DOGS! 😩 A lot of women (and probably men, too) in our gravel community are timid to ride alone because this is such a real issue in Arkansas. Swipe ⬅️ to see @rebeccarusch in a similar pickle on her @arhighcountryrace back in 2019, although she looks much more composed than me 😆 I had an incident several years ago where a dog swiped my front wheel, (I crashed), then it attacked me while I was on the ground! The threat is there, and this was one of my biggest concerns racing solo this year…(in addition to the strange men). I had a method that worked really well for me personally. In my front @apidura snack pouch (swipe again ⬅️), I kept a full 25 oz water bottle stashed at my fingertips almost the entire race. I only drank from it if I was out of water in my hydration bladder. When I’d see or hear an aggressive dog, I’d first talk kindly to it to let it know I’m human. I think sometimes they confuse the shape of us + our bike and don’t really know. This would actually stop some...