The Farm Dog…

Today I went for a 30 mile bike ride on my IronMan training course. Along the course, about a mile from my house, there is a farm dog that I had a pleasure meeting on one of my first bike rides.

The farm dog looks like a large “Benji” and has his very own dog house about 30 feet from the road. This is the dog that caused me to go to the local Fleet Farm and purchase some pepper spay just in case we had another encounter.

The first time we met, the Large Benji was in his driveway apparently waiting for the next biker to go by. Well, that happened to be me. He has what I would call the “dream farm” for bike chasing dogs. The farm sits on the corner of two roads with the farm house situated about a ¼ of a mile from the corner. Not only does he have a corner lot, he has clear view of the road and corner because of the farm field in front of him. Large Benji also has what I would call “the biker trap”, he has a hill that starts around his driveway that causes the bikers to climb.

So, like I said earlier, I’ve been ready for my next encounter. Every time I go past the Farm House, I have my pepper spray in one hand, I’m in full aero position, I’ve taken my nutrition right before the corner, and I’ve slowed down over the last mile or so in order to have fresh legs.

Well, up until today Large Benji has been no where to be seen. Today was a different story, I round the corner and sure enough Large Benji is sitting next to his dog house facing the corner. So, I’m thinking, do I turn around and try a different route? Well, that would add a good 45 minutes to my ride and that would not be good. Do I wait for a car to come by and ride on the other side so that Large Benji has no shot at my calfs? I’m stuck and now I have to make my way past Large Benji.

So, I get the pepper spray out of the holder, I open it up and have it ready in my right hand, I shift the bike into the “fast” gear, and I go down into full aero position. I’m slowly gaining speed as I watch Large Benji getting ready to attach. The closer I get I notice that he must remember that my bike speed was not too good and he would not need to get out of his lying position until I got closer. I’m now pretty much at my full speed with all weapon systems ready to go.

Well, Large Benji didn’t even move. No bark, no teeth showing, nothing – just sat there.

So, I’m thinking Large Benji was probably thinking to himself – “Wow, that old guy is really riding fast today”.

So much for the mean farm dog…