Totally Over Magpies

kiwiinmelb

Likes Dirt
Are they out already ?

never cause me any problems out on the trails ,
but i like to ride to the gym rather than the car in the nicer weather , and thats when they get me , was just about to start riding with spring here , the fun begins
 

caad9

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I do a little bit of mid-week running on my lunch breaks, started about 2 years ago.
Had no idea that Magpies were also hellbent on murdering pedestrians!

There is nothing worse than trying to dodge a magpie whilst running, they can hit much more often when you can't speed up to get away.

My runs are getting pretty nervy this time of year as the little buggers stare me down
 

sane

Likes Bikes and Dirt
There used to be one in Brighton, here in Adelaide. Nicknamed the Brighton Butcher, he covered both roads on either side of the railway station.

No warning, no helmet tap... just a shooting pain as something hits your shoulder and took a chunk out of your ear. He made people commutes about 1km longer all spring. There used to be some great bloody ear pictures on the Adelaide cyclists FB page. Got me twice over his time as the most feared maggie in the city, but never drew blood... left me with a red ear and a decent throbbing both times though.

Dont know if he disappeared by natural selection or if there was a helping hand from the council, but he stopped his reign of terror in about 2017.

They dont bother me, I actually like having a bit of a game or try and grab a selfie... but the Butcher scared the shit of of me, he was ruthless... when you realised you had accidentally ridden into his kill zone, HR went up to 150bpm and you muttered f%#k f%#k f%#k f%#k f%#k f%#k to yourself while scrambling for the nearest side road to escape.
Looks like the butcher is back... and he’s brought reinforcements

http://instagr.am/p/B3BxGNxAH2z/
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Had one after me at Kowen in the open logged area on the weekend. Presumably Captain Cranky of the eponymously named climb.
 

Scotty T

Walks the walk
Had one clip me once this morning behind the scout hall at Weston, a bit of wavey-army action and he kept distance til I was gone. My mate got fully worked by one near mount Taylor, it came in with claws and left multiple scratches on his ear.
 

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Looks like the butcher is back... and he’s brought reinforcements
The Butcher didn't flap around, straight for the ear

Skippy is way off there, he's a few km away from greener pastures in the suburb of Brighton.
 

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
Had one after me at Kowen in the open logged area on the weekend. Presumably Captain Cranky of the eponymously named climb.
He's a wily one.

My commute run seems to be clear now - plenty of magpies but they've stopped swooping. The other day I got hit on the back of the head going for a walk to the local cafe. Had the headphones on, so think that might have been the trigger.
 

rowdyflat

chez le médecin
I have been hassled by the same magpie at the same place from Aug to Oct for years .
He never gets v close though, never has hit me..
 

rowdyflat

chez le médecin
Apparently its a big rise in testosterone in spring defending their young in nests.
Generally cyclists are injured doing mad things like riding off the road or into cars .
So stay calm and always wear a helmet obviously + enclosed glasses of some sort ie eye injuries can happen.
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
Got swooped by one yesterday on my usual loop, this morning he’s hunting food on the ground ahead of me, sees me coming, takes off heading straight for me. I think I’m going to get impaled, nope, past me and gains altitude to loops back and has a dive bomb and swoop back.

Would have loved to capture it on video because it was magnificent flying. He only started in the past week so I guess we are going to get know each other now.

I can cope with the swooping (even if it makes me pedal like a meth addict heading for a fix while other muscles pucker and the vision shrinks to a tunnel), but the smacking into the back of the helmet like a ball thrown by some kid that some of these feathered family men get up to is quite unsettling.
 

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
I can't believe its Magpie season again. I'm having to detour around my suburb as if I was in Melbourne pretending I was following the rules.

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
Copped one today. Little fucker hit me three times. I wasn' tgoing slow either - about 25kph trying to ride away but he just kept coming.
 
Top