Went to slay some Moose; wound up bit by a dog instead! sigh....

First, let me start with I did the full Mooseman course in 47 degree temps in the rain. It sucked. The hills sucked. BUT! I did the course and I felt strong and I am REALLY glad that I did the entire thing. I almost bailed after doing one loop of the hills, but I stuck through the crappy weather and DID IT. I said to myself, if you can't do it today, what makes you think you can do it in 4 weeks?

I was going to report how my hands were numb after the Hall's Brook Rd downhill and how I forced myself to take that right hand turn onto N Shore Rd to do loop #2 of N Groton Road and that FREAKING steep hill that saves the best for last. I was tacking up the top portion of that climb! Tacking is when you are riding sideways to cut the slope of the hill. Usually its down when going straight up it is too steep. Man was I breathing! I haven't downloaded my power data yet, but I betcha my torque on the chain is going to be through the roof!

After the Hall's Brook Rd downhill (which I was even more frozen after downhill #2) you get onto a long flat section where you can just cruise. I was able to hold between 20 and 22 mph and stay within my wattage range. Sweet!

After the flats comes what the locals call "Heartbreak Hill" which should now be renamed to "DogBite Hill." Yes, thats right, I was bit by a dog as I was in my easiest gear suffering at 5 mph when this small-medium sized black mutt suddenly came flying out of a driveway from my left and proceeded to bite down on my left calve!!!

I had heard some yelling from my left, but had no idea what it was from until I saw Cujo. The speed that it was coming at me from I thought it was going to just hit me, but instead it bit down, growled/snarled and PULLED. Fortunately between the owners yelling at it to come back and me hitting the gas I was able to pull away from the dog. I felt its teeth go right into my flesh and man did it HURT! I had no idea how bad it was since I was in full on winter clothing due to the cold temps and rain. (it had dried out by this time and the sun was peaking through, but it was still COLD!)

Talk about an adrenaline rush! I sped up a bit! When I download my power data, I am going to see if there is a spike in wattage/speed/torque etc. Wish I had my HRM on!

There is one major gash, but you can slightly make out the bite "ring"

I took this shot immediately when I got back to my car, which took about 45 mins from when I got bit. It doesn't look bad at all, but the fact is that I got bit and the bite punctured the skin.

Then I called home and talked to my dad. He told me to call 911. 10 mins later the Bristol police and ambulance are there treating me. Very nice folks and they all knew about Mooseman in 4 weeks. Sweet! They suggested I got to the hospital next....bummer. Necessary evil!

They called ahead because when I got to the hospital, they were expecting me and I was put right through. This is the BEST part! The nurse took my blood pressure, temperature, and pulse, and suddenly looked at her monitor and went, "WOW! Thats amazing! Your body is 100% saturated with Oxygen!"

Thaaaaaaats right! hehe :) Did my ride JUUUUUST right! lol!

The doctor then saw me, cleaned my wound again and gave me a tetanus shot.

Cleaned up with Iodine

Now the scary part. Another Police officer showed up, interviewed me again, took a photo and we talked about what's next. I got bit by a dog, which means Rabies comes into play. Not fun! I got the address of the dog, but the Police have to track down the dog, the owner, and get proof from the owner that the dog is up to date on its shots. If they can prove that soon, then cool, I am all set! If they can't, the dog is going into quarantine and I go onto 4 weeks of a Rabies vaccine cycle. NOT fun!!!

My souvenir from the experience!

I am a dog lover. I really don't want anything bad to happen to the dog other than a stern talking to. I hope for the owner's sake AND MY SAKE that the dog is up to date on its shots and the owners can prove it LIKE TONIGHT! I have to call first thing in the morning to find out if proof has been determined, or else I am going to have one MISERABLE morning.

The good out of all of this? I can take 56 miles of riding on a SUPER hilly course in shitty weather, be bit by a dog and still finish strong! I am also up to date on my tetanus shot! And I might be soon immune to Rabies! hahahaha!