treebound 

You don't need something until you do, most people never do, be thankful if you never do, be preparred if you do.

'scuse me now while I go check out that link above, sounds like a nice adventure.

Maelochs

This is why I always drive my car on bicycle tours. You never know if you might need it.

jefnvk

Just make sure you are prepared with the local laws of wherever you are and whatever your protection is. There are certain forms of protection that would cause me far more headaches if I were caught with them in a place like Illinois, than they are ever likely to give me in benefit.

treebound 

I've thought about packing my rollaround doublestacked toolbox and repair stand and truing stand, but then I realized it wouldn't fit in the panniers nor on the BOB Yak.

J.Higgins 

I love guns. I mean, I LOVE guns. I have a concealed carry permit, but I rarely ever carry unless I'm off to my son's shooting range at his house.

That said, I would NEVER take a gun with me on tour. I don't want the death of another person or even an animal on my conscience. I even hate running over a squirrel or chipmunk. I believe in karma and fate. I believe that its not wise to tempt fate, in that such things as carrying a weapon only opens you into the probability of an unfortunate event crossing your timeline. Its one of the reasons I do not care to discuss things such as bike accidents. I feel that it only opens a door for it to happen to you.

No guns on tour for me, NO SIR!

pdlamb

You could simply two the car, pulling it with the bike. It's just a little bit larger than most bike trailers.


The downside is you might need the disk wheels while going downhill. Of course, pedaling to the top of the gap and riding down in the car is the reverse of the most fun possible.

NerdLord

you should of opted for the 88...

Aushiker

+ 1 Illegal here anyway but still wouldn't.

fietsbob

I learned from a pick-pocket episode at an airport, now I use a Money Belt under my clothing..

Will Wheeler

I always drag my Lahti L-39 20mm anti-tank rifle on it's skids behind me.
Seriously. Highway robberies have become more common in Europe in later years, but you would be extremely unlucky if that happened to you on your bike. As of now, you are more likely to die in a car accident than getting robbed. Things may evolve in a negative direction, who knows. Would I, as a scandinavian, carry a little derringer if I was allowed to(?) I think I would.

Doug64

I think people who have to carry a weapon on a bike tour, or anywhere for that matter, are basically fearful people; or why would they think they need it?

There was a guy on this forum a couple of years ago that was getting "ready" to go on a tour. He was afraid for himself, his bike and his possessions. He was going to carry, put a motion detector alarm on his bike, and never leave his gear unattended in a campground, while eating at a cafe or taking in a museum. If the fear of harm or loss is that great how can a person enjoy what they are doing. He bought all the gear for bike touring and talked it up a lot , but I'll bet a beer that it was never used, at least not on a bike tour.

indyfabz

Louis Le Tour? Never believed him to be "real."

Doug64

Yes, and you may be correct.

When are you heading west?

CliffordK

Hidden inside of the bedroll is a Bear Barrel.

The idea is you toss it 100 feet or so away from the campsite, and then if a bear comes along, it will go swat it around until it gets tired and gives up.

I will admit, though, that it wasn't that useful. I was afraid that if I camped on a ridgeline, or near a river, that a bear would come along and abscond with my barrel of food.

My one night in a National Park campground had a steel locker that the food went into. Elsewhere, I wondered if humans would be a greater risk to my food barrel than bears.

Anyway, it is doubtful the barrel will come with me on my next trip.

My last mini-tour, I was trying a new route, and was chased by a really nasty dog just as I crested a hill. It didn't respond to verbal commands, and appeared quite close to biting me until was able to outrun it on the downslope. If I ever go back there, I'll be carrying either Pepper Spray or Bear Spray.

Will Wheeler

But the world is not a Shangri-La either, so let's not get too naive. Many bike tourers, hikers and tourists in general have experienced people jumping out in front of them, snapping fingers with a strict face, demanding money. 90% of these people are harmless and if you stare at them they will disappear. But then you have the 10% who are absolutely willing to do serious bodily harm, or even kill you for few dollars and a tent. In very rare instances there is a need to pull a guns on someone. Being armed doesn't necessarily mean that you are a fearful person. Just prepared for a world that can be cruel.
Every living creature has a natural right to self defense of it's life and property (or prey). Try to take away the prey from a lion and see what happens.

Doug64

I'm not naive growing up in Detroit, MI. I even have a knife scar to show for it. I knew the guy.

That is still being fearful.

Where did you get your statistics? I 'd be interested to know how may people have actually experienced "bad" things while on a tour.

Scenario: you are on a solo tour in a remote very low traffic area that does not have cell coverage. Two mean looking guys in a pickup pull over and approach you, asking for your wallet. You get the drop on them, now what are you going to do? How are you going to get out of the very dicey situation you just put yourself in?

str

""just in case"" means?

well here in EU we don't have people running around with guns killing each other, so out there touring there is no need to
think about security.

stay home in the sofa, for sure a save place.

NerdLord

I said it before, I'm not talking Rambo-like bandana wearing, M60 toting, shirtless 'come get some'...but what conscious efforts people do to be more secure, especially when traveling solo. That is beyond the usual 'lock the bike', watch for cagers (cars), etc...

I know in areas there's 'bear cans' you HAVE to put your food in and are actually required.

