Did you ride today?

[asindc]

I've been an avid rider for years (Trek Domane 5.2). Typically ride 75 - 125 mi/wk on trails and local back roads. For the first time ever, was bitten by a dog this morning while on local back road! ?? pit bull mix ran up alongside me, but didn't seem aggressive. To avoid injuring him (or me) I stopped. He then jumped up and bit my stomach (? trying to pull me off bike). Fortunately, there were people nearby, who screamed at the dog, which ran off. Sustained four superficial puncture wounds. Witnesses knew who owner was, and gave me contact info. Waiting for him to call me back. In meantime, I saw my Primary Doc who gave me tetanus shot, and starting course of antibiotics. I actually keep a small can of pepper spray mounted on my handlebars, which I've never had to use. This happened so fast, I never had time to grab it. Definitely changed my mind forever about where I'll ride. Gonna stick to the trails or MY OWN neighborhood from now on!

Get better soon. I fortunately have not encountered hostile dogs. Here's a thought: If the dog owner does not call you back, you might get a response if you report to the police and give them his number.

 

[asindc]

Bummer 'bout the damn dog. I never stop and shout out a lot of 'good boy, good dog' when I do encounter dogs. And I use my water bottle to shoot a jet of water in their face if they keep coming.

I had a scare last week on my new bike... there is a low traffic road I have to ride from my house, but there is no shoulder and the damn speed limit is 55. I was cruising along at about 18mph when suddenly I felt a jolt to my left handlebar end and heard a very loud pop. A car, probably doing in excess of 40mph, had hit me with his fold-away passenger door mirror. The mirror must have folded back forcefully into the door as the reflector skid down the road with me for about 100 yards. In my mind I was kind of freaking out thinking "hey, what the fuck, I'm not going down" which of course I was most thankful for. I don't know how I scored the amazing guardian angle who has watched over me for my 60 years, but I give thanks daily. Just as easily I could have been skipping down the road along with that mirror, shedding some skin on each bounce. I have wondered how much the extra giro effect of the big 29x2.35 tires and 56mm rims had on my stability, or the Jones bike geometry which biases weight distribution to the rear—I just know the bike really didn't flinch at all, I just kept riding. The car was going much too fast for me to have caught a license plate. The driver never even hit the brakes.

Wow, that must have been scary! I rode 29 miles yesterday. Was on the road for the first time since January. A typical route that has a wide shoulders on the busiest stretches, except for one stretch that narrows when passing over a short bridge. I'm always very conscience when I pass over the bridge since cars are going 40-45. I can't recall any close encounters. The route is very popular among cyclists so I guess most drivers who drive that road are used to seeing us. I do recall a commercial truck coming within 2 feet of our paceline (his outside tires straddled the line between the road and the shoulder) on a group ride a couple of years ago on a different road. It was on a 2-lane road and he had plenty of room to move away from us. Either he wasn't paying attention or he was being a jerk.

 

[sleepysurf]

... Here's a thought: If the dog owner does not call you back, you might get a response if you report to the police and give them his number.

Owner ended up telling me he couldn't find dog's vaccination records, so I reported incident to local Animal Control. After they contacted him (threatening to quarantine the dog), he "found" the records. Fortunately, dog was current on all vaccines, so no rabies shots for me. I resumed riding yesterday, but will bypass that neighborhood from now on.

 

[asindc]

Owner ended up telling me he couldn't find dog's vaccination records, so I reported incident to local Animal Control. After they contacted him (threatening to quarantine the dog), he "found" the records. Fortunately, dog was current on all vaccines, so no rabies shots for me. I resumed riding yesterday, but will bypass that neighborhood from now on.

Glad it worked out for you.

 

[socfan12]

Allen, a friend had been raving about his Jones bike for the past couple years, but I was headed for a Niner RLT steel frame as it could handle 42mm tires. Then I started to research the Jones and while not every reviewer came away saying it was the bike for him, all came away saying it was a far different experience than they first imagined it would be, based on specs and preconceived notions.

Here are a couple links to articles that had the most influence on my decision:

https://nsmb.com/articles/jones-plus-long-term-review/

http://www.bikepacking.com/bikes/jones-plus-review/

And a youtube video... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kMkQ7z9Gi7c

Interesting looking bike. I need to read up on it when I have the chance.

Bummer 'bout the damn dog. I never stop and shout out a lot of 'good boy, good dog' when I do encounter dogs. And I use my water bottle to shoot a jet of water in their face if they keep coming.

I had a scare last week on my new bike... there is a low traffic road I have to ride from my house, but there is no shoulder and the damn speed limit is 55. I was cruising along at about 18mph when suddenly I felt a jolt to my left handlebar end and heard a very loud pop. A car, probably doing in excess of 40mph, had hit me with his fold-away passenger door mirror. The mirror must have folded back forcefully into the door as the reflector skid down the road with me for about 100 yards. In my mind I was kind of freaking out thinking "hey, what the fuck, I'm not going down" which of course I was most thankful for. I don't know how I scored the amazing guardian angle who has watched over me for my 60 years, but I give thanks daily. Just as easily I could have been skipping down the road along with that mirror, shedding some skin on each bounce. I have wondered how much the extra giro effect of the big 29x2.35 tires and 56mm rims had on my stability, or the Jones bike geometry which biases weight distribution to the rear—I just know the bike really didn't flinch at all, I just kept riding. The car was going much too fast for me to have caught a license plate. The driver never even hit the brakes.

Driver might've been distracted, ie, on his/her phone. One of the biggest reasons I stick to MTB now. Glad to hear you are ok, Bob.

 

[4N6]

I wish I would have found this thread earlier! Some good stories about outstanding rides.

I haven't hit too many miles outside yet, but lots of time on the CycleOps Hammer and Zwift. The Zwift workouts are terrific and a great way to train.

 

[MikeCh]

One day I will get back on the horse....but as you all know, stepping away from cycling for any extended period makes the starting-up-again so utterly difficult.

 

[Kuoppis]

Spring time Mike, time to get rolling...

If tomorrow is nice, I’ll probably uncork the season.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Barry]

It's 42 here in Philly area but feels like 32. It's supposed to snow Saturday. I've only got 1,000 miles in so far this year, but it's impossible to get in shape when you have 3-4 day gaps due to the weather. Headed to Charleston, SC next week for the Spring Century, but only doing the metric. I did all the personal bests when I was younger; double centuries, 1K miles in a week. Now just out for social fun with the local cycling club, although those crazy ideas never leave me....

 

[asindc]

I wish I would have found this thread earlier! Some good stories about outstanding rides.

I haven't hit too many miles outside yet, but lots of time on the CycleOps Hammer and Zwift. The Zwift workouts are terrific and a great way to train.

Yes they are.