Hubby and I are going to start bike riding together. Bicycles have really come a long way since the last time either of us has had one. Jim said these bikes are made out of aluminum! I said that I thought that was a standard thing now. That they have even lighter materials for the real enthusiast these days. Am I right?

We plan to just ride out here on the country roads near our home. I must say I am a little concerned about being chased by dogs. I don't want to ride around with holstered gun and knife between my teeth. A baseball bat might be awkward. So do you have any suggestions. Would mace be effective enough? I'm talking about the spray kind not the kind you might wield as a weapon (too heavy). Do postal workers carry any certain kind?

How about any bike riding stories?

-- Anonymous, June 01, 2002

Answers

They have ultrasonic repellers available also.

-- Anonymous, June 01, 2002

Well, SOME dogs will just be angered by being sprayed, even with Mace or pepper spray. But spray should be effective on most dogs. I'd tend to favor a spray bottle with a DILUTED ammonia solution in it -- though I'm not sure how much dilution would be suitable.

Your danger depends on the dog chasing you, whether they are just chasing the bike because it's going fast and it's fun (a lot of collie/shepherd types will do that), or if they are after the bike, or they are after YOU. I was chased by a collie when I wasn't very skilled at bike riding. I actually jumped off the bike and ran. The dog then just sniffed the bike carefully and went home. Never came after me. Eventually, I retrieved the bike and walked it out of the dog's territory. And never rode down that street again!

-- Anonymous, June 01, 2002

We went on our first ride yesterday. Your perspective is so different from riding outside as opposed to riding in a vehicle. It was lovely. And the smells of the honeysuckle and wild roses were wonderful. Then when we got home we went out on our route to see how far we had ridden. We rode eight miles! We can't wait to go again.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2002

Well, I found out something the hard way. Even if you ride miles and miles every day here in the flat lands of OH, it sure doesn't prepare a person for a bicycle tour of Vermont. I definitely needed practice on hills.

I love to ride in the mornings, with all the birds singing and when the air is nice and cool. Tom takes Teddy, our dog, for a run riding the bike. Teddy loves this! He has a lot of energy and loves to run for the sheer joy of it.

I take a small pair of scissors and a bag with me this time of year. I've found quite a few old rose bushes by old, farm buildings and I get cuttings from them. It's so interesting what you can find growing in the ditches and along the woods and old fence rows. You just can't see these things from a car window.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2002

Vicki...the bicycle tour groups from Vermont always seem to come here to Maine to do their traveling "thing". It's not all that "hilly" where I am. There is usually a group of 10 to 20...all strung out along the road!! They start in Castine and end up in Ellsworth, taking the routes that bring them closest to the ocean. Unfortunately, they think they own the roads and will not move out of your way when you are trying to pass them in a vehicle...even on blind hills!! We don't have bike trails here. I used to do lots of horseback riding along the roads. If I knew that I'd be riding past a home with a cantankerous dog, I would take a small squirt bottle filled with a solution of pine-sol and water. Might work for you, Denise.

I mentioned to Harry once about taking up bike riding sometime (mountain bikes) and all he said was that he really didn't feel like peddling his ass around town :-)!!

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2002

When I was in high school my girlfriends and I decided that for the first ride of the season we'd bike to Melmerby Beach from our town New Glasgow (get those atlases out kids). Its about a 20 minute plus drive by car. I had an ancient (even then) 5 speed with the basket on front and mud guards...very Martha-esque now but decidedly UNCOOL then. On that hot June day we set out in the morning in full sun and full steam ahead. We got to the beach approxiamately 2 hours later just as it clouded over and started raining. Then there was the ride home. I had the worst case of bike butt ever!!!

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2002

Hey alison, I know exactly what you mean about bike butt. I have it right now after our second ride tonight. I don't know whether to keep my seat the way it is and toughen up or to get a padded seat cover. We rode the same route as last night and it's a road with very few houses. So far the dogs haven't bothered us. But I am going to try the diluted ammonia or pinesol when we try another route where the dogs may not be as friendly.

