When I was delivering newspapers on my Schwinn Continental many years ago, dogs chased me. Deer crossed my path as I rode in the Bronx(!) as well as on rural descents in New Jersey and Vermont. On another descent--in Switzerland--an Alpine ibex darted across my the road in front of me just after I flatted at about 90 KPH on a bike with loaded panniers. A few years later, I had a close encounter with a mountain goat while pedaling--again, with loaded panniers--in the French Pyrenees.
This summer, while cycling in Cambodia, I became wary of the monkeys after seeing one set on a tourist for her food and a pack of them attacking a dog.
And I've had cats, racoons, and other lil' critters come close to entangling themselves in my spokes. I must say, though, that I've never had an encounter with an animal quite like the one a cyclist in Australia experienced:
Imagine being swatted on your helmet by--a magpie! I won't accuse the filmer of paranoia when he exlaims, "Everything in Australia is trying to kill you!"
