Magalies Mini-Munga 105km route - chaser dogs?!

[dawn.harris.africa@gmail.com]

Hi all, 

So, looking for some advice (or commiseration).  Last weekend a friend of mine and I rode the 105km mini-munge route (out the back end of Magalies, past the Spar, parallel to railway line and onto big gravel road).  About 3km into the big sand road, we were chased by 2 big dogs - potentially European sheep dogs / similar guard dogs.  It was petrifying and had it not been for my husband who was seconding in a vehicle - I am actually not sure how it would have ended.  

Couple of questions: 

1) Anyone else had this issue and have any advice on how two ladies are supposed to deal with these dogs (or I suppose other chaser dogs in general), who are clearly able to scale a fence and take their sheep guarding duty very seriously

2) Any alternative roads that can give a similar resultant distance and climbing - as aside from these "human-eating beasts", it's actually a nice route

 

Appreciate the input!

 

[Shebeen]

been chased by lots of dogs.

just keep riding, if they catch up then a quick spray with waterbottle normally puts them off the chase.

 

but yes, it can be blerrie scary!

[madmarc]

Pepper spray 

I'll wait to get flamed by all the doggy lovers - And go !

[TheoG]

3 minutes ago, madmarc said:

Pepper spray 

I'll wait to get flamed by all the doggy lovers - And go !

One time spray and that particular dog will not chase down a cyclist again .... 🤷‍♂️

[The Ouzo]

just think of it as forced interval training

 

but as mentioned, quick spray of water from your bottle or get some pepper spray.

Whatever you do dont try and shoe them off or kick them, then they WILL try and attack.

Most of the times they're just in it for the chase and wont actually do anything.

[dawn.harris.africa@gmail.com]

1 hour ago, madmarc said:

Pepper spray 

I'll wait to get flamed by all the doggy lovers - And go !

I am a huge dog lover, but genuinely felt like my life was on the line - so I would protect myself if I had to. These two dogs tend to literally herd and "hunt" us, and according to another friend, it's not the first time   
Some form of spray might be an option as long as I don't spray myself in the process! 😁

[dawn.harris.africa@gmail.com]

27 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

just think of it as forced interval training

 

but as mentioned, quick spray of water from your bottle or get some pepper spray.

Whatever you do dont try and shoe them off or kick them, then they WILL try and attack.

Most of the times they're just in it for the chase and wont actually do anything.

Yip!  Uphill - at about 35km an hour on a MTB.. I'll be champ soon! 

part of me wonders if it is the chase, part of me is scared to test the theory 😄

 

Interestingly, NO-ONE I have spoken to has said they know the dogs and "have been bitten" so you may be right.

[danievj]

Know where that is and got chased there too by, probably, one of the same dogs. I rode as hard as I could up the hill and the dog seemed to tire just before I did. Instant interval and heart lifter-upper. The people who followed after me did not try to ride away and slowed right down whereupon the dog lost interest.

[kk6gan]

There is a product you can get at lots of pet stores called Pet Corrector. It's just a can of compressed air but the nozzle gives it a loud hissing sound. Been very effective at stopping all sizes of dogs in their tracks in my experienceThere is a product you can get at lots of pet stores called Pet Corrector. It's just a can of compressed air but the nozzle gives it a loud hissing sound. Been very effective at stopping all sizes of dogs in their tracks in my experience

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LBKloppers]

14 hours ago, madmarc said:

Pepper spray 

I'll wait to get flamed by all the doggy lovers - And go !

It works for all kinds of threats. The two legged kind too. Just make sure you use the one spraying a stream. The stream is visible and you can aim for the nose. It leads to the dog's brakes to lock up. Be careful with the fog spraying nozzle though. The wind direction and your speed could lead to your own suffering.

Oh, and pepper spray gets old and not so effective over time. Keep your spray fresh.

[eala]

1 hour ago, LBKloppers said:

It works for all kinds of threats. The two legged kind too. Just make sure you use the one spraying a stream. The stream is visible and you can aim for the nose. It leads to the dog's brakes to lock up. Be careful with the fog spraying nozzle though. The wind direction and your speed could lead to your own suffering.

