You know how a submarine has “counter measures” to deploy when being tracked by a torpedo??? That’s how our recumbent guy functions in our bike club when the german shepherd comes out right before the big hill!!! LOL He’s a big fan of GRIZZLY STOPPER PEPPER SPRAY......... Sounds kinda goofy but at least around here we do have a lot of dogs that really love to play with bikes. It’s something to consider if it could be a problem where you want to ride. It shouldn’t have to be but that doesn’t help when the dogs chewing on your shoe....
When I was a kid the neighbors had 4 heathen mutts that would chase us every day on the way to school. When one of them got ahold of me and tore open some new jeans mom had just bought she had ,had enough. The next day me and my buds had brand new squirt guns loaded with 100% undiluted LEMON JUICE . It took a few times but they finally figured out that chasing bikes meant temporary blindness.
I’ve heard the recumbent bikes are hard on the back, but this was just a physical therapist telling me this. I have no experience in the matter.
I ran over our neighbor’s Shih-tzu with my Schwinn when I was a teenager. Right across the middle of the back! Damn dog turned around and started to bark at me. Hated that little thing… (It really was an accident, honest!)
I’d be hesitant to use pepper spray as it is liable to blow back into your face at speed.
Goose: our MSF instructor told us that during the filming of the training segment for that trick, the dog got so pissed at missing the bike that he bit the photographer! Still makes me smile under the helmet; used it lots of times and works like a charm.
My father used to use the car door as a training aid for dogs that used to chase the cars. They learned to avoid his car…
I’ve heard the recumbent bikes are hard on the back, but this was just a physical therapist telling me this. I have no experience in the matter.
I’d suspect they are no worse overall than any other bike - what does a normal 10-speed do to you when having to lean so far forward and then look up… Recumbents just make you bend in the opposite direction OTOH I’ve heard that recumbents are less likely to cause prostate and other anatomical damage, and would expect that the back issue would be a function of the specific bike’s design and setup.
I ran over our neighbor’s Shih-tzu with my Schwinn when I was a teenager. Right across the middle of the back! Damn dog turned around and started to bark at me. Hated that little thing… (It really was an accident, honest!)
I’d be hesitant to use pepper spray as it is liable to blow back into your face at speed.
I agree if aiming forward - presumably less of a problem if aiming to the rear. What would seem more of a possible problem is the distraction of manipulating the sprayer, aiming, etc. Given that “where you look is where you go” I’d wonder about the possible loss of control risks…
Goose: our MSF instructor told us that during the filming of the training segment for that trick, the dog got so pissed at missing the bike that he bit the photographer! Still makes me smile under the helmet; used it lots of times and works like a charm.
Actually the MSF has at least a couple of different “dog scenes” in the videos they’ve made over the years. The one I saw when I took my first MSF course back ~1980 starred a doberman. I’ve seen another more recent one with a collie. According to my instructor back in 1980, the MSF had more trouble with that scene than any other part of the movie - the local mutts had learned it wasn’t worth trying to chase a bike, and when they went further afield the problem was getting the timing right so as to get the whole process in one camera take. Finally they ended up getting a guard dog service (hence the doberman star) - they told the guard service what they wanted, and were told no problem, but make sure the guy had a fast bike because if the dog caught him he was in trouble… Dog couldn’t catch the bike, took it out on the cameraman, put him in the hospital for a while, and did major damage to the camera…
My father used to use the car door as a training aid for dogs that used to chase the cars. They learned to avoid his car…
Chris
That one works, I’ve also heard of towing a towel behind the car - and going slow enough the dog can catch it - when he does his teeth tend to get caught in the fabric and Rover goes for a bit of a drag… (How far depends on how much of a dislike you have for the dog...)
Reminds me of National Lampoon’s Vacation, where Chevy ties the dogs leash to the bumper while loading up and then forgets about the dog. “Hey, what’s that rattling sound I hear?”
I carried peper spray, but just pointing it the chasing dog made the dog back off. I think most chasing dogs have gotten a spray or two. Never had to use the pepper spray.
OTOH I’ve heard that recumbents are less likely to cause prostate and other anatomical damage, and would expect that the back issue would be a function of the specific bike’s design and setup.
