Re: biking across Canada.. solo?

Thanks roy and zoot..
I'm going to try to find more relatives across Canada that I can stay with
as well..

As for the bike repair thing, I got that covered.. I worked in a shop for
years, got an okay collection of tools, etc.
As for the bear avoidance.. I'm realllly going to have to do some research
on that.

Mike

"Roy Zipris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm like you, Mike, a city boy. But there are times when you look in
the mirror and have to decide who the person is looking back at you.
Your trip sounds like a major undertaking, but an opportunity for you
to challenge yourself and demonstrate how resilient and expansive your
life can be. No better time for such an adventure than when you're just
out of college and not yet restrained by work and family.

Not to be negative, but with a cellphone and family network, you can
always bail out if the trip truly becomes unbearable or dangerous. Do
your research, prepare yourself as best you can, stay flexible during
the trip, and enjoy the journey, as they say.

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In article <[email hidden]>,

Mike Beauchamp said:

Thanks roy and zoot..
I'm going to try to find more relatives across Canada that I can stay with
as well..

As for the bike repair thing, I got that covered.. I worked in a shop for
years, got an okay collection of tools, etc.

Quoted message said:

As for the bear avoidance.. I'm realllly going to have to do some research
on that.

_ I've been traveling the backwoods of the Western US and Canada
for 30 years and the only bears I've ever seen are in a zoo.
I'm not saying don't educate yourself, but in general bears
are only a problem where there is a constant source of free
food, i.e. dumps and camping grounds. A little common sense
is all that's required.

_ Booker C. Bense

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"Booker C. Bense"
<[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

_ I've been traveling the backwoods of the Western US and Canada
for 30 years and the only bears I've ever seen are in a zoo.

Conversely, I've run into bears a bit in my time in the Western US and
Canada. There's basically two ways that I have encountered a bear. The first
is that I am backpacking, and camping in a typical camping spot for
backpackers, and the bear associates me putting up the tent with free food
as soon as lights go out. This is the bear-expects-human = food scenario.
The bear is going to be hard to get rid of, and is not going to go away
until it gets your food or it find even easier pickings off of someone else.
Solution is to not camp when backpacking in the very popular spots, or be
very, very wily about how you hang your food from the tree.

The other way I've encountered bears is the
bear-doesn't-expect-human-and-is-minding-its-own-business scenario. I'm
hiking on a fall weekday, not a soul around, and there's bear is eating
huckleberries in a meadow nearby. Or, I'm doing some spring mushroom
hunting, moving cross-country, far from the trail, and oh! there's a bear!
In these sorts of cases, typically we are mutually startled, and the bear
(and I) freak out and get out of there.

Most car-camping spots are typically been bear-proofed, so if you're staying
in those sorts of camp grounds, you're probably ok. And, if you're just
"free camping", don't wander too far off the beaten track, and I think you
will probably not run into any bears.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/

I'm doing the Big Climb for my friend Dena! See:
http://www.active.com/donations/campaign_public.cfm?key=cpetersky

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 16:31:23 -0500 in rec.bicycles.misc, "Mike

Beauchamp said:

As for the bear avoidance.. I'm realllly going to have to do some research
on that.

it's simple. you just have to be scrupulous about *never* having
food near your tent. you keep your tent, sleeping bag, & clothes
in one set of panniers (i use rear), and food, cooking gear, &
fishing gear in the other (front). you never cook or eat near
your tent. you use bear-proof food canisters.

most important, you pay attention, much more so than you ever
would when in the city or suburbs, to the signs of animal life
around you --- worn trails along water bodies or through berry
patches, animal scat, tracks, likely habitats. once you do,
you'll see a lot more than bears!

there's some great info at
http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/aawildlife/ak_bears.cfm

Thanks for the link!!

"Dennis P. Harris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 16:31:23 -0500 in rec.bicycles.misc, "Mike

Beauchamp said:

As for the bear avoidance.. I'm realllly going to have to do some
research
on that.

it's simple. you just have to be scrupulous about *never* having
food near your tent. you keep your tent, sleeping bag, & clothes
in one set of panniers (i use rear), and food, cooking gear, &
fishing gear in the other (front). you never cook or eat near
your tent. you use bear-proof food canisters.

most important, you pay attention, much more so than you ever
would when in the city or suburbs, to the signs of animal life
around you --- worn trails along water bodies or through berry
patches, animal scat, tracks, likely habitats. once you do,
you'll see a lot more than bears!

there's some great info at
http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/aawildlife/ak_bears.cfm

Booker C. Bense said:

_ I've been traveling the backwoods of the Western US and Canada
for 30 years and the only bears I've ever seen are in a zoo.
I'm not saying don't educate yourself, but in general bears
are only a problem where there is a constant source of free
food, i.e. dumps and camping grounds. A little common sense
is all that's required.

_ Booker C. Bense

My experiences treeplanting in northern ontario are that the woods are
absolutely packed with black bears, everywhere, but most bears are more
concerned with avoiding you than you are with avoiding them (I remeber
being quoted 5 bears per square kilometer or some shockingly high figure).

Also, there are authorities responsible for relocating, or more often,
destroying bears that succeed in making off with food. These 'nuisance
bears' learn to associate the smell of humans with food, and can no
longer be chased off easily. Sad to say I now know what a rifle used to
shoot bears looks like (sadder still, I know what it sounds like). At
least the bear traps are more humane these days, relocation is sometimes
and option, but those [censored] can move 100kms+ in a day.

In my experience bears are mostly timid and harmless, but they have an
uncanny sense of smell (think tents ripped open in the middle of nowhere
for empty candy wrappers in a pants pocket) and the only effective
repellent for a determined bear is to have a dog along. Safety whistle:
$2. Bear mase: $7. Watching an adult black bear chased up a tree by an
arthritic and half blind dog: priceless.