I have just had the last of my set of cycling lessons with Cat Daddy’s friend Gerard. (It was supposed to happen ages ago, but then I had appendicitis and somehow I haven’t got around to rearranging it until now.)

We usually choose Monday morning as our cycling day, because there are fewer people in the parks than on a weekend. However: DOGS. Mon Dieu. Cycling in a park with dogs is like cycling in and out of moving land mines.

The horrors we were forced to endure during our last session included the following:

1. A russet-coloured sausage dog who sat stone-still in the middle of the path whilst his human was on the phone*, then sprang out in front of me just as we attempted to overtake him. The human did apologise but it was a dismissive kind of “Sorry” … and she remained on the phone.

2. A large, honey-coloured Labrador-type beast who chased us, barking, whilst his human was on the phone*. Gerard decided to bark back at him, which scared him witless and sent him packing.

3. A brown and white spaniel-type thing who offered us his stick, whilst his human was on the phone*. Gerard picked it up and threw it just a fraction of a second before his brain informed him that doing so was a legally-binding contract and that, from that moment onwards, he was obliged to keep throwing the stick forever more. We then had to cycle extra fast to get away from him.

*Do you see a pattern emerging here?

Cats, surely, are less trouble than this? Well, ok, Louis Catorze isn’t. But most normal cats are, right?

Catorze can be seen here, pondering that question and also wondering exactly who these “normal cats” might be:

Sa Maj says “normal” is overrated.
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22 responses to “Le parc à chiens”

  1. KDKH avatar

    We hiked over the weekend and the mountain bikers were pretty obnoxious. We had our dogs on leash and were considerate about sharing the trail, but I wasn’t happy about having to make way when both sides of the trail had a lot of cactus…. My husband was a trail biker back in the day, so he was more tolerant. I was worried my dogs would get cactus thorns as we left the very narrow trail to give them room.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Cat Daddy and I don’t have a dog but we are also considerate path users. During the pandemic we would always go into single file if someone needed to get past, and very few people did the same for us. 😐

      Liked by 2 people

      1. KDKH avatar

        We pull our dogs all the way off the trail when the bicyclists come through – provided we hear them coming. The polite ones say “on your left!”The rude ones just plow through. Garnet was afraid of bicycles and skateboarders (in the city) that would come up on us unexpectedly, but she handled it better if she saw them coming. It is a common problem here in the city – pedestrians v bicyclists and cars v bicyclists.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          Yes, I always shout something if approaching someone from a blind spot!

          Liked by 1 person

          1. KDKH avatar

            Us pedestrians and skittish dogs appreciate it!

            Liked by 1 person

            1. iamthesunking avatar
              iamthesunking

              🤣🤣🤣

              Liked by 1 person

  2. Charles Huss avatar

    I used to ride my bike to work which was about 16 kilometers away. Part of that ride was on an old railroad track that was converted to a trail. Often I would come up on walkers who would spread out across the trail as if deliberately trying to interfere with cyclists. Once I came upon a man walking his dog. He was on the left side of the trail and his dog was on the right. I think they wanted to clothesline cyclists.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Oh good grief. I’ve never heard of the verb “to clothesline” before, but it perfectly described what it is!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Charles Huss avatar

        They use it sometimes in American Football when someone puts out their arm in front of the guy running with the ball. That might be illegal now. Not sure.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Lou Carreras avatar

    Carreras cats agree with him. They are what keep us from dying of boredom.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      No normal cats for you, either, huh?

      Liked by 1 person

  4. mmechapeau avatar
    mmechapeau

    I’m accustomed to meeting badly trained dogs in Brussels . When you walk out a young child in the Bois de la Cambre, you can meet dogs which come to lick their face or to steal their cookie.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      I must admit if I were a dog I would steal kids’ cookies. 🤣

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Kate Crimmins avatar

    Normal cats? Do they really exist?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Surely SOMEONE has to have one? 🤣🤣🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Kate Crimmins avatar

        I don’t think so.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Mary McNeil avatar
    Mary McNeil

    I have had both dogs and cats for most of my life. But there is no curing stupidity, and that is on the humans.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Very true! Dogs are the way they are mostly because of humans.

      Like

  7. cat9984 avatar

    Some dogs are just too friendly for anyone’s good

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Well, the barky one wasn’t. But the others, maybe!

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Belle avatar
    Belle

    ROFL at “Gerard decided to bark back at him, which scared him witless” I do love dogs as well as cats, although the yappy purse pooches get on my nerves…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      I like dogs but their unpredictability terrifies me!

      Like

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