Oh, and pepper spray gets old and not so effective over time. Keep your spray fresh.

Just a word of advice on using pepper spray .Any amount sprayed at the offending party will also end up in your own eyes .You need very little to be carried on the wind to drift into your face .The only solution is to put local anesthetic drops into your eyes .I carry a small amount with me. Pepper spray is very effective and will take anything with a tear film down in seconds  

[Mojoman]

19 hours ago, dawn.harris.africa@gmail.com said:

Hi all, 

So, looking for some advice (or commiseration).  Last weekend a friend of mine and I rode the 105km mini-munge route (out the back end of Magalies, past the Spar, parallel to railway line and onto big gravel road).  About 3km into the big sand road, we were chased by 2 big dogs - potentially European sheep dogs / similar guard dogs.  It was petrifying and had it not been for my husband who was seconding in a vehicle - I am actually not sure how it would have ended.  

Couple of questions: 

1) Anyone else had this issue and have any advice on how two ladies are supposed to deal with these dogs (or I suppose other chaser dogs in general), who are clearly able to scale a fence and take their sheep guarding duty very seriously

2) Any alternative roads that can give a similar resultant distance and climbing - as aside from these "human-eating beasts", it's actually a nice route

 

Appreciate the input!

 

If you headed west from Magalies along the railway servitude to the main dirt road then you need to be aware that the Koesterfontein area is full of Zama Zamas now...Ive not had issues but I will no longer cycle out there as its pretty isolated and the cops in Magalies will never find you...Lots of old mine shafts out there...Used to be old mine gear, cocopans and  stamps and all sorts back in the early days...Anyway...

You could take the railway line and then about 3km out of Magalies on the right you will see a dirt road leading to Rietpoort, you can cross the tracks and the R509 tar road and you can take this dirt road all the way to Vlakdrift and then from there head down towards Naaupoort..

Or you could just cross the Koesterfontein dirt road and continue on with the railway line servitude which will also take you up to Vlakdrift, parallel to the R509...

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Mojoman

[ajnkzn]

Anyone who has commented and doesn’t know the type of dog is underplaying how this can end. 
 

Anatolian Sheperds are big, strong and bred to be angry / guard their flock against wolves etc. 

 

I would definitely find an alternate route as if they get hold of you with their aggression / excitement levels up it might not end well. 

[TyronLab]

When I did the Munga Grit last year I passed through... Somewhere... (it was close to midnight in some sleepy little hovel of a town) on night two and was also chased by Jon Snow's wolf for a few hundred meters.

Getting chased by dogs is always scary, but hearing an obviously massive dog galloping full pelt towards you in the pitch black dark, only to have their eyes illuminated when they're three meters from you by your headlamp, is ******* terrifying.

My instinct was (same as when I've wild-slept in the previous Grit) to just make a racket, so I shouted like a maniac and swore at them (as if being shamed and verbally abused in Afrikaans would deter them).

Edited January 13, 2023 by TyronLab

[The Ouzo]

1 hour ago, eala said:

Just a word of advice on using pepper spray .Any amount sprayed at the offending party will also end up in your own eyes .You need very little to be carried on the wind to drift into your face .The only solution is to put local anesthetic drops into your eyes .I carry a small amount with me. Pepper spray is very effective and will take anything with a tear film down in seconds  

if you're using the mist spray, the jet is less likely to be carried by the wind.

 

BUT, be cautioned. It can still get on you. And touching any sensitive areas will BURN.

[eala]

10 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

if you're using the mist spray, the jet is less likely to be carried by the wind.

 

BUT, be cautioned. It can still get on you. And touching any sensitive areas will BURN.

The problem is that even the jet spray leaves some residue on your hands and even the tiniest amount can cause a huge problem if you are far out in the sticks and have to cycle back like in this case where they were far from help .The water bottle solution is a better option in this case .I have also done it and it actually works