Unconventional - but it works so far!

By

Having to run the gauntlet of 2 magpies on my morning commute from Gladesville to North Ryde I was interested in a colleague's suggestion that I try attaching a wig to my helmet - something she had seen a guy do on YouTube.

I tried this out this morning - a big black curly wig perched on my helmet - looking a bit like Sideshow Bob. Didn't see Magpie number 1 at all - Magpie number 2 was definitely there - making a great deal of protest noise in the bush - but he stayed away. 100% success even with this small sample size.

Looking forward to replicating the experiment tomorrow and happy to give my fellow road users a bit of a laugh.

4 Comments

No Picture

James McGregor - October 19th, 2017

You were flattened. It did not go well for you.

No Picture

Lua - September 8th, 2017

Thanks heaps for posting this.

A demonstration on Youtube showed a cyclist getting attacked while wearing a helmet, but he didn't get attacked when he wasn't wearing a helmet.

Due to safety and the helmet law, I always use a helmet.

Magpie attacks terrify me and ruin my fun when cycling. I'm constantly paranoid and always watching my back.

I had this thought today... would a wig over my helmet work?

Your post has further encouraged me to try this out.

Fingers crossed.

Wish me luck.
Vermontcreekbed picture

Vermontcreekbed - October 2nd, 2015

About 3 years ago after losing my balance and crashing during a magpie swoop I looked for some ways of deterring attacks. I did come across that YouTube video with the Afro wig and decided to give it a go. After hitting the bitumen at about 30km per hour and getting cut up badly I put off doing the test for sometime. A couple of weeks ago I was swooped in Vermont South by a regular swooping magpie. After that I worked up the courage to test out the wig and last Sunday I put it on just before the swooping area. No swoops!

Ok just to make sure I had to pass that section but from a different angle. I had been swooped before from that angle as well. There were a few magpies feeding on the oval and as I approached one took off and moved to what looked like an attack position in a tree. I was wearing the wig again but this time expecting a failure. Well there was nothing, either the magpie has forgotten me or the wig worked.

Some may ask why I did not ride past without the wig to confirm the result. My answer to that is that after coming down heavily on the road I really am a wimp that does not like to be swooped.
Margo picture

Margo - September 20th, 2015

That's hilarious. Can you share a photo of yourself in the fancy head gear?

Sign up to add comments!

Articles

Add your own stories.

Sign up to add your own stories and tips to MagpieAlert.

Sign Up

Copyright © 2023 Magpie Alert! All rights reserved.
Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy