Dog-free road riding locations?

[emily_in_nc]

As many of you know, I was involved in a cycling crash involving two dogs running out to terrorize my husband and myself six weeks ago. I'm still recovering from three pelvic fractures. I keep imagining what it is going to be like to ride again, whether I'll be brave enough to do so after I heal completely.

The problem is, I live in central NC and normally ride in a rural area where many people don't think it necessary to restrain their dogs. On a typical ride, there can be several "dog incidents".

Just fantasizing for a moment: does anyone live anywhere or know of anywhere where you can take nice long rides on the road without dogs chasing you - where people actually keep their dogs fenced or chained or indoors? I doubt I'd resort to moving, but you just never know! Right now my imagination is running a bit wild, and while I can't fathom giving up cycling, I can't imagine actually doing it again on our roads either!

So tell me about where you live if the cycling is great and if dogs are not a worry. Low traffic and a great bike club would be a big plus too! I'm probably just dreaming, huh? :(

Thanks!
Emily

[DeniseGoldberg]

Emily -
I guess I've been pretty lucky so far on the dog front. Usually I have no dog interactions when I ride around home - generally north of Boston, the New Hampshire coast, and southern Maine. Of course now that I say that I'll probably have a dog after me on my very next ride!

The only time (so far) that I fell because of a dog is actually pretty funny. The dog was a large friendly breed, and I think he (or she!) must have been some kind of herding dog. As I got closer to him, he started heading toward my bike. So I stopped and stood up. Like I said, this dog appeared to be friendly, not attacking. I told him to go home, then I started riding again. He headed toward me again - but it was as if he was herding me to the side of the road. I had to stop or I was going to hit him, and I really didn't want to do that. I guess I just wasn't moving my feet fast enough because I ended up on the ground before I got my foot free of the pedals. It was a slow speed fall over as opposed to a real crash. It definitely wasn't the kind of situation that caused your crash.

Neil Gunton - the mastermind behind crazyguyonabike.com wrote and article that you might find interesting about dogs & cycling. It's at DealingWithDogs.crazyguyonabike.com (http://DealingWithDogs.crazyguyonabike.com).

--- Denise

[Selkie]

Emily - I live in Arlington, VA and the county has a very, very strict leash law. In addition, DC and Fairfax County (which surround Arlington) have similar laws. I've encountered a "problem" off leash dog only once so far---more of a "obstacle" than a threat. I pass a lot of dogs and their owners when I ride and I make it a point to say "Hi puppy." I'm a big dog lover, as I have three beautiful golden retrievers.
I completely understand your fear of loose dogs, however. A couple years ago, I was walking Agnes (my big girl--96lbs) in our neighborhood and a vicious dog attacked Agnes, dragging me and the dog's owner across the street (talk about major road rash). Yes, both dogs were leashed. I thought the dog was going to kill Agnes, so I kicked the SOB. Ended up that I was the one w/bites and Agnes got off without a scratch. I preferred that outcome, if one of us had to be injured. Anyway, I won't walk my girls anymore because of the irresponsible owners who insist on having aggressive dogs whom they won't control. I don't live in the "hood," either, so who knows why yuppies need these beasts? Thank goodness I've never had one come after me while I'm biking. Sometimes, if you just scream at them--GO HOME or NO, they turn tail and run (so I've heard).
Arlington is an urban area and I limit my street/road riding. We have an awesome system of paved trails in the DC/MD/Norther VA area--it's a good thing because a lot of the drivers here aren't "bike friendly." Also, it's crowded beyond belief here and there are way too many people who live in the DC metro area. It's changed a lot in the 18 years I've been here and it's not for the better. 13 more years til I can retire and move somewhere less crowded, with weather conducive to year round riding!
I really miss Pittsburgh, PA, which is my home town. People are nice there.

