Riding to work this morning I was running a little ahead of schedule and it was such a nice morning for a ride I decided to take the long-cut via Yarra Boulie. You could feel the serenity until some little critter smacked into the side of my head. I sped up as the little bugger had another go and as I tried to swerve out of his way one of the panniers caught the rear wheel. Next thing I'm on the bike and in the gutter sliding along the kerb thinking "this is really gonna hurt when I hit the ground". I was right, it did. Lay there for a few minutes and a few other cyclists dropped by to make sure I was ok. No damage to the bike, but a fair bit of blood by the time I got to work and 45 mins to clean myself up. Definitely not looking forward to tomorrow morning, as I reckon I'll be feeling very sore.
Definitely not looking forward to tomorrow morning, as I reckon I'll be feeling very sore. DaveB
Ouch! Think I mentioned something like this in the other Magpie thread... sorry for talking about it Dave. I have been taken out as well, I was taken out up near Noosa, inland from Noosa they have the train tracks that the sugar cane carts use, I was busy swatting a really aggresive bird away when me wheel hit the train line, Bird (1) v Me (0)
So Yarra Boulevarde to be avoided as well.... its heating up!
So Yarra Boulevarde to be avoided as well.... its heating up!
Bugger, have to do Secret Training elsewhere. 🙂
BTW - are there any reports of the feisty little buggers on other routes/paths in Melboring? Maybe it's a nifty idea for magpie-sightings to be posted, so others can be aware of aggro behaviour & try to avoid them where possible!
PS - Dave, was the injury fall-related or magpie strike?
Riding to work this morning I was running a little ahead of schedule and it was such a nice morning for a ride I decided to take the long-cut via Yarra Boulie. You could feel the serenity until some little critter smacked into the side of my head. I sped up as the little bugger had another go and as I tried to swerve out of his way one of the panniers caught the rear wheel. Next thing I'm on the bike and in the gutter sliding along the kerb thinking "this is really gonna hurt when I hit the ground". I was right, it did. Lay there for a few minutes and a few other cyclists dropped by to make sure I was ok. No damage to the bike, but a fair bit of blood by the time I got to work and 45 mins to clean myself up. Definitely not looking forward to tomorrow morning, as I reckon I'll be feeling very sore.
DaveB
Now Patrick's going to tell you to toughen up, dearie! ;-)
BTW - are there any reports of the feisty little buggers on other routes/paths in Melboring? Maybe it's a nifty idea for magpie-sightings to be posted, so others can be aware of aggro behaviour & try to avoid them where possible!
On 2007-08-28, DaveB (aka Bruce) was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
Quoted message said:
Riding to work this morning I was running a little ahead of schedule and it was such a nice morning for a ride I decided to take the long-cut via Yarra Boulie. You could feel the serenity until some little critter smacked into the side of my head. I sped up as the little bugger had another go and as I tried to swerve out of his way one of the panniers caught the rear wheel. Next thing I'm on the bike and in the gutter sliding along the kerb thinking "this is really gonna hurt when I hit the ground". I was right, it did. Lay there for a few minutes and a few other cyclists dropped by to make sure I was ok. No damage to the bike, but a fair bit of blood by the time I got to work and 45 mins to clean myself up. Definitely not looking forward to tomorrow morning, as I reckon I'll be feeling very sore.
Now that it has demonstrated that it is a dangerous bird, perhaps EPA Victoria would also be interested in it, as per the Qld suggestion in the other thread?
I'm pretty sure there is a department that takes responsibility for the extermination of pest magpies in Victoria (might or might not be EPA).
Damn, DaveB, but no crash bandicoot points for crashes by bird of prey.
-- TimC I'm all for computer dating, but I wouldn't want one to marry my sister. --unk
Riding to work this morning I was running a little ahead of schedule and it was such a nice morning for a ride I decided to take the long-cut via Yarra Boulie. You could feel the serenity until some little critter smacked into the side of my head. I sped up as the little bugger had another go and as I tried to swerve out of his way one of the panniers caught the rear wheel. Next thing I'm on the bike and in the gutter sliding along the kerb thinking "this is really gonna hurt when I hit the ground". I was right, it did. Lay there for a few minutes and a few other cyclists dropped by to make sure I was ok. No damage to the bike, but a fair bit of blood by the time I got to work and 45 mins to clean myself up. Definitely not looking forward to tomorrow morning, as I reckon I'll be feeling very sore.
DaveB
Ouch is right. It may not have in fact been a magpie, but a butcher bird or even the humble wattle bird, they bomb too, and they tend to hit the head, whereas magpies don't always make contact (though give you a good whack if they do). Is it my imagination, or 25 years ago were magpies only bombing around Grand Final time and only for a few weeks? Now they often start in July, and I've been bombed on Cup Day. And there seems to be a lot more of the little bludgers. Commiserations, Ray
Ouch is right. It may not have in fact been a magpie, but a butcher bird
Yes I suspect you could be right. As I lay on the ground I looked around for the offending bird and all I could see was a butcher bird. The annoying thing is I rode that section of road a couple of times on Sunday and the bugger was nowhere to be seen. Evasive action that day would have been no problem without the panniers.
