scary animals

I moved recently to British Columbia (somebody had to do it,
right?) and I am seeing signs at trailheads like, "look out
for cougars and bears." Locals affirm that bears and cougars
are real issues in the backcountry, even close to town, and
I'm curious what others who are blessed to ride in similar
settings do to deal with the risk. I have checked the FAQs
and archives and not seen anything on this topic, so sorry
if this has been addressed here recently. Thanks.

Jim

 

Jim Flom wrote:
> I moved recently to British Columbia (somebody had to do
> it, right?) and I am seeing signs at trailheads like,
> "look out for cougars and bears." Locals affirm that bears
> and cougars are real issues in the backcountry, even close
> to town, and I'm curious what others who are blessed to
> ride in similar settings do to deal with the risk. I have
> checked the FAQs and archives and not seen anything on
> this topic, so sorry if this has been addressed here
> recently. Thanks.
>
> Jim

There was a (adult-ish) cougar spotted in a tree at the
mouth of City Creek Canyon last Sunday. That's within about
500 yards of homes and the Utah state Capitol building,
surrounded on three sides, as well as very near a very
popular biking/hiking route. It drew a crowd as well as TV
cameras that got good shots. Having never seen one in the
wild I was tempted to join the lookey-loos but didn't.

Cougars often want a meal, bears usually want to be left
alone. Neither much likes humans so aren't often seen.

There will be much more information in the
rec.backcountry archives.

I've always thought about carrying CS spray (for use on
myself) should a cougar want to join me for a snack. But
what the heck, I could think of no better use for my carcass
than to feed a superior predator down on its luck. It'll
have to prove its superiority first though.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young soldiers to
a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning
them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it
could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater
instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"

 

In article <[email protected]>,
Jim Flom <[email protected]> wrote:
>I moved recently to British Columbia (somebody had to do
>it, right?) and I am seeing signs at trailheads like,
>"look out for cougars and bears." Locals affirm that
>bears and cougars are real issues in the backcountry,
>even close to town, and I'm curious what others who are
>blessed to ride in

A mountain lion attacked a couple of mountain bikers in
Southern California recently (killing one). I've never heard
of a bear attacking a cyclist. I still think SUVs are much
more dangerous.

 

>Locals affirm that bears and cougars are real issues in the
>backcountry, even close to town, and I'm curious what
>others who are blessed to ride in similar settings do to
>deal with the risk.

I've seen a total of six bears while bicycle touring in
BC and the Yukon. In five cases, the bear heard me
coming, looked once or twice and decided to run away. In
the sixth case, the bear stood absolutely still as I
walked past [my bike had broken down on Alaska Highway, I
was walking for a bit].

I haven't done anything special for bears other than the
obvious: (1) stash food away from where I camp, preferrably
in bear-proof containers provided at campgrounds (2) if I
see a bear, start making some noise. I haven't carried any
weapons (I don't really want to get close enough to a bear
to see if bear spray works ).

During summer of 1997 a few months after I bicycled the
Alaska Highway on a trip across Canada, two people were
killed at the Laird River (around milepost 500), where I had
seen three bears. So, I know enough to be cautious, but
haven't had problems yet.

--mev, Mike Vermeulen

 

"Jim Flom" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> I moved recently to British Columbia (somebody had to do
> it, right?) and I am seeing signs at trailheads like,
> "look out for cougars and bears."

I don't bike where there's likely to be cougars, but there's
been bear sightings on a relatively easy trail that I do
with my kids, and will be doing a "family ride" for our
local bike club this summer.

Here's the rules I plan to tell them:

Make lots of noise. What is most important is for the bear
to hear your approach long before you are within its
personal space.

Travel in groups of 6 or more. Larger groups tend to
make more noise, and thus reduce the chances of
encountering a bear.

If you see a bear: Never approach a bear, or attempt to feed
a bear. Be defensive - never surprise a bear. Remain calm.
The bear is likely just passing through and, if it doesn't
find food, will simply move on.

If a bear approaches: Do not run. Remain calm, continue
facing the bear and slowly back away. If the bear continues
to approach, try to group together and pick up small
children. Try to scare the bear away by shouting and acting
aggressively.

If a black bear attacks: Fight back using everything in your
power: fists, sticks, rocks.

