When I lived in Canberra there used to be one that would land on your back and actually go you while it hung on
I think that was Kevin Rudd.
Postby birdbrain » Mon Sep 16, 2013 2:31 pm
When I lived in Canberra there used to be one that would land on your back and actually go you while it hung on
Postby kimmie » Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:22 pm
TraceyG wrote: Hi Kimmie,
Sorry to hear about your fall. As you can see on the video, I didn't try to swerve or get away from the magpie and he never actually hit me. I have found it best to just keep on riding and get out of their territory as quickly as possible.
I know lots of riders who swear by cable ties, and others who stick pictures of a pair of eyes on their helmet. At the moment i have neither and only get swooped when I am riding alone. Who knows?
Anyway, you won't encounter this particular bird on your planned ride as Trafalgar is further easr than Drouin.
Good luck and enjoy.
Postby kimmie » Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:25 pm
DoogleDave wrote:Kimmie,
As TrailGumby mentioned, the most important thing is to stay focussed on the road and what you are doing.
It is VERY easy to become distracted and try to look back to see where the bird is however this can easily and quickly see you on the wrong side of the road and should there be oncoming traffic - well, you can imagine the rest.
Depending on if the sun is out and the direction you are heading, you may be able to keep an eye on your shadow which will (somewhat) alert you when the bird is incoming.....and if it all gets too much, or the bird is too aggressive and it feels too dangerous to keep riding - STOP and get off your bike.
The bird may retreat into a nearby tree however once you start off again and should you still be in the birds perceived territory, it will resume it's attack until you have crossed its boundary....so be careful (or walk your bike down the road).
If you feel safe enough to keep on riding I often find waving one hand across the top of my helmet can deter them from making contact - and the other hand stays firmly on the top bars where I have more control of the bike. Otherwise I may get down into the drops and assume an aero position.
Not only can I tuck down low and protect my face if needed but with my hands in the drops I can hit the brakes with more stopping power, should I need to.
Cable ties can deter them from making contact but it "can" also provole the more aggressive birds to instead perch on your shoulder and attack your ear/face/etc.
I'd much prefer a tap on the top of the helmet than have one land on me....
Best of all, try to avoid known areas where aggressive birds are and enjoy your riding.
They are a nuisance whilst riding this time of year, but I'm sure the birds get sick of flying out of the trees all the time to protect their nesting area as well.
I wonder if the birds have a forum where they can bitch and moan about how they had to swoop x number of cyclists today??? LOL
Dave
Postby ldrcycles » Sun Sep 22, 2013 7:22 am
Postby macca33 » Sun Sep 22, 2013 1:28 pm
TraceyG wrote:And here is the video. I am still learning to use the editing software so it's a bit rough. After the first runthrough I have put some of the swoops in on slow mo.
[url]http://youtu.be/xcKA1debTQM/[url]
Postby yarravalleyplodder » Sun Sep 22, 2013 5:10 pm
I will happily buy one, I am over the buggers, its been 3 weeks now and every time I wish I could take them outg-boaf wrote:
A mini phalanx system for our helmets with automatic target mode would make us considerably safer. If someone can develop such a system, they will be rich.
Postby clackers » Sun Sep 22, 2013 8:16 pm
I think Shimano's next Di2 system will have integrated Patriot missile support, YVP.yarravalleyplodder wrote:
I will happily buy one, I am over the buggers, its been 3 weeks now and every time I wish I could take them out
Postby AKO » Sun Sep 22, 2013 8:35 pm
Fixed it for you.clackers wrote:I think Shimano's next Di2 system will have integrated parrot missile support, YVP.yarravalleyplodder wrote:
I will happily buy one, I am over the buggers, its been 3 weeks now and every time I wish I could take them out
Campognolo have actually been working on this for longer, but it's not pretty enough yet for their designers.
Postby TraceyG » Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:54 pm
Postby kimmie » Wed Sep 25, 2013 12:09 am
Hi TraceyTraceyG wrote:I'm starting to think my magpie is a camera-whore!
Postby il padrone » Wed Sep 25, 2013 9:28 am
Postby TraceyG » Wed Sep 25, 2013 9:31 am
Postby ronicastro » Wed Sep 25, 2013 10:04 am
Postby ldrcycles » Wed Sep 25, 2013 6:17 pm
I remember doing a mass participation ride a few years ago (the GC100 I think) where a magpie tried it's very best to swoop every one of the hundreds of riders .il padrone wrote:Was there another cyclist riding with you in the second video? In my experience it is unusual for a magpie to swoop when there is more than one rider present - they normally only swoop solitary riders. I've been caught out more than once, getting swooped solidly, then stopping with the camera out ready to photograph my mates being swooped as they came along. The darned bird just sat in the tree.
Postby TraceyG » Fri Sep 27, 2013 1:50 pm
Hi Ron, yes, there is a video upload, a couple of posts above. Plus much of this footage was used on Channel Seven news in Melbourne earlier this week.ronicastro wrote:Hi TraceyG,
Did you manage to upload the video of the magpie swooping you? I would love to see it!
Postby william » Thu Oct 03, 2013 9:00 pm
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