[emily_in_nc]

Neil Gunton - the mastermind behind crazyguyonabike.com wrote and article that you might find interesting about dogs & cycling. It's at DealingWithDogs.crazyguyonabike.com (http://DealingWithDogs.crazyguyonabike.com).
--- Denise

Thanks for the link, Denise. I read the article. Unfortunately, both my husband and I having HALT did nothing to prevent my accident. The dogs came too fast and were too close to the road to begin with so that we couldn't act fast enough - and my HALT was mounted right on my handlebars, that's how fast they were! :(

The only time I have ever gotten off my bike and put my bike between me and a dog, I had to use it to fight him off with the bike; thank goodness the owners ran out and grabbed him, or I might have been injured. He was a really mean one!

Normally we just try to sprint as fast as possible, use Halt if they get close enough (and it does work if you can get it out in time), but this time, all our normal methods failed us.

For the future, I ordered a super loud air horn (Nashbar sells these), recommended by a friend who cycles in Texas. She says it startles dogs and they tend to stop in their tracks. I hope so. But even with that and Halt, I know I am going to be scared to hit the road again. I just hope I can overcome that fear.

Emily

P.S. Don't get me wrong; I love dogs under normal conditions and have one myself. I just don't like loose ones when I ride.

[bikerchick68]

emily... man, I'd be nervous as heck after that experience too! In 3 yrs riding I've only been chased twice... and both times my adreneline kicked in hard... good thing I don't have high blood pressure or I'd have had a heart attack!

Overall, San Diego is a great place to ride... but really, stupidly expensive to live... sigh...but a great place to ride... we normally only get rain about 10 days a year!

I hope it all works out and you never, ever have to go thru this again...

[cruziegirl]

Gads, how awful that you were injured that severely because of a dog owner's irresponsibility! I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California and generally have very few dog incidents. However, the time my sister and I went down to Hollister/San Juan Bautista for a ride it was like every damn dog in the place was gunning for us. I think we must have had about 8 nasty dogs that went for us in the course of 20 measly miles! I love dogs (I've had labrador retrievers forever) but the sad truth is that many people just don't think they need to contain their dogs. And out in rural areas having a mean dog is like some weird badge of honor. I think the air horn idea sounds great but it does mean having to grab for something, find the trigger and blast it off...none of which is easy when some big, mean dog is flying at you like a missile. Even when it's a small, mean dog...those little terrier things can give you a heart attack! All I can ever think of to do is pedal faster and I know that won't always work.

[emily_in_nc]

I think the air horn idea sounds great but it does mean having to grab for something, find the trigger and blast it off...none of which is easy when some big, mean dog is flying at you like a missile.

Fortunately, the horn trigger will be mounted on my handlebar, and all you have to do is press it! (The bottle part with the air is mounted in a water bottle cage.) So it should be VERY easy to use, easier than Halt, I'll just have to remember to pump up the bottle part with a pump now and then (it runs on air just like a tire, but says you can get many blasts with one pump up).

Thanks for all the well wishes. We just had another cyclist in our club crash badly yesterday, breaking a hip and femur, so I am really jumpy today. His crash was not caused by dogs or a motor vehicle - sounds like it was a paceline collision, but still...it does make me even more frightened to get out there again. I have totally lost the cloak of invulnerability I used to wear while riding, and now I just see danger everywhere. I am hoping that will fade in time, but it's just too early to tell.

I've been thinking more about getting into mountain biking. I'm a complete novice to that; just got my first entry-level mtb this winter for riding gravel roads and trails around our neighborhood, but I might have to get more involved with that. Even though I LOVE riding the roads and doing club rides, and even though I know that crashes certainly happen on the trails, it just feels safer to me right now since there are no vehicles and normally no chasing dogs in the woods.

Emily

[spazzdog]

Another use for that rifle rack we've talked about in other threads...

No, I love dogs and haven't met one on or off the bike that wasn't willing to back down... I can be a "teeny" bit scary. Plus I'm very "Alpha" with dogs (unlike my sweet demure character at other times).

The advice given here is always top-rate. HALT, airhorns, you'll learn which works best... mostly you'll do fine as you get you confidence back. Sometimes a quick call to the police (after you outrun the pups) to report the dogs does the trick. And call them every time you go by the place if the dogs are loose, whether you are on a bike or in a car or on foot.