You might want to post your query to alt.mountain.bike or
r.b.off-road, too.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Email me re: the new Tiferet CD (http://www.tiferet.net)

 

"Jim Flom" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I moved recently to British Columbia (somebody had to do
> it, right?) and I am seeing signs at trailheads like,
> "look out for cougars and bears." Locals affirm that bears
> and cougars are real issues in the backcountry, even close
> to town, and I'm curious what others who are blessed to
> ride in similar settings do to deal with the risk.

I was brought up short a few years ago by a small log that I
was going to ride over when it raised his head and held his
mouth open. It was a Cottonmouth. Riding in Florida is
always an adventure. Check out the picture of me and the
gator at http://www.ctinsley.com/phr/index.htm

Of course, some of the wildlife around here is a little less
intimidating: http://www.ctinsley.com/fun/badday/index.htm

Dick Durbin Tallahassee

 

Good stuff, Claire. Thanks. I should have said in my
original post that this is for mountain biking. I'm not
worried about it for road riding (per some other responses).
Now what I heard for black bears is this: everything you
said (which is actually more than I thought of), except that
if a black bear attacks for the first minute curl up and
play dead. Then, only if it keeps gnawing on you after that,
fight for your life. Browns and grizzlies are another story.

I am more likely to stumble upon the beasts when trail
riding than road riding. So what I have so far is that I am
hanging my keys from the shifter cables off the handlebars
so they jingle jangle jingle, although I should probably
upgrade to bells. Other options that have been suggested are
pepper spray (which is fine unless it's windy) or flares.

Any thoughts about bringing my dog along (80# black lab)?

Jim

"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]_s01...
> "Jim Flom" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
> > I moved recently to British Columbia (somebody had to do
> > it, right?) and
I
> > am seeing signs at trailheads like, "look out for
> > cougars and bears."
>
> I don't bike where there's likely to be cougars, but
> there's been bear sightings on a relatively easy trail
> that I do with my kids, and will be doing a "family ride"
> for our local bike club this summer.
>
> Here's the rules I plan to tell them:
>
> Make lots of noise. What is most important is for the bear
> to hear your approach long before you are within its
> personal space.
>
> Travel in groups of 6 or more. Larger groups tend to
> make more noise, and thus reduce the chances of
> encountering a bear.
>
> If you see a bear: Never approach a bear, or attempt to
> feed a bear. Be defensive - never surprise a bear.
> Remain calm. The bear is likely just passing through
> and, if it doesn't
find
> food, will simply move on.
>
> If a bear approaches: Do not run. Remain calm, continue
> facing the bear and slowly back away. If the bear
> continues to approach, try to group together and pick up
> small children. Try to scare the bear away by shouting and
> acting aggressively.
>
> If a black bear attacks: Fight back using everything in
> your power: fists, sticks, rocks.
>
> You might want to post your query to alt.mountain.bike or
> r.b.off-road,
too.
>
> --
> Warm Regards,
>
> Claire Petersky Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato
> and .net for .com
>
> Home of the meditative cyclist:
> http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm Email me
> re: the new Tiferet CD (http://www.tiferet.net)

 

"Jim Flom" <[email protected]> writes:

> Any thoughts about bringing my dog along (80# black lab)?

Yeah. The dog will die defending you.

 

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> "Jim Flom" <[email protected]> writes:
>
> > Any thoughts about bringing my dog along (80#
> > black lab)?
>
> Yeah. The dog will die defending you.

And then you'll die after the bear's done with the dog.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return
address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

Any of you Yanks ever met a mother-in-law??????????

 

David Kerber <[email protected]_ids.net> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>> "Jim Flom" <[email protected]> writes:
>>
>> > Any thoughts about bringing my dog along (80# black
>> > lab)?
>>
>> Yeah. The dog will die defending you.
>
> And then you'll die after the bear's done with the dog.
>
But the Lab will make a good appetizer.

 

don't wear garlic and butter scented aftershave?

"Jim Flom" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> I moved recently to British Columbia (somebody had to do
> it, right?) and I am seeing signs at trailheads like,
> "look out for cougars and bears." Locals affirm that bears
> and cougars are real issues in the backcountry, even close
> to town, and I'm curious what others who are blessed to
> ride in similar settings do to deal with the risk. I have
> checked the FAQs and archives and not seen anything on
> this topic, so sorry if this has been addressed here
> recently. Thanks.
>
> Jim

 

"Raptor" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:c2mfm3>
> There will be much more information in the rec.backcountry
> archives.
>

You don't happen to have a link for the archives, do you?
I'm on the list, but I'm not finding the archives.