I was out riding with my husband (then boyfriend)on a motorcycle out in the country about 10 yrs ago. We went down this isolated country road that we were unfamiliar with. When we got to the end there was one lone house protected by what looked to be a RAVENOUS PIT BULL!!! That dog charged as soon as he saw us. And I believe he meant business. My husband had just enough time to turn around and then speeded up just as the dog caught up with us. Man, that really scared the /*#! out me. Well not really but it gave me a new respect for a dog protecting it's territory.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2002

Denise, there are bicycle seats meant for female fannies (most bikes come with a seat suited to the male posterior). You might want to think about one like that. It might not be the padding (or lack thereof) but the wrong configuration for you.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2002

Dogs are the bane of bike riding. Whenever we ride past a home where dogs are likely to give chase, we stop talking, and pedal to minimize any gear noise. If they begin to chase us, we usually stop and walk out of there. They might bark a lot, but they haven't (yet anyway) got more bold. I generally have my son in one of those bike seats behind me, so walking out is much safer than standing up and going for it (unless you KNOW you have them beat). Since I live in a city, most homeowners already have their dogs behind fences. It seems that the most aggresive breeds are usually tied up anyway.

Bike butt is one of the unfortunate effects of getting into bike riding, but if you start your mileage slowly, you minimize the effects. I've got a padded seat I bought in a bike shop, but whenever I begin bike riding after a long absence, I get a case of bike butt, even with this gel seat cover. A friend of mine highly recommends those biker shorts (Speedos) with the built in padding. Very comfortable, he sez.

Only thing is that if you have any occasions to walk the bike / get off the bike, you look and feel like you have a loaded diaper :^)! If you don't mind it though, he definitely recommends it.

Bike riding is great exercise, even without the hills. Gives me time to relax, and sort of ponder how life is going. Enjoy it.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2002

I agree that this must be great exercise. My legs feel beat after 3 evenings in a row. Our current route is gently rolling. It's enough to be a challenge at times for me. So far there has still has been no problems with dogs. Thank goodness! My bike butt felt a little better last night. Hubby took pity on me and came home with a double gel bike seat cover for me last night. It really helped. He's such a nice guy. :)

Last night we saw some deer. And I had a big juicy bug fly right into my mouth.

This is so much fun, I hate to take a break. But as I said my legs are just beat. So I think we may take tonight off!

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

Wow Denise, if you keep this up before long you'll be riding in the Hilly Hundred! ( a 2-day, 100-mile bike ride held in southern Indiana each October. more info at www.hillyhundred.org)

When I was a kid our entire family had bikes, including a seat on the back of mom's bike for my baby sister. Back then, having a 3-speed bike was a big deal! We would go riding almost every night and when we would go camping for a summer vacation the bikes would come along too.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

Used to ride 3000-3500 miles per year, about seventeen years ago. Then I became a contractor, and found it pretty difficult to carry all the tools to work, not to mention units of lumber. Chuckle.

Nowadays, it's getting harder to ride long distances, even though I ride enough on weekends that I am in what is I guess the best shape I can get myself in, at 57. Still, it's frustrating to get so winded going up the mountains (there's no flat riding here at all)

As for dogs, I usually yell first, real loud: Go home!. or Sit! That confuses some of them.

Sometimes, if they run out in the road before I get there, I'll try to run over them, knowing they'll jump out of the way. This also throws them off.

If I get caught too much by surprise and they are right there trying to bite, I jump off on the far side of the bike from them. This makes the bike become sort of a fence. It gives me protection, and usually sends the dogs back home in frustration. (This has worked well, except when two or more dogs come at me from both sides of the bike.)

If I am able to, if there are big dogs I am sure are going to chase me, or if I hear or see them up ahead, I'll grab two or three medium size rocks (they are everywhere in this country too). I will attempt to hit the offending dogs if they don't respond to my loud yells. Warning: once I did this and almost got into a fight with the dog's owner, who was infuriated that I would dare throw a rock at his hound from hell!

Last resort: I once had to negotiate about a half a city block, down in Santa Rosa Calif, where there were a couple of little pipsqueak dogs who would come out barking at me. I'd just laugh. Unfortunately, they were sounding the alarm for six or eight other very large, very aggressive dogs, who came from back behind the small dogs' house. These were bad-assed dogs, and I ended up slapping one upside the head when he went after my leg, which resulted in his breaking out most my spokes with his snout.

After that incident, I started carrying a cut off broom handle on a leather thong, which I hung on my handle bar. I found out that all I had to actually do was hold the broom handle end, and swing the leather thong so it "sang" through the air. REally spooked all dogs, who would immediately run away from me when they heard that noise.

Any more, most the dogs on my "regular" route run out barking, but when they recognize me, they turn around and go home. Bad, Bad, Jumpoff Joe!

-- Anonymous, June 06, 2002

Thanks JOJ! I like the way you explain stuff. those were some great suggestions.

Sherri, the hilly hundred looks like fun. Maybe I can be ready for next year. OBTW will you be joining me?

-- Anonymous, June 06, 2002