It's not unusual for some of the peloton's top climbers to be referred to as 'mountain goats,' but here's something we haven't seen before – a sheep outpacing a rider on an ascent, and from a standing start too.
The rider posted it to YouTube under user name PeowPeowPeowLasers, with the briefest of descriptions – "I had a race with a sheep and lost."
Given there hardly seemed to be a sheep in Yorkshire during the Tour de France Grand Depart weekend that hadn't been dyed yellow or green or been dappled with red polka dots,maybe our wooly friend was entitled to make a run for it as a bicycled came into sight?
-1024x680.jpg "“Clear anti-cyclist bias”: Lawsuit filed against Toronto police after cop doored cyclist… before ticketing rider over incident")
41 thoughts on “Video: Man versus Sheep – animal outpaces cyclist”
Beautiful road, pretty dumb
Beautiful road, pretty dumb to chase the sheep.
I bet the sheep only wears
I bet the sheep only wears Rapha B-) .
That’s a Cumbrian sheep so
That’s a Cumbrian sheep so has nothing to fear from Grand Depart Disease (the video is shot around Wast Water according to the comments).
And I don’t think the sheep was being actively pursued. It just took off and showed the cyclist a clean pair of heels. I mean hooves.
Great music btw!
If this sheep lives in
If this sheep lives in Yorkshire it will be well trained in running from Yorkshire men.
:))
I was in that exact spot last
I was in that exact spot last week, though sadly bikeless. If only I’d known there were such worthy/woolly adversaries, I may have come better prepared. The local Herdwicks certainly have their charm.
Dear Sir
I must protest at
Dear Sir
I must protest at your failure to include a “ewe-tube” pun in the title of this story. Please consider those of us that appreciate such groan worthy humour in the future.
Kind regards.
P.S. None the less, a great change to see a nice video. Still needs more cake.
That’s appalling behaviour,
That’s appalling behaviour, the farmer would have every right to be extremely annoyed and take action against the cyclist for stressing the animal like that. Would have been very easy for the sheep to suddenly turn and for the cyclist to crash into it or for the sheep to be driven into a car coming the other way. The cyclist should have slowed right down as soon as the sheep came into sight, you have absolutely no idea what that animal is going to do or where it is going to run. It would be very easy for the sheep to take the cyclist out and very easy for the cyclist to severely injure the animal and the farmer’s income.
Andy G wrote:That’s appalling
The sheep loll around on the roads all the time at Wasdale Head (and pretty much everywhere else in the region), and have to contend with much bigger and faster things, much more frequently than the odd cyclist. Also, the cyclist keeps a reasonable distance.
Also also, I believe most of the money in keeping Herdwicks comes from a pot that Beatrix Potter left some time ago. She liked them. Their wool is apparently worthless, and I don’t think they’re used much for meat.
If you spend any time walking/driving/cycling around Wasdale, you get used to the Herdwicks as a pretty common feature of the fells. They’re more-or-less left to their own devices (which is why they’re rambling around on a public road in the video, and not in a field), and they’re generally very inquisitive and friendly.
I think it’s worth viewing with that in mind. The Herdwicks are the residents of the fells, rather than a constantly monitored cash source for a given farmer. Given that the cyclist wasn’t in dangerously close proximity at any point in the video, I think it’s safe to view it as lightheartedly as it first appears.
I had a very similar
I had a very similar experience to this with a badger. They look funny when they run.
Come to think of it I also had a similar experience with a deer when I was in the car. Who knew that there were all these animals out there just waiting for someone to race.
Would the sheep have still
Would the sheep have still won if it hadn’t gone “aero”?
I’m pretty sure that sheep
I’m pretty sure that sheep was doping.
Merino sheep…be afraid!
Merino sheep…be afraid!
I visited Wast water in 1990
I visited Wast water in 1990 and was butted by a sheep.
Without knowing anything
Without knowing anything about the rider (or the effort) in question, I don’t think it’s too much of an amazing event that ‘something goes faster than rider’. I’d be suprised if a sheep could keep up with Quintana on the Alpe at a race-pace effort, but ‘bloke rides slower than something else’ isn’t particularly earth-shattering… 😉
Blatantly taking Sheep – P –
Blatantly taking Sheep – P – O….
