SAGecko Posted April 20, 2015 Share We deviated somewhat from our usual club ride on Saturday morning and went down a few tracks we hadn't previously explored. I can thoroughly recommend this "adventure-riding" by the way. We were meant to do a quick 45 k's but ended up doing an extra 20. One of the best rides I've had for ages. Anyway, on one of the tracks around Lanseria, I spotted a pooch at about the same time he spotted me. He immediately flattened his ears, crouched to the ground and charged! I instantly changed direction and, with the Hound of the Baskervilles yowling and gnashing about 3 meters behind me, pedalled headlong into the sloping grassland next to the path (which apparently led down to his home). Fortunately the angels blessed my legs with the strength of ten men and I was able to pull away after about 50 meters of terror-filled bundu bashing (I asked my riding partners why they were screaming so loudly while it was all happening, but apparently that was all me...) After my heart-rate had returned to a more manageable 250 bpm, I wondered whether I could have handled the situation differently. As I was bashing blindly through the tussocks and bushes and rocks, I could easily have come off and the slavering beast would have had me. So, what else could I have done? Should I have jumped off the bike and placed it between me and the fangs? Should I have swung the bike at the brute as it launched for my throat? Would it have been better to steer straight towards the creature while roaring like Mel Gibson in Braveheart? I dunno. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted April 20, 2015 Share Stay calm.Stand still.Grab your water bottle. Squirt generously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted April 20, 2015 Share Stay calm.Stand still.Grab your water bottle.Squirt generously.And those guys riding frames that can not take water bottles are feeling very nervous right now.... spraying a dog with a camel back is not really going to have the desired effect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Lizard Posted April 20, 2015 Share I ride with a guy which has been classified as the "alpha male"...he ussually stops and starts barking back at the dogs and they run in the opposite direction He tried it once with the baboons on Franschhoek...aparently they saw it as a challenge and we had to get out of there as soon as possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABUBI Posted April 20, 2015 Share just make sure you are faster than the slowest rider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Potgieter Posted April 20, 2015 Share I normally scream "Voetsek" in my loudest voice (it is a universally understood word - African languages, english, afrikaans etc - all dogs understand it regardless of which language they listen too) and then i proceed to kick the dog in its p**s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lerouc Posted April 20, 2015 Share I was bitten on the calf by a doberman when i was still in school while out rollerblading. So i hate dogs, only been chased twice, once by a rottweiler and there i just put gas down and hoping the smell i left behind got it to turn away. The other time was a smaller dog and he faced the bottom of my cleat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipV Posted April 20, 2015 Share When dogs give chase you have to assert dominance and tell them forcefully to go back home. I haven't had to do this with a huge Boerbull or a Irish Wolfhound yet. But never retreat, stand and challenge and be loud. Worst case scenario is moer it on the nose with your fist. But you generally only get one shot at this. If your on the bike this will obviously not work. Then I vote for the kick in the face if it still attacks after the above mentioned. Let it be known that I love dogs, and will never harm one unnecessarily, and will only do this If i think it is a case of my face or the dog's. Then I will defend. My worst dog moment was seperating Staffies that were fighting. Got a few scrapes from that. Thankfully no bites. I ride with a guy which has been classified as the "alpha male"...he ussually stops and starts barking back at the dogs and they run in the opposite direction He tried it once with the baboons on Franschhoek...aparently they saw it as a challenge and we had to get out of there as soon as possible True story:I did this with a troop of baboons in Harkerville this december. Maybe they were not as aggresive as the Franschoek bad boys, but they scampered into the woods. The group of tourists that stopped for the babooons got such a fright that one lady nearly fell off her bike when I started barking at the troop. The tourists wanted to know if I did this often and i just replied with "Meh, this is Africa." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted April 20, 2015 Share True story:I did this with a troop of baboons in Harkerville this december. Maybe they were not as aggresive as the Franschoek bad boys, but they scampered into the woods. The group of tourists that stopped for the babooons got such a fright that one lady nearly fell off her bike when I started barking at the troop. The tourists wanted to know if I did this often and i just replied with "Meh, this is Africa."I did it fairly often back in the Tokai days if there was a troop in or around the parking lot or in the trail. Helps if you have a deep voice to shout it with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davem Posted April 20, 2015 Share All I can say is that your kids or future kids must get great bedtime stories. We deviated somewhat from our usual club ride on Saturday morning and went down a few tracks we hadn't previously explored. I can thoroughly recommend this "adventure-riding" by the way. We were meant to do a quick 45 k's but ended up doing an extra 20. One of the best rides I've had for ages. Anyway, on one of the tracks around Lanseria, I spotted a pooch at about the same time he spotted me. He immediately flattened his ears, crouched to the ground and charged! I instantly changed direction and, with the Hound of the Baskervilles yowling and gnashing about 3 meters behind me, pedalled headlong into the sloping grassland next to the path (which apparently led down to his home). Fortunately the angels blessed my legs with the strength of ten men and I was able to pull away after about 50 meters of terror-filled bundu bashing (I asked my riding partners why they were screaming so loudly while it was all happening, but apparently that was all me...) After my heart-rate had returned to a more manageable 250 bpm, I wondered whether I could have handled the situation differently. As I was bashing blindly through the tussocks and bushes and rocks, I could easily have come off and the slavering beast would have had me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted April 20, 2015 Share The title of your immigration thread very appropriate here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAGecko Posted April 20, 2015 Share All I can say is that your kids or future kids must get great bedtime stories. Thanks Dave . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxUmis Posted April 20, 2015 Share Dogs these days just seem to have it in for me.I got chased in yesterday's MTB race by a dog that luckily understood the term "Fork of". Then in March I got stormed once in Bali (Pooch got to taste some Adidas), and then bitten later on in the trip(flip flops don't kick so good).Other than the costs involved, that bite cost hours out of my life sorting out travel insurance and claims for the anti rabies shots. Then there's the wound and trying to heal that to a state of "as good as new".I very much dislike being bitten by dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAGecko Posted April 20, 2015 Share The title of your immigration thread very appropriate here... Metaphorically speaking, it's the same thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummibear Posted April 20, 2015 Share You tramp it head into the tar but if you miss then throw a waterbottle at it[emoji48] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAGecko Posted April 20, 2015 Share Stay calm.Stand still.Grab your water bottle.Squirt generously. Nah, I needed all the water in my bottle to clean the inside of my bibs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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