On The Subject of Boys and Dogs

I love dogs. When I encounter them on the road, I'm more likely to talk to them than yell at them unless they are overtly aggressive. If you are around dogs a lot, you come to understand the signals they send with their bark, posture, tail position, etc., and soon understand that most dogs that chase cyclists fall into one of two categories:
They will either run to the edge of their territory and stop, their job of protecting the homestead well done, or, as is often the case with hounds, they'll lope along beside you because they just love to run!
That said, I've been frightened by dogs and understand that they are the bane of many cyclists. And,of course, there remains the third category of dogs which are intent on doing you harm.

A couple of weeks ago, I embarked on a 12 mile road ride with my 10-year old nephew, Jack, and his buddy, Jake. It was quite an adventure, needless to say, and early in the ride as the boys pushed their mountain bikes the steepest hill in our Little Red River area neighborhood, we encountered a young lab, barking ferociously, full grown, but obviously a harmless pup. He was soon joined by an older, bigger and much more aggressive yellow lab mix. I was circling around on my bike and asked Jack if he knew the dogs, as he and Jake seemed to barely have noticed the two big barking dogs a couple of feet away. He said, "No, but you just ignore 'em and they get bored."

Hmm..never thought of it that way, but he's got a point.

Jack had just turned 10 and when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said he wanted to "go on a 20 mile bike ride.", so we went. We were short a few miles, but 12 miles was enough for the boys on their 20" Giants. Of course, I had to demonstrate the vast superiority of my speedy, hill-climbing titanium road machine to these impressionable youngsters. Just as naturally, Jack got the chance to set me up for a demonstration of fat tire dominance when he suggested a short cut home that included a gravel path, golf course cart path, more gravel, a single mower swath cut through chest high grass, and short path through some woods. His Dad had just passed us on the road as he headed home with their catfish dinner, so Jack's haste was legitimate.

I was pleased that my nephew wanted the gift of a bike ride for his birthday and it was fun to spend time with he and Jake. They are some smart, insightful boys who are blessed with the chance to grow up living beside the Little Red River where they can ride, run, fish and learn all over the neighborhood. I'd like to think he's an aspiring roadie, but he's still just a kid that likes to ride his bike.