Thursday, August 23, 2012

Trike Shots: Mosaic Mailbox and Aggressive Dogs

Out and about this morning and I saw this BEAUTIFUL mailbox by local artist Johanna Smith. LOVE the colour of the post too.
LINKS

So where's the dogs. Sorry I was too busy trying to get away from them to get a snapshot. If I wanted to learn just how fast my bike could go, this was the day.  I had just passed Ellis Pond Spur on the Miami Bike Trail and quite a few yards ahead saw two huge dogs growling at an oncoming biker and him riding slow and trying to talk them down gently (best advice if dogs are too close to you). From a distance I asked if they were his dogs and then they started running towards me. I threw out a bunch of dog treats and pedaled like a flipping mad woman. I shouted back I had thrown down the dog treats (yep always keep some in my bike bag just in case). After a good distance I stopped a couple walking their dog to warn them and called 911. I waited a bit because I was worried about the cyclist and then saw the dogs still ahead of the cyclist, but at least he was still on his bike and seemed okay.  

There is a LOT of (conflicting) advice on Dealing with Aggressive Dogs while biking. I do know running away makes it worse, BUT if you are on a bike and far enough away I see no point in waiting to get closer. I found this advice, Dealing with Dogs on a Bike Tour, very useful. I understand their point about pepper spray, but for safety reasons I think I will be getting some.  Dealing with one dog is one thing, but two or three is a whole other kettle of fish.