Sorry couldnt resist
I’ve cycled through a field
I’ve cycled through a field of sheep (public cycle path before anyone gets righteously indignant) and when they flock they run right into your path and in front of you. They are truly the world’s dumbest animals.
Run AWAY, sheeps, run AWAY!
I’m from Aberdeen. I wouldn’t
I’m from Aberdeen. I wouldn’t have let the sheep get away.
Does anyone know where the
Does anyone know where the road is? Looks glorious
bamilton wackademical
Well it wasn’t in Wales as the sheep never had lipstick on!!
I’m pretty certain it is
I’m pretty certain it is Wasdale in West Cumbria.
Sheep are pray animals, this
Sheep are pray animals, this one thought it was on the menu hence the running away as fast as it could, it was scared. ill advised “pursuing it” for lack of a better word, as someone mentioned as the are dumb animals and it could have turned across in from of the cyclist causing a crash, never mind the fact the chasing it could have cause it to abort it’s lamb if it was female and pregnant.
robgeje wrote:Sheep are pray
Oh goodness no!
If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry christmas.
WOW – either at how out of
WOW – either at how out of tune my sarcasm detector is, or at a lot of the comments.
Did the sheep post his time
Did the sheep post his time on Strava?
Mias_dad wrote:Did the sheep
Baaaava
EWE – P – O usage if ever I
EWE – P – O usage if ever I saw it … 🙂
Definitely on some baaa-nned
Definitely on some baaa-nned substance…
Regulation outraged comment.
Regulation outraged comment. Check.
Regulation people not
Regulation people not grasping potential seriousness of situation. Tick.
I’ve had a fox run off from
I’ve had a fox run off from me whilst i’ve been cycling into work for earlies, they can shift when spooked.
Love the soundtrack as well. =D>
Think he was training for
Think he was training for next years RAAM….
Looks like the road down from
Looks like the road down from Wasdale Head to me. A fabulous place to go for a ride.
Those Herdwicks are very fit! =))
People are worried about the
People are worried about the sheep’s safety even though it wasn’t in hi-viz like those sensible and responsible Yorkshire sheep?!
Woolly Derny!
Pace cycling
Woolly Derny!
Pace cycling just got a lot more environmentally friendly… There may be mutton in the musette bags depending on how this turns out.
coming second after a
coming second after a sheep
yea we’ve all done it
To anyone who lives more than
To anyone who lives more than a mile from Starbucks this is a pretty normal experience. But the choice of musical accompaniment was inspired …..
Very odd place to cycle as
Very odd place to cycle as Wasdale’s a dead end valley.
Agree with the comments about animal welfare. Sheep are bonkers and I tend to slow and let them off the road. In the past I’ve been attacked by a squirrel in Hertfordshire, hit by a pheasant in Lancashire: it whacked me in the ribs, span between my arms and the top bar and flew off unscathed. Weasels, snakes, low flying barn owls. ..Early morning summer rides are risky.
Only 2 days ago in Snowdonia I thought “What the f*** is that skittering across the road in front of me? A massive black caterpillar the size of a jumbo banger ?’ It turned out to be a mole with a death wish! I think I missed it…At least I didn’t find bisected mole in the back brake. I don’t know who was more surprised – me – or the driver behind me who also had to swerve to avoid running over it.
#bloodymoles
MercuryOne wrote:Very odd
I can’t resist… did it go for your nuts? 😀
Every morning on my bridleway
Every morning on my bridleway commute I get this. The trick I have developed is to move slowly to one side of the track behind them and then cut quickly to the opposite side. Sheep have good peripheral vision [prey animals] so the sudden disappearance from view on one side usually causes them to execute an escape onto the opposite verge…works a treat 8 or 9 times out of 10.
It’s a shame the one I
It’s a shame the one I encountered in the Scottish Borders when I lived there didn’t have the same turn of speed.
I hit it side on at about 25kph, went over the handle bars and skidded along the verge. As I looked up dazed and muddy I had a vivid image of it trotting back up the side of the hill from whence it came.
#o
The music is awesome!…
The music is awesome!… 🙂