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A New Menace on our Roads
So Spring must be well and truly here/on the way, was out for my normal training ride this morning and on the ride home, I heard the dulcet tones of a familiar foe from last year over my right shoulder, a quick glance and there she was, a magpie swooping in to attack the back of my helmet to defend it's territory from the terrible cyclist.
So watch out people, I know its pretty early in the season for Magpie's however, keep a ear out for their attacking tones and prepare to be bombarded.
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I got Smashed ( slightly less ) on the last Sunday in July by my little Mate , the Mt Annan Magpie who lives in the Botanic Gardens .
It was even teaching it's offspring how to swoop using my head in early January this year :-/
ah ya gotta love Australia, while the Maggies attack from above the snakes launch a ground assault!
Is that exclusively Australian phenomenon?
I love these cheeky birds and their very clever singing.. but never saw magpies attacking in other countries.. are they maybe descendants of deported magpies?!
is is better than Bears & Cougers in North America-I would literally crap me dacks if confronted on a trail with either!
Beats cycling through Tottenham!
Yes i hate it when im confronted by a Koala Bear and frisky older women... Especially on a night ride...
This one time. at MTB camp...
Cougars can be downright dangerous, if also life threatening.
Zsa Zsa Gabor & Joan Collins speices but the Liz Taylor is sadly extinct from getting hold & sinking claws in younger men!
There is one fearsome australian mammal you will never see or hear coming. and that is the dreaded Drop Bear!!! Take extra care when night riding!
Not sure about the Drop bears, but watch out for Wombats that run up the Oaks single track in the dark!
Will need to wear my amour while mowing lawn again this year. Not going to let that Magpie get me.
I got attacked by the same bird twice on my way to work this morning.
Is there any way of stopping it? One of the blokes at work said to attach eyes to the back of the helmet because the birds don't swoop when they think you're looking at them. Is this true or is he trying to make me look a prat?
Ive always been under the impression its true. Have you ever had a magpie swoop you when you have been starring it down? They always launch their attack when your back is turned.
The postie bikes round our way are now all fitted with little flagpoles at the rear with bright yellow flags that sit up a foot or so higher than the rider. Or there's the multi zip tie spikes out the top of the helmet. or waving your hand wildly above your head.......
Apparently there's no proven way to frighten off magpies and look cool at the same time....
I think there a video online of people showing a wig on your helmet stops them attacking.
This is a cool video. I am sure it has been posted here before but anyway, it's relevant to this thread.
http://youtu.be/9wHreVKgOT4
Great video, not sure I want to ride without a helmet though.
I'll just go a different way to work tomorrow.
Exactly what I ended up doing after being smashed by a particular kamikaze-like magpie near Miller's Reserve on the way to work last spring! I now stay away at that time of the year.
I still think it's learned behavior. The magpie swoops a big thing in a helmet and it quickly leaves his territory. magpie then learns it a good way to boost it's ego and show potential mates how tough it is.
Clearly the maggie in the video is just confused when the helmet is removed. Give it 3 weeks and I bet it was swooping non helmeted riders too.
Not having a helmet never helped as a kid.
We have some real buggars in town but when ever I get swooped I stop and ride back towards the bird and follow it a bit as it flies from tree to tree. Just to show that swooping the big guy inthe white helmet doesn't scare me off but rather makes me hassle it.
This works a treat, There was one that was a right PITA, it had learnt to come in under the helmet and hit flesh. I tried my method for a week or so. From then on for the rest of that spring it would swoop riders in front or behind me but left me alone.
though you have to repeat every few weeks for really pesky ones.
Embrace the magpie attack as an extra challenge in your day
That Millers Reserve one is pesky and persistent.
There's another that gets you on the slow climb up Babbage Rd from Roseville Bridge heading westbound, although not sure if it's a maggie or a butcher bird, which are known to copy maggie behaviour.
And there's a butcher bird on Stanley St Willoughby between Matheson and Johnson that has a go too.
The worst ones are documented as those being near schools. The bird in Ryrie St adjacent to the Truscott St Public School at East Ryde is an aggro nutter and is infamous among cyclists throughout Sydney.
he one at Miller's Reserve doesn't swoop in and flutter around your head like in the video, it flies full speed from a nearby tree and slams into your helmet. If you're not ready it would almost be enough to knock you off your bike. Nasty.
The one on spit bridge got my ear on Wednesday. Might try Flynny's approach of standing my ground next week.