BR61 - Magpie attack

I would really like to hear if this or any other method works. The maggies
here in Canberra are f&^%king deadly!! Last year I had four to pass on my
way to work. Perhaps I need to wear a box on my head??

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying
"1013" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Paint eyes on the back of your helmet/neck.

"DaveB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Danmed #$$@%$$ magpies. I made the mistake of doing a short ride and
leaving the group at K Ground. As soon as I did it started raining
(obviously the it-never-rains-on-BR rule only applies if you stay with
the group). Then as I reach Research and start the downhill section,
cold and wet, something smacks into the side of my neck. OUCH!!! By the
time I realised it was a magpie I figured I was safe because I was doing
a decent downhill pace. Swearing loudly to myself stupid, blood mag...
WHACK, the bugger has chased me down the hill and hit me from the other
side in the ear. Funny how you can sprint when magpies are chasing, I
was off like a rocket. Got home to find it had drwan blood on both
sides. Can someone please ride out there and explain to him that it is
still winter.

DaveB

DJ said:

"DD" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Evan said:

DaveB wrote:

>Danmed #$$@%$$ magpies. > DaveB

Must be an east coast thing. I live in the Perth Hills with lots of
Magpies and never have any problems.

No, I can assure you that once you leave Perth for the southwest the
maggies breed at a different time. Right now if you head south on the
Albany Hwy, once you leave the safety of the jarrah forrest (the other
side of those safe hills that you live on) at North Bannister about 90km
southeast of Perth, thereafter you can be maggied every few km all the way
down to Albany. Thats' the rest of the 450km trip. Ouch. Brings back
memories of sprinting up steep hills on a fully-loaded touring bike
outside of Kojonup just to escape the buggers.

This is a product of clearing the bush, in that the opened up paddocks
suit maggies and also that the only trees suitable for nesting are left in
that thin strip of roadside reserve all the way down the highway. If
roadside verges were 100m wide instead of 5m wide you might have a chance
to sneak past. No such luck.

I came back from Albany on that particular trip where I discovered this
gem of maggie experience via gravel roads cut through the bush and hills,
what maggies I met were less ferocious. There's your hint, if maggies are
hotted up in your area avoid sparsely treed sections of road or wear a
really heavy helmet (every once in a while you may ask yourself "what's
that tapping sound on my helmet?"😉.

Bear in mind also that maggies are protected and you can't do much about a
particular maggie unless your council is prepared to deal with it for you.
Also the main culprit is the male and the understanding is that his
hormones at mating time put him under considerable, fiery stress. How do
you think that you'd behave (badly?) if your gonads felt like they were
burning a hole in your crotch? A comforting thought for after the next
time mr. male maggie swoops you is that it might be hurting him more than
you.

P.S I am talking of the western, not black-backed or white-backed, maggie
of SW WA. But I think these will behave similarly.

I was watching 2 maggies having a go at a kookaburra the other day and it
was unreal. I have a whole new respect for those black & white winged
buggers now after watching them doing wing-overs, stall spins etc trying to
chase away the ever persisting Kooka, it was like the red baron strikes
again...only it was b&w. The conclusion I've come up with is, unless you're
riding your bike dressed up like an astronaut, there isn't any way you're
gunna outsmart them or out run them doesn't matter where they are from. I've
even had mates on motorbikes getting attacked by magpies while doing
60-70kph only they come from the side and not behind.

DJ

Yeah magpies were stuka pilots in another life

DaveB said:

Peter Signorini said:

1013 said:

Paint eyes on the back of your helmet/neck.

This one really deserves to be sent to the Mythbusters team. Some
people swear by it, then I've heard others report being hit by a
maggie, while using a helmet equipped with eyes.

Cheers
Peter

I'm tipping a bird smart enough to peck me about 2 cm's below the helmet
line is going to be able to distinguish painted eyes from the real
thing. besides, if I paint eyes on the back and both sides I'm gonna
strat to look like a dalmation.

DaveB

Wonder if it works against 4wd ers

quote='DaveB'DD said:

maggies are hotted up in your area avoid sparsely treed sections of road
or wear a really heavy helmet (every once in a while you may ask
yourself "what's that tapping sound on my helmet?"😉.

I think those bloody maggies are onto the protection of the helmet. This
one seems to have avoided the helmet and come in just under it's
protection judging by the war wounds.

As I turned into my street to get home from the ride there was a group
of magpies on the road so I deliberately swerved into them to give them
a fright. Hmm that sounds familiar. Of course you shouldn't judge all
magpies based on one magpie running a red light ... er I mean swooping
you, most of them are quite law abiding.

Dave "sore ear" B[/QUOTE]
This has never happened to me but if it does, is there any point in stopping, waiting for an attack, then hit the fekker as it is making a new bomb run? Big fist in the face type thing? Then you strap it to your cycle, with a string, if you have one, dragging it behind you all the way home, to set an example for all other maggies. 🙂

Claes said:

This has never happened to me but if it does, is there any point in stopping, waiting for an attack, then hit the fekker as it is making a new bomb run? Big fist in the face type thing? Then you strap it to your cycle, with a string, if you have one, dragging it behind you all the way home, to set an example for all other maggies. 🙂

you will be ok if you dont look around at them, they will still go for you, however if you stop turn around and face them, they will back off, they only go for you when they think they have the drop on ya! 🙂 wise guys...... *nuyp nuyp nuyp*

thats my experience anyway

MikeyOz said:

you will be ok if you dont look around at them, they will still go for you, however if you stop turn around and face them, they will back off, they only go for you when they think they have the drop on ya! 🙂 wise guys...... *nuyp nuyp nuyp*

thats my experience anyway

aaayye! Later in the season there's a noisy minah at Pideon's Hill (the end of 'the climb' at the rock, er where blah 'signed' his name...)

