Competition :- 2012 Moving Target Championship

[open roader]

Another 9 swoops, backing off with the distance and severity methinks (read mehopes......... ) No contacts for ages now.......

Running total 116 swooping points...........

[Dan]

Double inbound outbound attack on the Roma st bikeway link yesterday - warning swoop then ear/neck contact in both directions.

Previous: 16
New: 22 points

[Ozkaban]

Previous total 6

Yesterday was the first day back from a weeks leave, surprising me with a double swoop from a slightly smaller bird (only saw the shadow) at the corner of Dudley and Calder sts Rydalmere then a magpie swoop near the oars bridge in parramatta.

Today, I forgot all about them and got another double swoop at Dudley st.

New total 11

[open roader]

Another heavy day of magpie dodging.........

7 x good, close, loud swoops on the out lap

Another 5 x good close swoops on the in lap

+ one nutter twice slammed into the back of my shoulders, the first of these kamazi attacks it slapped hard into my back, bounced off the rear wheel and ended up on the ground only to fly off and go for another back slapper ......... total commitment to getting me off it's patch........... great for my speed though, was on target for a 30.3 / 30.4 km/hr average but after being dived bombed I cranked it up and managed 30.89 km/hr for the 32km trip.......

Dodge and weave total = 132 points........

[open roader]

Same ride today

1 x smack inbetween the shoulder blades
3 x swoops

Bolting total 137 points

[jasonc]

bird around the corner from home this afternoon helmet strike
+2
new total: 10

[ldrcycles]

137 points

You've got to be the unluckiest cyclist ever to walk the face of the earth...

[open roader]

137 points

You've got to be the unluckiest cyclist ever to walk the face of the earth...

I don't see it quite that way. There are plenty of ex-cyclists no longer with us who suffered much worse luck than me............

Occasionally the magpie warfare becomes a tad more than I can cope with - becoming a distraction from staying in line on the road but mostly it's free entertainment and a really good excuse for me to let off some steam and yell out some choice words.

I ride only in rural countryside with a mixture of lightly wooded roadsides to mature tree plantations and dense natural forest. Where I ride is mega habitat for magpies (and wattlebirds) ........ every ride is a pleasure, wide open roads, picturesque rolling countryside, clean air and bugger all traffic. The magpies are a small price to pay for the sort of riding I get to do. I'd say I was one of the lucky ones.........

[Semar]

Me too. Far more dangerous to ride on urban roads. Cars hurt more than magpies.

I watched today's maggie watch me from the power line. Not a steep dive like a roadside tree. I've found that raising my hand just as I think it's about to come close scares them off.

3 points = 53 total

Haven't had a helmet whacker for weeks.

[ldrcycles]

Good point well put OR.

[warren.suen]

So has their been a slow down in the swoops?

[g-boaf]

Maybe, I haven't been swooped for a while now. But I don't want to jinx things.

[Postieboy]

This one magpie gave me 42 points on a single ride. I have never seen a magpie be so aggressive or have such a big territory. 20 individual swoops with 11 hits! I knew he was ahead so I turned the camera around becuase I knew it would make interesting viewing!

[Mulger bill]

Another 2 points toady for contact. I'd only just walked the bike to the top of the driveway and was getting mounted. Damn Wattlebirds

Four points all up.

[ldrcycles]

This one magpie gave me 42 points on a single ride. I have never seen a magpie be so aggressive or have such a big territory. 20 individual swoops with 11 hits! I knew he was ahead so I turned the camera around becuase I knew it would make interesting viewing!

Holy Moly!! That is one super agressive bird. And damn fast too!

[Semar]

You could sell that to A Current Affair as, "Menace on our roads.".

[g-boaf]

This one magpie gave me 42 points on a single ride. I have never seen a magpie be so aggressive or have such a big territory. 20 individual swoops with 11 hits! I knew he was ahead so I turned the camera around becuase I knew it would make interesting viewing!

Damn - that's a nasty bird!!! You can have that one!

I got bombed three times by the Gipps road magpie. I saw it gliding high overhead and watched it turn towards me... Then I knew I had to get going fast. on the return journey it was on the ground and screeched at me as I passed it. I wanted to throw my bidon at it! I settled for loud, obscene cursing instead.

So 9 points now.

[Semar]

Seems as though they're getting fat and lazy around the Strathbogies. 80 km of hills and a mere 2 swoops.

total 55 points

[coffeeandwine]

Been a while since i've bothered to record points, magpies have been getting a bit lazy lately-only cursory swoops (or so i thought!!).

Riding up the Midland Hwy tonight just outside Buninyong, got swooped (x5) by our regular customer plus one very big THWACK into the back of my helmet.

Previous total = 23 + 7 new points = 30 points total

[Mulger bill]

Wonderful. Doubled me score in one ride

I hate wattlebirds, zero redeeming features. Magpies have the benefit of their beautiful song.. Three swoops, one with contact for a total of 8.

[open roader]

Another 7 points on the weekend for me plus a lazy 3 points today. The heat seems to going out of the territorial protection game but as mulger has pointed out, the wattle birds are now nesting and they can fly like rockets and don't mind giving you a touch up........

Running total 147 points and still counting...........

[Mulger bill]

Busy weekend

2 swoops from different magpies and 2 contacts from the local wattlebird. That's 14 points now.

[Semar]

Slack birds. One did all the work - 4 points

Total 59 points.

[g-boaf]

Just a couple of swoops from the local butcherbird squadron, so 13 points now. The butcherbirds are mostly all bluff, lots of noise and swooping but not much else. Once they figure you don't care they give up and fly elsewhere or go back to sorting their feathers out.

Do snakes count? I've had a few encounters with them, including one yesterday!

[Tommi]

I got hit by an angry mother duck yesterday.