Elements of a great bike ride

In general, I bike inside city limits, where there are few dogs not fenced in or leashed. (Thank you city ordinances!) However, every now and then, while cycling down a residential street, the barking will be followed by furry bodies racing the shortest route to intercept me.

On country roads, sometimes there are dogs just sunning in the middle of the road waiting for cyclists to show up. In that case, I’ve been advised to “Pedal faster!”, while heading straight at the dogs, which run along with us, barking the entire way, until we’re out of their territory.

Thankfully, no dog has bitten me or knocked me off my bike yet.

My dad has rightly pointed out that vehicles are much more dangerous to me on a bike than dogs. However, my brain stops thinking logically when it hears barking and sees a dog running free…straight at me.