My Most Recent Ride 2012 (Part V in a series)

Sorry Steve and Rick. My PC is try'n to drop dead on me. So i am for once in my life able to type and click faster than it can keep up.

 

I met 7 roadies at the local bike shpp called the bicycle Stationat 8 am. I was kind of worried that I could not keep up with them. I asked them if they would mind a goofy bike ridgin with them and they said sure. ONe guy aslked me what my average was and I said between 18-20 mph here in Indiana. I could see a few of them were sceptical and so was I since I wasnt sure how fast or far they were goign to go.

I heard one guy keep saying how can taht bike generate any power? I dont understand how he can go up hills..etc etc. At the end of the ride he told me he looked at my bike and thought I would never be able to keep up. Well this is the Corsa and it kept up..lol I had compliments all around and was invited back again. I really wasnt even breathing hard during the ride and probably could have averaged 19+ if i Pushed it.

More respect for the bent world was earned today

35 miles total
18.4 MPH avearage
http://app.strava.com/rides/10942385

I have an absolute blast openeing up the DF worlds eyes to bents

 

Good job, on (a) being polite and not dusting them like you probably could have nd (b) for have some really nice stats. It is nice when DF can realize that 'bents are just as good and not be nasty about things.

 

The Dog War Heats Up

I took along a little portable can of pepper spray on my ride today.
It's probably pretty effective:
my girlfriend got it as a gift from her letter-carrier friend,
back before we met.
Now it's mine.
And today, my main canine tormentor got a taste.

My plan was to ride around in a big loop, passing the intersection
where the mean, loose American Bulldog likes to run interception
exercises, with me as her target.

The first pass was uneventful: no dog.

The second pass: she charged out at me from behind her ambush
position, some bushes.

I slowed down...
pulled the little can of pepper spray out...
double checked the direction of the spray nozzle...
matched speed with the *****...
-and sprayed a cloud of pepper into her path.

As soon as the dog ran into the acrid mist,
all at once her barking stopped, she quit running and
-well, I did not care what happened next.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm retraining someones'
problem dog out of some bad behaviour.

In fact, I strongly suspect that the dogs' owner keeps a lookout
for bicyclists and lets the dog loose!


Aside from the successful skirmish with the dog, it was a good ride.
No other bicyclists to chase though, so my average speed was only average.
But what a beautiful morning to be out!

 

Good ride

I drove about 20 miles yesterday to Jonesboro to meet a group of folks I had not ridden with before. They have a regularly scheduled ride on Monday at 10. I prefer to get an earlier start than that, but you sometimes have to work with the schedule. It was three ladies and two guys, all riding road bikes. Most had never even seen a bent. We had a nice 33 mile ride at a comfortable pace and I really enjoyed it.

My regular riding buddies also ride road bikes(and push hard all the time). Even though I can ride that pace, it takes most of the fun away. I like to cover miles, but I also want to enjoy the ride. If it gets to the point that I don't enjoy riding, and it just becomes hard work then I don't want to continue!

Having said that, I plan to start making the Monday ride and enjoy the time with new friends.

 

I normally ride the Knoxville Greenways and there are no dogs. BUT when I rode with Buddy's group last month it was a different story. I was riding Green county back country roads and two dogs chased me. I was on my Bacchetta and dusted the dogs. But behind me was another lady. So I waited up ahead and heard the dogs, then they were quiet. She did the same thing you did... pepper sprayed them. And I agree, she is retraining the dogs to NOT run after bicycles.

After that, when I am NOT riding greenways, I have a can of pepper spray in my side jersey pocket ready to use.

In addition, I want to THANK EVERYONE who uses pepper spray on aggressive dogs. Many time I will never know because when I ride by the dogs DON'T chase me because of your previous "training".

So

 

One more thing about pepper spray.

The most impressive pepper spray I saw belonged to Tadpole (Ed). It looked like a gun and the pepper spray canister loaded in the barrel of the gun. He pulls it out of the holster and pulls the trigger. I think he told me he got it in a woman's self defense website. Anyway, it is intimidating to look at and I am sure dogs don't like it either!!!

It looked like this.