Riding to work this morning I was running a little ahead of schedule and it was such a nice morning for a ride I decided to take the long-cut via Yarra Boulie. You could feel the serenity until some little critter smacked into the side of my head. I sped up as the little bugger had another go and as I tried to swerve out of his way one of the panniers caught the rear wheel. Next thing I'm on the bike and in the gutter sliding along the kerb thinking "this is really gonna hurt when I hit the ground". I was right, it did. Lay there for a few minutes and a few other cyclists dropped by to make sure I was ok. No damage to the bike, but a fair bit of blood by the time I got to work and 45 mins to clean myself up. Definitely not looking forward to tomorrow morning, as I reckon I'll be feeling very sore.
DaveB
Just ride straight, and wave em away.
They cannot hurt if you don't let them.
Patrick Turner, happy victim of hundreds of maggie attacks over 20 years total and 110,000 kms of cycling.
"gplama" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Wowa nasty! Was that you I saw at Kew junction today around 4pm? I was heading toward the boulie for some hilly action.
Anyways I have a new theory... magpies will probably go for an easy target (or tallest).... So I rekkon we all ride next to Gags for two months!
I got swooped by a Magpie last year on the Boulevard - he came back for a second go and I was lucky enough that the sun was positioned so that I could see his shadow on the road next to me. When I judged that he was pretty close to my head I flailed my right arm up above my head and managed to clip his wing - this sent him packing although I did have a clenched fist and was hoping for a head or body shot!!!
... as I tried to swerve out of his way one of the panniers caught the rear wheel. Next thing I'm on the bike and in the gutter sliding along the kerb thinking "this is really gonna hurt when I hit the ground". I was right, it did.
*wince* Bummer! Hope you're not crippled for too long.
Has anyone ever tried that painted-eyes-on-back-of-helmet thing? Just curious as to whether it actually works or if it's just another myth.
It's been quite a while since I was last bombed, IIRC I was on foot walking past a used car dealer and saw the "danger, swooping bird" sign after he'd made his third kamikaze run at me. ;-)
I'm unconvinced after getting the ear treatment (despite frantically trying to wave the bird away) outside Cockington Green (Canberra) a couple of years ago.
I'm looking at improvising some sort of ear protection this year.
But what I really want is a helmet-mounted rear-facing capsicum spray I can trigger from the handlebars 🙂
But what I really want is a helmet-mounted rear-facing capsicum spray I can trigger from the handlebars 🙂
I don't know if magpies are susceptible to capsicum spray - though it might be fun to find out. My thoughts run to a spring-loaded net arrangment something like those ancient gladiators used in conjunction with a trident. At a touch of a button, the net unfolds itself from your helmet and engulfs the magpie as it's about to strike. Then you can have your wicked way with it.
Riding to work this morning I was running a little ahead of schedule and it was such a nice morning for a ride I decided to take the long-cut via Yarra Boulie. You could feel the serenity until some little critter smacked into the side of my head. I sped up as the little bugger had another go and as I tried to swerve out of his way one of the panniers caught the rear wheel. Next thing I'm on the bike and in the gutter sliding along the kerb thinking "this is really gonna hurt when I hit the ground". I was right, it did. Lay there for a few minutes and a few other cyclists dropped by to make sure I was ok. No damage to the bike, but a fair bit of blood by the time I got to work and 45 mins to clean myself up. Definitely not looking forward to tomorrow morning, as I reckon I'll be feeling very sore.
DaveB
Bummer isn't it. I'm in central Vic and over 50 plus years and countless swooping magpies I'm yet to have one make physical contact. Are the city maggies worse or because they get more practice are they more accurate? Perhaps the bloodthirsty one in the country get wasted and don't pass on the nasty genes. Who knows? Halcyon
Bummer isn't it. I'm in central Vic and over 50 plus years and countless swooping magpies I'm yet to have one make physical contact. Are the city maggies worse or because they get more practice are they more accurate? Perhaps the bloodthirsty one in the country get wasted and don't pass on the nasty genes. Who knows?
Bummer isn't it. I'm in central Vic and over 50 plus years and countless swooping magpies I'm yet to have one make physical contact. Are the city maggies worse or because they get more practice are they more accurate? Perhaps the bloodthirsty one in the country get wasted and don't pass on the nasty genes. Who knows?
It's the lairy lycra that attracts them.
I find that speed is the important thing with magpies. If you have the opportunity, just go straight and fast... they tend not to be able to get more than maybe one swoop in. On the other hand, the one that swoops each year on the corner of Athllon & Sulwood is a real [censored] cos you have to sit there and wait for traffic while the bugger turns you into swiss cheese!
Bummer isn't it. I'm in central Vic and over 50 plus years and countless swooping magpies I'm yet to have one make physical contact. Are the city maggies worse or because they get more practice are they more accurate? Perhaps the bloodthirsty one in the country get wasted and don't pass on the nasty genes. Who knows? Halcyon
Some "bush" magpies seem much less confident about getting up close. When bushwalking I've had them hovering a good 5 metres overhead, and trying to be threatening from up there. I think they build up confidence with ongoing experience with their targets.
