Special Post: Dogfights over American Soil

(This is a special blog. Please scroll down to read the daily blogs by our guest authors.)

“Are you a dog person or a cat person?” This topic always comes up over drinks on long trips. Most of our riders these past seven weeks have been dog people; only Charles Breer joined me as an unabashed cat person. Must run in the family, as I think the cats far outnumber the dogs among my relatives. The twin facts that Charles Breer prefers cats over dogs and has cycled more miles than the rest of us combined are, in my opinion, related.

How any long distance cyclist can be a dog person rather than a cat person baffles me. As individuals there may be a few nice dogs, but as a species they are hell bent on tormenting cyclists. Cats, on the other hand, treat cyclists with deference and respect. No cat has ever dashed from its yard, yowling at the top of its lungs, teeth barred, claws extended, intent on sinking its fangs into my unprotected flesh. With dogs this is a daily occurrence. I rest my case.

So then, what is a cyclist to do when the inevitable unprovoked assault by a dog takes place? It has been a frequent source of discussion due to the sheer number of dogs who have taken great interest in disrupting our passage through their neighborhood. As a public service I pass along the various strategies and tactics favored by our TRANSAM riders.

Charles Breer outruns them. Seeing that Charles is sometimes called upon to substitute when the mechanical rabbit is broken at the Minneapolis greyhound track, his strategy does not have universal application. But my dog detecting sixth sense is now so fine tuned after seven weeks of riding, that I can often get a jump the moment a dog rises from its lair to commence the chase.

“You don’t have to out run the dogs”, comments Jeff Fallon. “You just have to be able to pedal faster than the folks you are cycling with.” Please keep Jeff’s strategy in mind next time you find yourself riding next to him on a lonely stretch of country road.

Michael Novak relies on his charm to beguile the canine population. Whenever he sees a dog, he whistles to it and calls it to his side. This is most disconcerting to me when I have almost slipped unnoticed past a Rottweiler only to have Michael whistle him up. Michael also pedals faster than me.

Scott Emerson is a traditionalist. His six foot four frame is a deterrent in itself, but he relies on grabbing his bike pump from its holder and brandishing it at any dog who dares approach. This method requires that you both have a bike pump handy and that you can extract it from underneath your legs without wrecking.

Carl Tippit, like the experienced pilot he is, relies on situational awareness. He sizes up the speed of the dog, the angle of approach and his chance of outrunning his foe. He then either sprints past them, makes evasive maneuvers, or, taking a page from Michael’s book, he stops, dismounts and pets them on the head. After seeing Carl stop and pet a German Shepherd who was barring his path, we call him the Dog Whisperer.

Chris Hitchcock uses a clever strategy. Just as the dog is about to rip out a piece of his hamstring, he commands, “Stay!” Apparently most dogs know this command and obey long enough for him to escape their clutches. I think I’ll try this myself. Except I’ll yell, “Sic him!” Especially if I’m riding with Jeff or Michael.

I will end with a final caution: never underestimate your canine foe. My closest call to being mauled came from a fluffy toy poodle wearing a pink coat. Another close call came from a pack of ferocious west Texas hounds caged inside a chain link fence. Wish I had known about the hole in the fence. They most certainly did.