You can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Mace-Brand-Pe...2228102&sr=8-1&keywords=mace+pepper+spray+gun

 

Ha, I love pepper spray. It works on 4-legged AND 2-legged dogs. It provides ego pain more so than physical pain. Plus it isn't as drastic as spraying them with some hot lead...

 

You can get the pepper spray gun at most outdoor stores as well. Not always the pink which i prefer; so someone who has a gun phobia doesn't mistake it; and 911 you for brandishing.
One rule of thumb all my training for any kind of altercation has said have a backup.
Take it from personal experience if you try to rely solely on pepper spray; some bad dog is going home with a nice chunk of spandex and a pretty pink chew toy.

 

Bad dogs

Agree

Trained attack dogs get loose and will hurt you. Ruger LCP 380 with permit
is my back-up. My first line of defense is the flag pole that slips out of it's holder.

Stop the bike
Get off
Grab the pole.....flag pole that slips out of the holder.

Dogs.....I've hit one (serious crash). Crashed by two others, and bit by two.

 

I've only had a few problems with dogs here in Sweden. Admittedly, it's been because of Loke. I think if he wasn't with me they'd leave me alone. Fortunately, we've been able to out-run them or they've backed down when I've gotten out of the trike seat to face them down. Still quite scary when it was a St. Bernard.

Loke and I went for a short ride day before yesterday. Jens and I have both been sick with a cold he brought back from London. So, it was just a no-frills River Loop since Jens had walked Loke the day before while hacking and wheezing. Least I could do was sit in my arm chair with pedals while the furball did most of the work.

Terii

 

I'm feeling a bit better today which is very, very good. It's turned out to be one of those flawless days that are incredibly rare no matter where in the world you are. It's not too hot or cold. Not much wind and a blue sky like a polished piece of lapis.

I took Loke out for a run. 6.4 miles. He loved it and hit 19.5 mph coming down one of the hills. Even though it was same old ground, the day is just too pretty to be bored with it.

I made a spontaneous decision during the ride. I was going to wash my trike by taking it to a nearby American style car wash. Most car washes here in Sweden are the enclosed drive-thru's with the giant brushes. Last year, they built a coin (token) operated one, the first I've seen!

It was a bit roundabout to get to it, trying to avoid the big 4 lane, no shoulder roads. I left Loke at home since the high pressure wands would freak him out even if he were tethered 50 feet away. I hammered my way to it, almost doubling the average speed with Loke. My knees are letting me know they hate me right now, but the speed was addictive. Whipping around curves, breaking 25 mph down some hills. I came down hills a little slower on the way home since wet drum brakes aren't terribly effective. The round trip was about 7.2 miles.

So, now the trike is much cleaner though my chain rings still need a lot of work to get the gunk off, but the grime on the body and around the wheels is gone. It's purty again!

Terii

 

I had my first flat of the year, after 6 hours of summer heat and 10 miles left to go. With a spare tube I might have attempted a road repair. Between patch and phone I picked phone. Without the flat I might have bonked anyway. I was sleepy in the truck and wobbly on the ground.

 

Twenty-Plus Miles (and no Dog)

Another beautiful morning spent speeding on the local roads.
(Ask the locals what they think about my, "speed"!)

The dog that likes to chase my bike stayed hidden,
more's the pity.
I was looking forward to more pepper spray practice!

The bikes' transmission is as smooth as buttah and I
really enjoyed clicking up and down and all around!

Sighting of the day:
stupid/ignorant cop driving towards me in his cruiser,
on my side of the road.
He was across the double yellow center line, in the middle
of a blind curve.
Remember, do what they say to do;
don't do what they do.

SARCASM: I love cops. /SARCASM

 

I'm having a terrible time in this heat (mid 90s). After not riding at all the last two weeks because I was out of the country on a cruise, I started up again. Last two days have been brutal. Though I am drinking lots of water with Acceleraid in it along with added salt, I am still getting leg cramps and sometimes if I push too hard, light headed.

I took today off because I still get leg cramps in the middle of the day and night. I plan to leave earlier tomorrow when it is cooler and see how I do.

Guess I am getting old!