Magpie

"husleying" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

I know that brandishing a stick works, but it is inconvenient while
riding. If you're desperate to stop them though, it is a safe bet.

What about those long, whippy rods with the triangular orange Day-Glo flags?
Would they scare them off? They scare me off.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

(husleying) said:

I know that brandishing a stick works, but it is inconvenient while
riding. If you're desperate to stop them though, it is a safe bet.

A tennis racquet is the best thing. The magpie makes a very satisfying noise as
it bounces off. ;-)

husleying said:

I know that brandishing a stick works, but it is inconvenient while
riding. If you're desperate to stop them though, it is a safe bet.

Top tube pumps can be handy in these situations.

Alas, eyes don't always work.

A magpie circled me closely and "yelled" rapidly at me yesterday morn,
a wingclap just before it landed nearby but no actually swooping.

PS. I think I'd do myself more damage trying to wave a stick/pump than any magpie (I've met) is likely to.

I got swooped (by a magpie) about 12 times today on Blackgate Road, Torquay. He was like a Japanese Zero Pilot, coming out of the morning sun, but his shadow gave him away. But this guy would not give up. He went at me for about 400 metres.

Is 10-12 times a record?

powinc

PS: Is it the males or females maggies take swoop?

aeek said:

A magpie circled me closely and "yelled" rapidly at me yesterday morn,
a wingclap just before it landed nearby but no actually swooping.

PS. I think I'd do myself more damage trying to wave a stick/pump than
any magpie (I've met) is likely to.

I have an old bell white helmet and that has resisted the few attacks,
but most have just been swooped. Only wave the pump when with a group
and safe to do so.

Most magpie damage is caused by the shock of being swooped.
Only seen one blood drawing attack in 30 years.

A friend was knocked out while on his bike by a maggie a few years back.

Saw a postie last month who was still accelerating, & maybe doing about
50kph with a maggie right behind his helmet.....think this maggie must've
been the fastest I've ever seen.

Had a beak dent in my old Giro years back.

Anyone ever tried fixing or sticking eyes on the back of their helmet?

Rob 🙂

"Terry Collins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

aeek said:

A magpie circled me closely and "yelled" rapidly at me yesterday morn,
a wingclap just before it landed nearby but no actually swooping.

PS. I think I'd do myself more damage trying to wave a stick/pump than
any magpie (I've met) is likely to.

I have an old bell white helmet and that has resisted the few attacks,
but most have just been swooped. Only wave the pump when with a group
and safe to do so.

Most magpie damage is caused by the shock of being swooped.
Only seen one blood drawing attack in 30 years.

powinc said:

I got swooped (by a magpie) about 12 times today on Blackgate Road,
Torquay. He was like a Japanese Zero Pilot, coming out of the morning
sun, but his shadow gave him away. But this guy would not give up. He
went at me for about 400 metres.

Is 10-12 times a record?

powinc

PS: Is it the males or females maggies take swoop?

It's the males. There was a bit on them this time last year on Today
Tonight or ACA and they were sayign at this time of year the males are
pumped full of testosterone and their testicles swell to 200 times
normal size (that'd make me angry enough to take a swipe at pasers by).

DaveB

"DaveB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

It's the males. There was a bit on them this time last year on Today
Tonight or ACA and they were sayign at this time of year the males are
pumped full of testosterone and their testicles swell to 200 times
normal size (that'd make me angry enough to take a swipe at pasers by).

So how big are these gonads, and how tiny when out of season?

Methinks that was probably 200% rather than 200 times. Otherwise balls 1mm
dia. become 200mm monsters - awkward to fly with. :-(

Cheers
Peter

Peter Signorini said:

Methinks that was probably 200% rather than 200 times. Otherwise balls 1mm
dia. become 200mm monsters - awkward to fly with. :-(

Nah, that'd be 200^3, or 8 million times the mass/volume.

200 times bigger could mean six times the diameter. Enough to make
riding a bike difficult though:

http://poetry.rotten.com/testicle/eleph-fiji.html

"Mike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Peter Signorini said:

Methinks that was probably 200% rather than 200 times. Otherwise
balls 1mm dia. become 200mm monsters - awkward to fly with. :-(

Nah, that'd be 200^3, or 8 million times the mass/volume.

200 times bigger could mean six times the diameter. Enough to make
riding a bike difficult though:

http://poetry.rotten.com/testicle/eleph-fiji.html

You'd think his quads would be bigger from all that squatting.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

"DRS" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://poetry.rotten.com/testicle/eleph-fiji.html

You'd think his quads would be bigger from all that squatting.

Good quads and calves on this guy.

http://poetry.rotten.com/testicle/eleph-rear.html ;-)

Cheers
Peter

Terry Collins said:

Most magpie damage is caused by the shock of being swooped. Only seen one
blood drawing attack in 30 years.

My F'In-Law donated some blood last week, near Awaba house
on the bikepath past Speers Point (Lake Macquarie, NSW).

That same? maggie whacked my helmet the week before.

Now [s]he's got the taste for man-flesh there'll be no stopping it.

-kt

Peter Signorini said:

Methinks that was probably 200% rather than 200 times. Otherwise balls 1mm
dia. become 200mm monsters - awkward to fly with. :-(

I think it means volume, so they would be ~ 14mm size.