I haven't been chased, per se, but at the lake where I ride, toward the end of the lap, the path narrows, so I often have to dodge walkers, strollers, and so on. A few weeks ago, I was moving up to pass a couple of women walking a dog on a long leash. The woman on the right was holding the leash, but the dog, which had been walking along quite nicely, caught sight of the ducks and was about to bolt after one. The dog darted in front of the woman on the left (who was walking right down the middle of the path, forcing me to pass on the far left, into the oncoming lane - no biggie as no one was coming toward us) and the dog bolts out to her left, right into my path, just as I'm coming up to pass them. I just reacted, swerved and yelled a sharp, "Hey!" because that's how I stop my dog when she bolts when we're on walks, and the dog corrected its path, and moved back in front of the women, and as I pass, a few feet in front of them, the older woman in the middle of the road says, all snarky, "We say 'On your left,' not, 'hey'."

I almost turned around to tell her I didn't think her dog would understand "On your left," but I let it go.

I'm constantly dodging dogs on the path, many of whom are big dogs on looooong leashes. I've been charged by a couple, but stuck my foot out to kick while yelling, "Hey!" and their owners reel them in quickly.

I've yelled "Leash!" when I'm coming up on someone who's letting their dog run out all the way across the path - it's a two-lane road most of the way, and marked 15mph for bikes and cars.

What recourse does a cyclist have when they're attacked by a dog running loose in a neighborhood?

Roxy