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Riding in Scotland? Beware of buzzards!

Scottish rider attacked twice in three days

A cyclist in Scotland has been attacked twice in three days by a buzzard, reports the Galloway News.

Retired linesman Andy Reid, 65, was riding near Parton, Dumfries and Galloway on Friday morning, when the bird first had a go at him.

“It scratched me on the back of the head when it dived. It got away with my bandana,” he said.

And on Monday, he was followed by the same bird while cycling along Loch Ken.

“I went around Loch Ken at about 4pm and I saw it. It came right down to me.

“This has never happened to me before and then it happens twice!”

Local wildlife ranger Keith Kirk said: “Not that many buzzards attack people.

“But it seems there’s a thing they have for cyclists. I don’t know why.”

Back in the mid-2000s a buzzard from Devon was notorious for attacking cyclists.

In some parts of the world, it’s all part of the daily road hazards. Cyclists in Australia and New Zealand often have to withstand attacks from Australian magpies, especially in Spring when they beieve the are defending their nests.

Still, it could be worse. At least there are no cyclist-hunting mountain lions in the UK or Australia.

John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.

Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.

John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.

He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.

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10 comments

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John John | 10 years ago
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Another good reason to always wear a helmet perhaps?

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PJ McNally replied to John John | 10 years ago
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John John wrote:

always wear a helmet perhaps?

No - any fool knows that bike helmets weren't designed to withstand that sort of impact.

(joking. but feel free to have the helmet debate again anyway).

Avatar
Al__S | 10 years ago
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stop wearing a bandanna made from bacon?  19

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MrsK | 10 years ago
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How did he know it was the same buzzard on the Monday? Was it wearing his Buff?

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couldgetacarforthat | 10 years ago
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I was shadowed by a buzzard while mountain biking near Glyncorrwg in South Wales. Eventually the bird landed on a fence in front of me and I must confess I was so worried by its menacing behaviour that I turned around. Up close a buzzard is impressively big and intimidating.

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maccruiskeen | 10 years ago
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“But it seems there’s a thing they have for cyclists. I don’t know why.”

....Back in the mid-2000s.......
.........Devon...........
......... Cyclists in Australia and New Zealand...........
........It got away with my bandana.......

I've a sneaking suspicion that the birds may be prosecuting crimes against fashion

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jackh | 10 years ago
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Shocking footage of clandestine motorists training birds of prey to attack cyclists:

http://youtu.be/VM8tShcn-dY

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Kingrolo | 10 years ago
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This happened to me too in Cornwall. I didn't feel any claws or beak but I definitely got a face full of wing. I thought it must have been swooping down for its lunch and I happened to get in the way but if this kind of thing is known to happen maybe it was going for me.

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mingmong | 10 years ago
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Nothing to get in a flap about, but it sounds like it kicked off big time  4

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