bike at a dog that's attacking me, but I have to say that the few encounters I have had worked great just by me yelling and waving my arms.

This is the kind of jerk I would be tempted to come back for with the puppies.

^^^ What does that mean?

I remember my first time with a dog... Her name was Eileen. We were at a party and I was young and drunk. Ugh. Hideous.

I would be way freaked out if a dog chased me. I have been charged by dogs while running before. Scary.

I've had the old '2 dogs chasing, 1 bit me' trick. Not a happy experience.

This tactic might have worked, except there was the second dog on the other side of my friend (i.e., literally in parellel position from each other on either side of his bike). I guess he could have taken his chances with the seemingly less aggressive dog, but this doesn't seem to viable to me either (b/c you really cannot predict the outcome/motives of the second dog).

I have heard a number of strategies in dealing with dogs, but in the end every experience is situational. Whereas one dog will simply give chase another dog will jump up and attack while the rider dismounts. Also true is that some dogs will be deterred by water in the eye and others will prove unflappable to any liquid short of acid. I basically try and sprint, yell "go home", and understand that there is no sure-fire way to insure absolute safety. Just my two coppers.

My first was a half mile from home on a mountain bike. Big sucker started chasing me, I went all out the whole way back with him slowly gaining on me. Right by the front door I slammed on the brakes, threw the bike down and ran inside, slamming the door in the dog's face. Scared the freaking crap out of me.

The OP handled his situation perfectly I think.

I've been chased a bunch of times, bitten twice, only once breaking the skin. On the one that broke the skin, the owner started wailing on the dog and I had to tell him to stop. It was f*&ked up. Sometimes I'm tempted to carry a can of bear spray with me. A blast of that will stop a dog in its tracks, and if a dickhead owner comes after you, the spray has multiple applications. I like the new Texas law regarding dogs.

Agreed. I carry bear spray.

Reminds me of my favorite Robin Williams quote: "you have the right to bear arms or the right arm bears...whatever the Hll you wanna do"

Looks like you found yourself a good training routine. Pushing MaxHR every time you climb that hill thinking that the dog is going to chase you will boost your power and confidence in no time.

Call me a jerk, but any dog that come at me is going to have crap kicked out of it, and any one that actually bites me _will_ die.

I've had dogs get aggressive with me before and I've kicked the hell out of them. I'm not saying this as a boast. Dogs respond to violence. If you show them that you are the boss, they will stop fighting and submit. If you try to run from them, they will show you that they are the boss.

If you've got something against kicking, pepper spray is a good alternative.

Keeps 'em on da porch.

I wouldn't call you a jerk. I love animals(much more than most people I know \ have met) and would never hurt one. But if one put be me in the situation of me or it, then yes, the dog will cop it. But only as a last resort.
It is not always that simple to submit a dog. Some never give up, they can be very determined little creatures.

Call your Animal by-law control / enforncement agency.
Careless dog owners tend to control thier Cujo's once thier pocket book gets a few bites taken out of them.

Yeah I understand that it's tricky with two dogs. I will say that as a dog owner, I can usually tell the intentions of a dog by its bark, and most of the time they're just trying to establish dominance. But I agree it is almost impossible for someone who doesn't recognize the barks to know if that's the case, or if the dog truly thinks you've trespassed into its territory.

Jerk or not, you're correct. The moment a dog realizes you're not going to submit, it usually respects you and leaves you alone.

is bear spray similar to pepper spray? or are they completely different

Hmmmmmmmmmm . . .

I'd boot a mutt in a heartbeat if one tried to get too close and was obviously trying to bite me. I've found that if I would stop, face the dog and use my death metal voice to exclaim "Fug Off!" or "Go home!", the dog would usually comply.

It's a shame that the owner of the dog in the OP acted the way that he did. What a (insert insult here).

It's like sarcasm, mocking tones, serious tones, scolding tones, etc. Dogs have them and dogs can detect them in other dogs as well. As a dog owner, I have learned to pick up on MOST of those.

Or I am just some whack job on the internet. You decide.

Yes, either that or the dog will turn on the acid and fight for dominance.