Looking forward to future ride reports from you Emily!

spazz

[bikerchick68]

I can be a "teeny" bit scary. Plus I'm very "Alpha" with dogs (unlike my sweet demure character at other times).
spazz

LOL... yep that's me too! no one has EVER described me as the passive type... think it's a compliment? :confused: :confused: :D Sure hope so...

emily it stinks that your friend crashed too, adding to your angst. I hear of accidents as well, and have heard that most people have an accident about every 5 yrs... ??? Crap, I'm 3 yrs in... sigh... statistics stink! I'd say get out there and just take it easy for a while... I ALWAYS carry pepper spray and if I see a dog anywhere that is unleashed, whether they appear friendly or not, the spary is out and ready to go... even a friendly dog that runs into a bike doing 18mph will cause you to go down unless you're a really good bike handler...

[nuthatch]

Emily, I think it's a great idea to approach cycling from a completely different angle to ease yourself back into it. Hang up your road bike for a bit and ride rails-to-trails or mtn bike tracks (carefully!!) to give your heart a lift without all the worry (any black bears in your area?? :rolleyes: ). I know EXACTLY how it feels to have that awful cloud of worry hanging over something you love so much - it spoils everything!!! :mad:

P.S. I don't think there's a dog-free rural road anywhere in the US. Two jack russells made for me the other day and I left my ride partners behind in the most cowardly display of speed!!

[Pedal Wench]

How timely...

My riding history has been in urban Miami, with absolutely no dogs on our usual ride out to Key Biscayne. Up in Atlanta, my rides alternated between a large park with a leash law, a rail-trail with a leash law, and my own neighborhood loop, with a leash law. There's a century ride out in rural Georgia/Alabama that I did once that had a LOT of dogs, and I was terrified. The same ride is this weekend, and after your story, I was even more terrified. Someone rode the course last weekend to re-blaze the route, and he reported that there were more dogs than ever. Great....

(note: another dog-lover here - one 120 lb mutt, and my recently deceased sweet, gentle Mastiff - she only weighed 170, and couldn't run fast enough to chase her own tail - and too stupid to try)

[Trek420]

dog lover chiming in, the other day my Mae (55 lbs, lab pit sumtin' sumtin' mix) got kudos from a neighbor who is also a cop. We stopped to chat as a half dozen kids swooped by on bikes one after the other on the sidewalk not a tail wag away from Mae. She just sat next to me, watched them ride by, didn't even move. Good dog, Mae.

I told him "she sees bikes every day, I ride, they are in the condo, she associates them with me. Dogs are another matter." He said "I'd rather your dog be good with kids and cyclists. dogs we can work around"

An unleashed dog is a danger to the owner, neighborhood, can even get hit, dognapped. I've had to x-off several streets we can't even walk on much less ride because of unleashed dogs.

I'm so glad you're back on the bike.

[bluezfire]

Emily,

I initially read of your accident on GirlBike.Com and immediately had all of my fears about crashing justified. Unleashed dogs have been my number one fear and complaint since I started riding. I live in a pretty small town in rural TN and there are lots of country roads that make for beautiful rides around here. Only problem is that there are lots of backwoods people who get these HUGE, nasty, mean dogs and let them run wild. It isn't often that my husband and I go for a ride that we aren't chased by at least 10 dogs. Thankfully, most of them are easily swayed to back off with a loud and firm "GIT! GO HOME!". But then you always have the persistent snapping-at-your-heels dogs that you can't shake and terrify you to death. And as much as I hate to admit it, it's the thought of How many dogs are on our route today? that sometimes makes me NOT want to ride my bike. Which just plain ... SUCKS!

I truly do wish you a safe and speedy recovery. And I hope that you can overcome the fear of riding the roads again. I like what nuthatch said about approaching riding in a way that will "give your heart a lift without all the worry". Sounds good to me. :)

Best wishes to you.

