Switzerland is a bicycle tourist’s paradise. There are bicycle paths, designated lanes, and back roads almost everywhere. But there can be trouble in paradise, as I discovered this July while cycling through Ticino, the Italian part of Switzerland.

In rural Switzerland, it is not uncommon for roads to pass through fields and meadows. If a farmer keeps livestock, the meadow may be surrounded by an electrified fence. When there are fences, there are gates. Pedestrians and cyclists are free to cross the farm, but they are expected to keep the gates closed so animals cannot escape.

One day, while riding across a farm in Ticino, I noticed the sound of brass bells, heavy snorts, and staccato thuds coming from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a big herd of cows in hot pursuit. I increased my speed, but the cows ran faster, too. As I slowed to go around a bend, I realized I was about to be stampeded. I braked hard, dropped my bike, dove to the ground, and rolled under an electrical fence. (Neither James Bond nor Jackie Chan could have executed the move as smoothly!)

One animal cautiously approached my bike, and a moment later, the others enthusiastically joined in. They slobbered all over the handlebars and water bottles, and butted their heads against the aerobars, brake hoods and wheels. I yelled, flailed my arms, and blew a whistle to try to scare them away. They ignored me. From behind the safety of the fence, I took a big step forward, yelled again, and tried to make myself look big. One or two cows glared at me as if to say, "What is wrong with you?"

After about ten minutes, the cows lost interest, and I was able to reclaim my slobber-soaked bike and continue on my way. Fortunately, I had a camera in my fanny pack during my “ordeal,” and I managed to fire off two photos...

Moo!

Alan

<<< Moo!!!

You made my day!

Are those bullhorns on the bike?

Your subject line sounds like something that would've been the caption to a Far Side cartoon!

Surely you coated the bike in hay ?

Nice photo!

Clearly They wanted to ride toooooooooo!

Can anyone suggest captions for the two pictures?

How about:

"Hey guys, check out these Shimamoo parts!"

looks just like my udda bike

Udderly.

When I first saw it (thumbnail) it looked like two tiny cows standing on the back of another.

acantor: Your story is really exciting particularly in light of the fact that the cows offered no danger to you even if you had stopped and waited for them. Cows are curious animals and show interest in anything that interrupts their otherwise boring life of eating grass and digesting it through mutliple stomachs and chewing their cuds. But as a farm boy I have had a good laugh over your experience and have looked at these photos of young heffers several times.

Call these guys up at The Bike Barn and tell them about your experience. Maybe this will qualify you for a t-shirt if they have any left.

I've dealt with cows on tours before. They're not really that insurmountable. Most cows are pretty timid when you get right down to it. If you stand there staring at them for a few minutes, they invariably back off and find something else to do. Now wild horses are another matter altogether!

Never argue with a cow, they are bigger and dumber

Those are not cows folks, they are steers. While a steer is quite a bit nicer than a flank tied brahma bull they can still mess you up.

However I think I would have rode the bike right up to the fence rather than leave it lay in the middle of the road.

I saw a large bull(1500 pounds with horns) in wyoming one time that was blocking the road and had a stand off with a pack of rumbling motorcycles, he was mean lookin'.

Those are Brown Swiss yearling calves -- you were scared of Bown Swiss yearlings??


Of course, they slobbered over your bike -- you probably had dripped salty sweat on it. They would have licked you too if given a chance.

Udderly amazing! I have had no problems with cows, but the Buffalo in Yellowstone can get a bit frisky if you ride too quickly past them.

This cow in Switzerland's Engadine seemed pretty cool.

roughstuff

i always manage to moo a the cows I pass, no matter how tired I am. I figure its like a greeting. you say "hi" to other riders, right? why not the cows?

I've been known to drool over a really nice bike!

Like this one that we saw last month?
You should have seen the car on the other side give up & back away!

I have learned a great deal about bovine biology and behaviour from these postings. I have mostly lived in cities, so your cow lore is very educational!

My story has a second part. After my encounter with the Brown Swiss yearlings, I continued along the road, exited the meadow through a gate, rode for another five minutes, and then discovered that the road was a dead-end! I had a choice: either push my bike along a narrow trail through a forest and down a mountain side that led to who-knows-where, or turn around and face the possibility of another cow chase. I opted for the meadow. I retraced my route through the meadow, but the second time through, I bombed through as quickly as possible without attracting the attention of my curious animal friends.

Alan

Well I'll be darned if it isn't that exact guy! More seriously..I was riding uphill and there were a bunch of buffaloes in the road, and I an quite close to a couple of them. They are HUGE creatures with incredibly powerful necks and backs which can easily throw you ten feet in the air if they decide to buck and attack, so I was quite nervous. Fortunately I got thru unscathed.

roughstuff

MOO-DEER!!!! i love moo-deer. (cows) i carry sugar cubes for any nay-deer (horses) i come in contact with, but they don't make salt cubes for moo-deer. but usually moo-deer like a bit of chewing tobaccoo...(at least grandpa's always loved chewing it) which i don't use or carry so the poor deers are out of luck, but they'll take a sugar cube almost as happily as a wad of tabac. it's the slobber factor i don't like though. if ya hand a moo-deer a cube of sugar your liable to have your entire hand sucked in their mouth all the way to the elbo. n dealing w/ that amount of slobber on the trail just isn't all that cool.

cheers
kat