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Your bike touring fears?

Old 02-03-10, 06:11 PM
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My first tour was from Vancouver to TJ down the Pacific Coast. I had a very strong irrational fear of homeless people sneaking into my camp and stealing all of my gear that I had been saving up for months to buy for this trip. The West Coast has a pretty bad homeless problem and a lot of them have been homeless for a long time. I believe in the goodness of human beings but our homeless people are ****ing crazy and desperate. We did end up having a run in with one guy very late at night just outside of San Diego but it was not really a big deal.
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Old 02-03-10, 07:07 PM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by combatdecoy
Bears.
Big big fear. For many years.
I don't worry about too much else because anything outside of that is karma or ignorance as far as I'm concerned. And if its ignorance most likely I deserve it.
BEARS FREAK ME OUT. maybe I shouldn't call so much attention to the subject but i was chased by one when i was a little kid. also while camping on the olympic peninsula i had an extremely scary encounter with a cougar at 10pm very very very very far from anyone. oh my god that was the scariest moment of my life I have never been more scared in my life when that thing growled at me alone in the dark in the way back in the woods. hooooolllly craap. Human's don't really scare me that much cuz mostly they can be pretty predictable and we speak the same language. big animals that want to eat you...........whoooo

I'm not too afraid of dogs because I feel like if it comes down to it I could kick one hard enough and it'll **** off my legs...and a dog bite isn't the worst. getting mauled by a bear or cougar on the other hand...they're dangerous by their size. traffic is fine too but exhaust fumes are ughhhhhh..haha makes me think. forget getting hit by a car...yesterday I ran into one. going 60 miles 20^F on a bad bike. very exhausted not thinking clearly. should definitely be thinking clearly when riding

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Old 02-03-10, 08:32 PM
  #53  
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My biggest worry used to whether I'd get rousted in the middle of the night while stealth camping. (It's never happened to me - it' s just an irrational fear, but it has ruined more than one night's sleep on tour).

With all this talk of bears, I now have something else to worry about. Thanks...

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Old 02-15-10, 12:56 PM
  #54  
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I have a prosthetic leg and my biggest fear is having something go wrong with it (breaking) or getting some sort of skin infection in the stump in some remote area.
With a prosthetic, you have to keep the stump extremely clean to keep little abrasions from getting infected and during touring or backpacking it is always a big concern as something like a little pimple can go from that to an infection that puts you in the hospital in a matter of days if not taken care of.
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Old 04-03-10, 08:39 PM
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I am going on a tour in about a month in a half from NY to TX, and I guess my biggest fear currently is safety. Mostly, I am worried about some rednecks attacking me or something. Does anyone have any experience with this? Anything in particular I should bring for defense?
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Old 04-03-10, 09:02 PM
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Originally Posted by one-headedboy
I am going on a tour in about a month in a half from NY to TX, and I guess my biggest fear currently is safety. Mostly, I am worried about some rednecks attacking me or something. Does anyone have any experience with this? Anything in particular I should bring for defense?
Bring an attitude of positive expectations with a side of reality-checking. If something seems wrong with a situation, maybe it is, so take yourself out of the situation however you need to -- for example, leave, lie about having a companion, get a hotel room instead of camping are some strategies I have used in the past. I think I had about 4 icky situations in my 2 1/2 month USA crossing, and about a thousand nice ones, so don't get too worked up about it.

I think mostly people treat other people OK as long as they see each other as PEOPLE, and that goes in both directions. You start, since you have control over that. Make sure they see you as people too. Wave, smile, say "good morning," "how's your day going" - it's pretty easy.

I'd leave the weaponry at home.
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Old 04-04-10, 04:57 AM
  #57  
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bears and cougars. Cougars of the feline kind.
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Old 04-04-10, 06:24 AM
  #58  
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Last winter I did two bicycle touring seminars with a friend from the Toronto Outdoor club. As you can imagine, it is usually the fears of newbies which keeps them from touring. As you can see not being able to finish, getting injured and personal safety were the top three taking up 50%.



Thanks to bicycletouringpro.com for the chart
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Old 04-04-10, 06:44 AM
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The best thing to bring is a positive attitude. I've met a lot of folks on tour and have generally been impressed with how kind and generous the folks I met have been.

I know that on the TA there was a guy we crossed paths with a bunch of times who expected to have problems. He worried about the locals being rednecks and looked down on them. He gave off a bad vibe and seemed to have problems everywhere he went.

We were open and friendly to the folks we met who ever they were and folks responded in a positive manner. The entire trip we only met a couple a-holes and met many kind and generous folks.

I think the bottom line is that if you expect problems with the folks you meet, you will have problems and if you are open and friendly and expect folks to be nice they mostly will be.

That doesn't mean you don't need to use good judgment, but a negative attitude will pretty much assure that you will have negative experiences.
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Old 04-04-10, 07:07 AM
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
The best thing to bring is a positive attitude. I've met a lot of folks on tour and have generally been impressed with how kind and generous the folks I met have been.