Last summer i always forgot about the bugger, due mainly to oxygen deprivation. He would keep coming back and forth at you, up to 4-5 times.
Last time i sa him i finally remembered, looked for him and collected him with a quickly raised hand

flyingdutch said:

aaayye! Later in the season there's a noisy minah at Pideon's Hill (the end of 'the climb' at the rock, er where blah 'signed' his name...)

Last summer i always forgot about the bugger, due mainly to oxygen deprivation. He would keep coming back and forth at you, up to 4-5 times.
Last time i sa him i finally remembered, looked for him and collected him with a quickly raised hand

Then you tied him to your bike with a piece of string, towing him around to set an example for the other maggies? 🙂

"MikeyOz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Claes said:

This has never happened to me but if it does, is there any point in
stopping, waiting for an attack, then hit the fekker as it is making a
new bomb run? Big fist in the face type thing? Then you strap it to
your cycle, with a string, if you have one, dragging it behind you all
the way home, to set an example for all other maggies. 🙂

you will be ok if you dont look around at them, they will still go for
you, however if you stop turn around and face them, they will back off,
they only go for you when they think they have the drop on ya! 🙂 wise
guys...... *nuyp nuyp nuyp*

Except the pair at the Coffs Harbour Fish Co-op carpark. Anyone who rides
the bike path in the area must know them. It was a while ago now but I still
remember them well.

These sly buggers ambushed me on a sunny day with their alternate bombing
runs. When I stopped and looked at them, one perched himself on a sign and
positively shrieked at me while the other lined up the next bomb run from
behind. I got so frustrated with the repeated attacks (solid bird-helmet
contact hits), and the stress of the shrieking, that I went against normal
defence policy and started swinging my pump at them, and throwing rocks. All
that did is make them angrier, and craftier.

Damned embarassing riding across a big carpark to a fish co-op crowded with
tourists, with two enraged birds diving and shrieking. They didn't stop til
I got under the verandah. Later I had to run the gauntlet two more tmes to
get to and from the harbour.

Anyone in Coffs? Those birds need some serious counselling. Maybe a vet with
a big scalpel.

Cheers
Peter

Peter Signorini said:

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

Quoted message said:

Claes said:

This has never happened to me but if it does, is there any point in
stopping, waiting for an attack, then hit the fekker as it is making a
new bomb run? Big fist in the face type thing? Then you strap it to
your cycle, with a string, if you have one, dragging it behind you all
the way home, to set an example for all other maggies. 🙂

you will be ok if you dont look around at them, they will still go for
you, however if you stop turn around and face them, they will back off,
they only go for you when they think they have the drop on ya! 🙂 wise
guys...... *nuyp nuyp nuyp*

Except the pair at the Coffs Harbour Fish Co-op carpark. Anyone who rides
the bike path in the area must know them. It was a while ago now but I still
remember them well.

These sly buggers ambushed me on a sunny day with their alternate bombing
runs. When I stopped and looked at them, one perched himself on a sign and
positively shrieked at me while the other lined up the next bomb run from
behind. I got so frustrated with the repeated attacks (solid bird-helmet
contact hits), and the stress of the shrieking, that I went against normal
defence policy and started swinging my pump at them, and throwing rocks. All
that did is make them angrier, and craftier.

Damned embarassing riding across a big carpark to a fish co-op crowded with
tourists, with two enraged birds diving and shrieking. They didn't stop til
I got under the verandah. Later I had to run the gauntlet two more tmes to
get to and from the harbour.

Anyone in Coffs? Those birds need some serious counselling. Maybe a vet with
a big scalpel.

Cheers
Peter

10 guage.

dave said:

Quoted message said:

Damned embarassing riding across a big carpark to a fish co-op crowded
with tourists, with two enraged birds diving and shrieking. They didn't
stop til I got under the verandah. Later I had to run the gauntlet two
more tmes to get to and from the harbour.

Anyone in Coffs? Those birds need some serious counselling. Maybe a vet
with a big scalpel.

Cheers
Peter

10 guage.

No, no. They're protected native fauna, can't kill 'em. Just a big nip and
tuck to get rid of the 'nads.

Cheers
Peter

"Peter Signorini" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

dave said:

Quoted message said:

Damned embarassing riding across a big carpark to a fish co-op crowded
with tourists, with two enraged birds diving and shrieking. They didn't
stop til I got under the verandah. Later I had to run the gauntlet two
more tmes to get to and from the harbour.

Anyone in Coffs? Those birds need some serious counselling. Maybe a vet
with a big scalpel.

Cheers
Peter

10 guage.

No, no. They're protected native fauna, can't kill 'em. Just a big nip and
tuck to get rid of the 'nads.

Cheers
Peter
They need anger management....send em to Dr. Phil.

DJ