I was riding my Trek on a remote country road near here, there was a big house there, and 4 adults were standing in the driveway, their dog was with them. Big dog about 60 pounds. The road was going uphill and I could go only about 7 mph. Dogs can run lots faster than that.
The dog ran after me and was zooming in on my left ankle. He was going to chomp on my Achilles tendon. That is how a wolf kills an elk at Yellowstone, cut the left Achilles tendon, his buddy cuts the right Achilles tendon and they take down the elk. It is genetic. A cut Achilles tendon in a human would mean some serious surgery and months on crutches.
As the dog neared my ankle, I wanted to kick him right in the face and teach him a lesson, but I knew those hillbillies had a gun close at hand, and probably would shoot me if they saw me kick the dog. I just stuck my foot out towards doggie, and when he bit, he bit the sole of my tennis shoe and not my ankle. I guess he didn't like the taste of rubber, he peeled off and went back to the group of adults, and I rode on. When I got home I saw 4 deep tooth marks on the bottom, and left side of my left tennis shoe.
A week later, I saw two of those men standing at the edge of a corn field, 2 miles away, they were getting ready to harvest corn. I stopped my bicycle to talk to them. I thought my hillbilly neighbors would apologize, for their dog nearly putting me in the hospital. No. I didn't realize, they viewed me as a sub human and a cockroach. Hillbilly Dad said "You'uns ain't from around here. You go around kicking a man's dog in the mouth, is a good way to get shot." I said "I didn't kick him! I stuck my foot out and he bit my shoe. He almost bit my ankle." The two hillbillies gave me a dirty look.
About 2 weeks later I quit riding my bike in the NC mountains.
I look at that beautiful Trek sitting in my carport, and I am tempted to get those tires fixed and put it back on the road. Instead, I'm going to the gym this morning to ride the stationary bike for 30 minutes. It is not as much fun, but it is less dangerous.