[annie]

Emily,

The fear will eventually fade, I can promise that. You'll never feel quite so invulnerable as you did before, but you learn to get past that feeling. The first time I went back out after recovering from my broken pelvis, I took my mountain bike, all by myself, and went to an easy trail. For me, the fear was riding close to ANYONE. I was afraid to ride with people. I felt VERY vulnerable. Like someone was going to run into me at any time. Irrational, yes, but very real fear. So I rode alone for the first few times until I felt comfortable on the bike again. Whether to ride again or not was never in question. I love it too much!!

Think of all times you have ridden when all went well. That's probably 99.9% of your rides! If you focus on that, instead of the one time when things went so incredibly bad, it will help you gain confidence in riding again.

It took me MANY group rides before I felt comfortable riding in a group again. I couldn't bring myself to ride in pacelines for almost a year. I can do so now, but am SO alert and focused. And don't enjoy it quite as much. Still............ I do it and its okay. I think it was good to face that fear and try to move beyond it.

Anyway, these are just strategies that helped me get back on the bike. Everyone is different, but I hope they help you a bit, too.

Ride the mtb, get out on trails. Whatever it takes to get started again. You will feel blessed to be out and riding no matter where you go.

My best wishes are always with you.

annie

[Biking Chick]

Emily,

I am so sorry to hear about your crash and am especially symphatic to the fact that the crash was a result of dogs allowed to run loose. Having trained and raised dogs for 14 years I consider myself a bonafide 'dog mom' and am irritated to no end that people who share their lives with a dog act so irresponsibly as to allow their dog to run loose. Drives me crazy when someone tells me, "Oh Fluffy never leaves the yard." Apparently they've watched too many Disney movies where their dogs 'talk' like Michael J. Fox (Incrediable Journey) and when they tell Fluffy to 'stay in the yard' Fluffy, having an extensive vocabulary, stays :rolleyes: As much as I love my dogs, they are dogs and no matter how much we train/work together I trust them about as far as I can spit. :::moving off my soap box:::

I've had a couple of instances where I've been chased while out riding but so far I've been able to put enough distance between myself and the dogs (which I think is probably more adrenalin than anything :) )

A number of years ago BC (Before Cockers) we had a Scottish Terrorist .. oops I mean Terrier who loved going out for walks. On one of our walks a 7 month old German Shephard puppy broke off his chain (the kind you find in the supermarket and certainly not what a responsible GSH owner should be using but that's another story ...) He immediately took off after my dog - picking him up and trying to carry him off all the while I am frantically trying to get him to drop my dog. Long story short - Alex (our Scottie) was fine after a long course of draining the lacerations, antibiodics etc. I on the other hand was a wreck. We had just gotten our very first (English) Cocker Spaniel but I was terrified to take her out for walks. I started walking both dogs in the early morning, rationalizing that no one had their dogs out at that hour of the day. (We're talking dark early morning!) After a few months I realized that I really needed to overcome my fear; the dogs were picking up on my anxiety and starting to become very nervous. I started taking short walks during the day which was a huge step for me and after continuing to tell myself I was going to be okay I eventually talked myself into believing it. Just to be on the safe side, I also carried pepper spray and an air horn. Fortunatley I never had to use the air horn as I'm sure it would have scared the begeezus out of my dogs.

It took me quite awhile before I overcame my fear of walking my dogs - I have since taken a very proactive approach reminding people about the need to be responsible dog owners which means keeping your dogs under control in their yard. DH has become very patient while I talk with a dog owner, pointing out that yes, Spot is wagging his tail but that what bothers me is the stiff legged, chest bumping while the tail is wagging. But all that isn't helping you with your anxiety ...

Give yourself time Emily and you'll find your way back to your passion for road biking. Feel free to use the forum to express your fears and feelings - keeping everything bottled up won't help you overcome your anxiety. Journal, post to the board, write a letter to the editor of your paper - do something proactive that will make you feel that you are doing something constructive will certainly help.

