Guys, not wanting to start a new thread on this, I had my first run in of the season with the notorious Black & White Baron on the Entrance Road at Long Jetty (just past the Wyong Rd roundabout) on Saturday morning. Over the years, this feathered swooper has unleashed numerous aerial raids on me causing varying degrees of panic, swatting, squirting & profanities. All to no avail of course, other than to assist in impromptu all out sprint training from time to time.
Now not wanting to resort to looking like I was wearing a porcupine on steriods on my head for the 20 odd seconds of magpie discomfort, last year I developed an anti magpie swooping strategy which I again tested on Saturday with great success.
Picture this: Cruising along at 35kph heading toward the Entrance I spot said feathered antagonist taking off from adjacent playground runway. Once aerial, my feathered flying foe banks sharp right & commences attack formation at low altitude (helmut height) directly from behind (cowardly I know). At this point I deploy anti magpie counter measures & watch as the he disengages 2 metres from impact & swoops into a nearby tree shaking his scrawny neck & giving me the middle feather (aka flipping the bird). "Take that you little flying %$*&@!" I yell, much to the amusement of a few motorists. Cyclist 1 Magpies 0.
Pray tell, I hear you all sing in unison. How did he do it? Simple really, I just radioed for help in the form of an old extendable radio aerial that folds up into my back pocket. When I approach the magpie controlled territory, I entend the aerial & whip it repeatedly above my helmut. A much safer option for me than sprinting flat out with one hand on the handlebars while dodging & weaving looking behind me.