NerdLord

Memorial day I was riding my scooter (genuine stella) out to clear lake and got a flat about 5 miles from colusa ca (25 miles out of Yuba city ca) and 3 guys in an F-150 4x4, lifted (about 8" easy), muddy and they looked rather rattyand VERY very caricature of the "redneck country boys" and here I am looking very much a Mod (I just needed a few more mirrors and a parka ) pull past me, stop and pile out...here I'm thinking 'oh, crap...' and mentally running scenarios of how to get out....turned out, they where the nicest folks one could of met! offered me some gas, said it was a flat, offered to tote me and the scoot to town, said I had a spare (love 'vintages for that!) they helped me get it into a shady spot and made sure I had it handled before leaving... but things could of gone the otherway and I'm glad it didn't because I really would of been in a no win situation, with my bad knee running wasn't possible.

Will Wheeler

You know that's not true and I'll leave it at that.

Rob_E

To who?

I'm not saying I've never felt uneasy on tour, but it was always my own mind and my own doing. A couple of times I found myself, out of desperation, camping in areas where I knew I could be asked to leave if noticed. I wasn't crazy about that, but I also never felt in danger, and, if anyone had come upon me and caused me any trouble, it likely would have been the authorities. I imagine any kind of self-protection I had on me would not have improved the situation.

I've never felt that anyone was scoping out the sweaty, fat man on his overloaded bike and thinking, "I bet there's gold in them panniers. We should check it out." Or maybe they did when I wasn't looking, but quickly found out all I was carrying was yesterday's sweaty underwear, so they moved on.

Seriously, I live in a small city, and I've lived in larger ones in my lifetime. I tend to take precautions against getting robbed, mainly of my bike, by keeping it locked and nearby.

But when I'm on tour? Mainly I'm not in the city. Mostly my bike is too heavy for someone to just hop on ride off. Most of my possessions are of value only to me. And while I have an idea of how much money went into my bike and all my touring gear, I also know that turning around and selling it used wouldn't get me half that back, and I'd have to know where to sell it, how to describe it, and what a reasonable price would be. So a potential thief would have to have knowledge of touring equipment, and they still wouldn't see much profit in stealing my gear. Not saying it wouldn't happen and that there aren't opportunistic people who won't wander off with anything and worry about whether it's valuable later, but it's not an over-riding concern when I'm on a trip. I've had things stolen from my front deck, from my back porch, from inside my home. But I've never had anyone take an interest in my gear when I was touring unless it was gear talk with another touring cyclist.

I think the best precaution you could take is maybe some kind of anti-anxiety medication.

str

plenty of serious numbers out there, easy to prove.

boomhauer

I always wonder how far they could actually get in the small towns I visit. Word would get around pretty quick.
I took a lock my last trip never used it outside any restaurant or store.

Doug64

Situational awareness is probably the most important skill you have that can help get you out of potential or perceived sketchy situations. If you feel uncomfortable in an area, get out of the area.

When approaching someone or when someone approaches you, take off your sun glasses and look them in the eye. Smiling really helps set the tone for the encounter. Also, anytime you make eye contact with anyone, acknowledge the person. It could be just a nod of the head, a smile, or a greeting.

Camp in established campgrounds which IMO are much safer places to camp than many wild camping locations. There is also a bathroom, water, and often a shower.

I had a similar situation to your scooter story. My wife and I were riding through Springfield, MA, lost, and looking for a motel. We were in a sketchy area with a lot of "home boy" guys with lots of tattoos, wearing wife beater t-shirts and bandanas. I stopped out of frustration and asked one of them if they knew where xyz motel was. He smiled and told me how to get there. On the way out of the convenience store parking lot, 4 guys in a car started yelling at me. I stopped and they pulled up and told me that I dropped something. I went back and picked up my sunglasses off the pavement. I had taken my sunglasses off while talking to the guy, and traded them for my regular glasses when we were looking at a city map. I'd left them laying on my panniers.

Folks will give you some good tips, but carrying is not one of them.

With the picture of the weapon this thred will probably be locked down soon.

mev

Based on my personal experience, I am not convinced the scenario you describe is that common, particularly traveling outside the US.

I've had folks ask for money and I've rarely had folks want to get in front of the bike (typically without asking for money). I've had Ethiopian kids throw rocks. I've stumbled past what might have been a crime including gun when cycling near San Diego. I've had Russian villagers who had a bit too much to drink asking questions about money that made me uncomfortable. So sure, I've worked my way past an occasional uncomfortable situation or two.

In pretty much none of those situations would me introducing a weapon have improved the situation. That seems to go double for places where my knowledge of the local language is not fluent e.g. Kashmir, Russia, Central America, Africa, etc. Not to mention issue of whether such weapon would conform to laws for those countries. Even riding into Canada, I get asked if I am bringing in weapons - let alone other countries and laws.

The world is not Shangri-La...though I did bicycle once through Zhongdian in Yunnan Province which bills itself as Shangri-La . In most of those situations, I've benefited at least as much by understanding travel warnings as well as accounts of what happened to others. What I do then is to take appropriate cautions to minimize the risks. I also travel during full daytime and stay in hotels where I don't trust the camping.

If worst comes to worst, they might first end up with my travel wallet or my expired passport that I have with me for such an occasion. I would say that there are plenty of ways to be prepared elsewhere in the world and they don't necessarily mean being armed.