It sounds as if you did everything right but that the dogs came after you too quickly to have any time to react. In most situations taking an alpha stance will help diffuse a situation (not particularly easy when you are sitting on a bike saddle :rolleyes: ) but that is not the case in all instances with all breeds; in fact there are some instances where your best defense is to lower your eyes and not give the impression that you are a challenge.

[Crankin]

Hi Emily,

As far as dog-less riding goes, I live in the far NW suburbs of Boston, a little west of Concord, MA (you know, the Revolutionary War, etc). All of the small towns around here have leash laws and I have had very little trouble with dogs. The only major thing I had was on a ride with my husband and another couple, but it was in far central MA, almost western MA, about 45 miles west of here, out in the real country. Around here I can go out my door and be riding in low traffic areas, with lots of hills. All of the clubs around Boston have their weekend rides out here; there are so many cues on the roads that everyone notices them! Of course, only hardy souls ride in the winter, but there are tons of recreational/sports things to do besides cycling.
I also just started moutain biking and I am surprised that you see it as safer! Yes, there probably won't be dogs on the trails and the fat tires do give confidence, but around here mountain biking means skinny trails, rocks, and roots. There are some fire roads and flat paths, but I find it very challenging compared to road biking.

Good luck!

[emily_in_nc]

I also just started moutain biking and I am surprised that you see it as safer! Yes, there probably won't be dogs on the trails and the fat tires do give confidence, but around here mountain biking means skinny trails, rocks, and roots. There are some fire roads and flat paths, but I find it very challenging compared to road biking.

Oh yes, I do too ~ don't get me wrong! My husband put in a single-track trail around our 11 acres, and riding on it is very, very hard! There are rocks and roots and lots of quick turns. The first time I rode it on my new mountain bike, I was terrified, and I'd guess my average speed was like 6 mph! However, because I do go slow slowly, if I crash, I'm not nearly as likely to break bones. Yes, I could hit my head on a rock, but that's why I wear a helmet. I'm not anywhere near ready for any really challenging mountain biking, but for doing our trails, and the gravel roads back where I live (a rural subdivision), I do okay (or did, before my accident). But I do completely agree with your point. I think the longest mtb ride I ever did was about 45 minutes long, and I was pretty much dying at the end, where I can ride a road bike for hours. So, to me mountain biking is harder, but for me, it's less scary and just feels safer since I don't have to worry about dogs (nor cars/trucks, another plus).

Your area sounds lovely - I think Boston and New England are charming! But I'd never get my husband anywhere with so much winter, at least until I am retired and we can spend winters somewhere warm! Consider yourself very lucky for not having to deal with dogs. From the others who've posted, it seems like the south is really the worst for loose dogs, and that makes sense, since most of the folks who don't take care of their pets are the rural, less educated folks. It's really sad. :(

Emily

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks everyone for all the supportive, thought-provoking posts on this thread! I really appreciate it, and your kind words have done a great deal to cheer me up. Annie, I especially appreciated your relating your experience gettting back to riding after having a broken pelvis. It's nice to know that my fears are very normal. And that you came back and were able to conquer yours - maybe I can too. And I am with you - I love riding too much (and have such nice bikes!), there's no way I could give it up completely.

I started formulating an action plan last night of how I could still manage to ride on the road (eventually) and feel safer, and that is to only do group rides that I am familiar with (the route, that is) and know to be dog-free. There's a women's ride I've done for two years on Wednesday nights that has never had a single dog problem because of where the route is, for instance, and there are some weekend club rides/routes that are much more dog-free than others. If I could just ride on the road twice a week once I am healed and ready, I think that would be just fine with me. Then the other days, I could do mountain biking and paddling with my husband (we have kayaks). I think just a bit less emphasis on road riding would probably do me a bit of good, since I tend to take anything I really enjoy doing to an extreme, and last summer was riding five days a week. There are other things in life, and I think I'd enjoy my rides even more if I didn't feel compelled to ride allllll the time. We'll see, but it's nice to think about riding again in a way that I might feel safer.

Thanks again! :)
Emily