The final two kilometers are very steep and I’m tired, but there is no hurry, because I have arranged to arrive after 7:30, so I walk. pushing the bike uphill I meet a couple, each has two huge dogs on leads, the dogs look like wolves and are straining at their leads, the owners leaning back to restrain them. One takes a dislike to my bike and is barking, snarling, growling. The owner is dragging him back and shouting at him, but he is about a foot away from me and not letting up. There is a standoff for a while and when I’m sure that the owner is in charge I move around the bike to be closer to the dog, thinking that if he sees me as a human being he will be less worried. He does calm down. It turns out that these two people are my hosts at the BandB. I never completely make friends with the dog, but he never actually gets close enough to bite me either. We walk on up to the house together, the dogs leading the owners as much as the other way around.