 

"Gearóid Ó Laoi/Garry Lee" <[email protected]> writes:

> Any of you Yanks ever met a mother-in-law??????????

Heh! American mothers-in-law must not be as scary as the
Irish version, I guess.

 

[email protected] wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, Jim Flom
><[email protected]> wrote:
>>I moved recently to British Columbia (somebody had to do
>>it, right?) and I am seeing signs at trailheads like,
>>"look out for cougars and bears." Locals affirm that
>>bears and cougars are real issues in the backcountry,
>>even close to town, and I'm curious what others who are
>>blessed to ride in
>
>A mountain lion attacked a couple of mountain bikers in
>Southern California recently (killing one). I've never
>heard of a bear attacking a cyclist. I still think SUVs are
>much more dangerous.
>
>
Not off road.

I saw a TV documentary about bear attacks in which a
forest ranger (Alaska?) was riding on a trail and a pissed
off mother bear (cubs in site) threat/charged him a few
times (I'm guessing it was a black bear). He was going too
slow to get away, so he held the bike up in the air in
front of him, thrusting it towards the bear and
threatening the bear vocally ("get away bear!") By the
third charge he was getting pretty damn scared, but the
mother finally moved off.

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO http://www.CycleTourist.com
Integrity is obvious. The lack of it is common.
*****************************

 

Jim Flom wrote:
> "Raptor" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:c2mfm3>
>
>>There will be much more information in the rec.backcountry
>>archives.
>>
>
>
> You don't happen to have a link for the archives, do you?
> I'm on the list, but I'm not finding the archives.

groups.google.com, in advanced search select rec.backcountry
as the group.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young soldiers to
a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning
them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it
could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater
instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"

 

"Raptor" <[email protected]> wrote ...
>
> groups.google.com, in advanced search select
> rec.backcountry as the group.

Nice.

 

Jim Flom <[email protected]> wrote:

> I am more likely to stumble upon the beasts when trail
> riding than road riding. So what I have so far is that I
> am hanging my keys from the shifter cables off the
> handlebars so they jingle jangle jingle, although I should
> probably upgrade to bells. Other options that have been
> suggested are pepper spray (which is fine unless it's
> windy) or flares.

> Any thoughts about bringing my dog along (80# black lab)?

Here's some information about mountain lions:

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/lion/

I think having a dog along might be more likely to attract
a lion's attention. Your best defense is the deterrent fact
that you are bigger than the lion. Riding a large
mechanized object probably helps. The man who was killed in
Socal recently was probably crouched down fixing his bike
when attacked.

Lion and bear attacks are very rare. Use sense, but don't
be paranoid. I have seen a lion while riding; it was more
interested in avoiding me than eating me. Most people
never see one.

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"Benjamin Weiner" <[email protected]> wrote
> Here's some information about mountain lions:
>
> http://www.dfg.ca.gov/lion/
>
> I think having a dog along might be more likely to attract
> a lion's attention. Your best defense is the deterrent
> fact that you are bigger than the lion. Riding a large
> mechanized object probably helps. The man who was killed
> in Socal recently was probably crouched down fixing his
> bike when attacked.
>
> Lion and bear attacks are very rare. Use sense, but don't
> be paranoid. I have seen a lion while riding; it was more
> interested in avoiding me than eating me. Most people
> never see one.

This is a good website. I heard a mountain biker was killed
on Vancouver Island or some such by a cougar not long ago
too, but the word was that he was squatting over his lunch
(thereby appearing smaller and becoming lunch in the
process). I did the rec.backcountry archive search in the
middle of the night last night and there was so much BS and
conflicting info to wade through on there it mostly helped
me get back to sleep. If I see anything out on the trails, I
expect to ride quietly around some quiet corner, stumble
upon it and surprise it. That's my only real concern. They
say that July-August are the worst times for bears around
here, that this time of year I am unlikely to encounter much
of anything. All the fun stuff seems to be more upcountry
here, so I'm hoping to hook up with some other riders here
pretty quick. The blacks are supposed to be the only bears
close to town, and are not regarded as much of an issue.

JF