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2012-12-16 1:22 PM

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Veteran
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Apex, NC
Subject: Post dog encounter adrenaline deficiency

We've all been there.  You're humming along on a nice ride.  You nearly jump out of your skin when a roaring blur comes out of nowhere.  After a split second of processing, you stomp on the pedals but the dog accelerates faster and takes up postion just off your front wheel.  You're yelling at him, he's barking at you.  You fumble for the water bottle to give him a shot in the face but can't get hold of it and that dog is swerving around at 3:00 off your wheel (somehwere in evolution, they learned that position is the most dangerous for a cyclist).  So you slow down a little wondering what sort of altercation is about to happen.  The dog slows and you accelerate again.  And this time, for some reason, the dog decides to give up the chase.

And now, every last bit of energy has just left your body.  You can hardly turn the pedals after the flight or fight (purposely reversed) response is gone.  It takes a good five minutes to get back to spinning normally.

There should be a name for that feeling.  It's even worse when the encounter is pre-dawn.  This sound familiar to anyone?



2012-12-16 1:32 PM
in reply to: #4536999

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Subject: RE: Post dog encounter adrenaline deficiency
smoom - 2012-12-16 1:22 PM

We've all been there.  You're humming along on a nice ride.  You nearly jump out of your skin when a roaring blur comes out of nowhere.  After a split second of processing, you stomp on the pedals but the dog accelerates faster and takes up postion just off your front wheel.  You're yelling at him, he's barking at you.  You fumble for the water bottle to give him a shot in the face but can't get hold of it and that dog is swerving around at 3:00 off your wheel (somehwere in evolution, they learned that position is the most dangerous for a cyclist).  So you slow down a little wondering what sort of altercation is about to happen.  The dog slows and you accelerate again.  And this time, for some reason, the dog decides to give up the chase.

And now, every last bit of energy has just left your body.  You can hardly turn the pedals after the flight or fight (purposely reversed) response is gone.  It takes a good five minutes to get back to spinning normally.

There should be a name for that feeling.  It's even worse when the encounter is pre-dawn.  This sound familiar to anyone?

Yep.  A not-too-scary dog won't cause this for me, but I had one just like this over the summer...a REALLY aggressive dog...that didn't give up the chase easily...everything I had to outrun him...still had hours of riding left to do and honestly was just so BLAH the rest of the ride like all the energy had been sapped out of me.

If it's just a short chase or a slow dog it doesn't do this for me...but the true fight or flight response will sap the energy out of me for sure.

2012-12-16 3:57 PM
in reply to: #4536999

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Elite
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Subject: RE: Post dog encounter adrenaline deficiency

...I had a similar adrenaline rush yesterday.  I was at 18km into my 22km run - first time in ages I decided to wear my earphones and have some tunes but not blasting I could still hear traffic etc.

Anyway I'm running on the footpath in struggletown and a car speeds out of his driveway - forwards thank goodness or he wouldn't have seen me at all.  I hit him at full pelt - I definitely dented the side of the hood a bit.

He did screech to a halt as did I and managed not to do a Starsky and Hutch somersault across the car.  He was really apologetic, I was laughing - didn't know what else to do.

anyway - I had 4km to go and I had nothing left.  Seriously nothing.  If I'd been wearing a HRM I wonder what the spike would have been.

Only damaged a slight bruise on my hip and a sore ankle where I pulled up so sharply.

2012-12-16 7:40 PM
in reply to: #4536999

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Subject: RE: Post dog encounter adrenaline deficiency
Sounds familiar.  I was just about at my turnaround 20km away from home when a huge black shiny snake slithered across the path in front of me.  I screeched to a halt about 3 feet from it and backed up with heart thumping out my chest.  I was shaking from head to foot with the primal parts of my brain completely over-ruling all the rational bits.  Took me forever to get back home.
2012-12-16 8:19 PM
in reply to: #4537235

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Subject: RE: Post dog encounter adrenaline deficiency

daisymouse - 2012-12-17 12:40 PM Sounds familiar.  I was just about at my turnaround 20km away from home when a huge black shiny snake slithered across the path in front of me.  I screeched to a halt about 3 feet from it and backed up with heart thumping out my chest.  I was shaking from head to foot with the primal parts of my brain completely over-ruling all the rational bits.  Took me forever to get back home.

Gotta love Australia and all her critters!

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