I know that on the TA there was a guy we crossed paths with a bunch of times who expected to have problems. He worried about the locals being rednecks and looked down on them. He gave off a bad vibe and seemed to have problems everywhere he went.

We were open and friendly to the folks we met who ever they were and folks responded in a positive manner. The entire trip we only met a couple a-holes and met many kind and generous folks.

I think the bottom line is that if you expect problems with the folks you meet, you will have problems and if you are open and friendly and expect folks to be nice they mostly will be.

That doesn't mean you don't need to use good judgment, but a negative attitude will pretty much assure that you will have negative experiences.
I hear you. If you aren't having a good time, why are you doing this?

It is however important that a first time tourer have realistic expectations and be well enough prepared and equipped to handle the more common problems faced on a tour. You may never meet a cougar or bear, but I'll bet it will rain. Not being adequately prepared for rain is probably the big number one error most beginning tourers make. They'll be wet and miserable when just putting your clothes and sleeping bag in a plastic bag can save you a wet night.

Every time I pack (and I'm starting now for my trip to Germany) I'm reminded of why I bring what I do and leave what I don't need.
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Old 04-04-10, 07:25 AM
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Originally Posted by one-headedboy
I am going on a tour in about a month in a half from NY to TX, and I guess my biggest fear currently is safety. Mostly, I am worried about some rednecks attacking me or something. Does anyone have any experience with this? Anything in particular I should bring for defense?
Rednecks wont mess with you unless you mess with them. Being Redneck, I take offense to this comment. You would be happy to see a redneck if you break something on your bike. Theres not a lot a redneck cant fix, or we dont know someone that could fix it. Living in a town full of rednecks, I dont lock my house, leave my windows on my truck open with the keys in the ignition. If I need to run in the store, Ill leave my truck running. I dont worry about locals stealing tools out of my truck, and I have about $3000 worth in my tool box.
You shouldnt worry about rednecks, you should worry about the thugs and hoodlums running around.
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Old 04-04-10, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by stokell
You may never meet a cougar or bear, but I'll bet it will rain. Not being adequately prepared for rain is probably the big number one error most beginning tourers make. They'll be wet and miserable when just putting your clothes and sleeping bag in a plastic bag can save you a wet night.

Every time I pack (and I'm starting now for my trip to Germany) I'm reminded of why I bring what I do and leave what I don't need.
I was amazed when looking at your pie chart, that my biggest concern (I wouldn't really call if a fear) weather, was of little concern to most people. Nothing makes a tour less enjoyable and makes you want to quit more than bad weather. I guess it comes down to how much experience you have touring. The more you do, the more you find that most things aren't a big deal and can be overcome. Cold rains, thunder storms, constant winds and snowfalls are to me what can make a tour the most dangerous, especially since I like to be riding high passes as much as possible on tours.
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Old 04-04-10, 10:19 AM
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My biggest fear is not being able to start. I had that fear flash before my eyes 3 days ago, but we are back on track now.

Wolves and moose scare me more than bears, I think.
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Old 04-04-10, 11:20 AM
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Biggest Fear? Distracted drivers (cell phone, texting, etc.). #2 would be drunk drivers.
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Old 04-04-10, 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by mthayer
Rednecks wont mess with you unless you mess with them. Being Redneck, I take offense to this comment. You would be happy to see a redneck if you break something on your bike. Theres not a lot a redneck cant fix, or we dont know someone that could fix it. Living in a town full of rednecks, I dont lock my house, leave my windows on my truck open with the keys in the ignition. If I need to run in the store, Ill leave my truck running. I dont worry about locals stealing tools out of my truck, and I have about $3000 worth in my tool box.
You shouldnt worry about rednecks, you should worry about the thugs and hoodlums running around.
Honestly, I wasn't worried about this until half my family/coworkers suggested this. And continued harping on it. So thank you for affirming my original thoughts. And thanks everyone else, I've been hopeful about this tour and had a really positive attitude, especially as it gets closer and closer to leaving time.

I think a bear attack would suck, but I'm not really fearful of that happening.
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Old 04-04-10, 08:59 PM
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staehpj1 is correct. My wife and I have toured extensively. We have ridden through "sketchy " parts of places like Cleveland, Chigago and Geary; and found that a smile and "hi" will produce the same in return.

I fell into the stereotype trap in Springfield, Mass. We were lost, it was getting late and we were trying to find a place to stay for the night. We were standing in a parking lot in what I thought was a "sketchy" area. A "home boy" complete with wall to wall tatoos, bandana and wife beater tee shirt came out of a convienence store. It was also in a neighborhood that was ethnically different from my own. I thought what the hell, I need directions. I smiled and said excuse me. I was geeted with an ear to ear smile and given directions to a motel. As we pulled out of the driveway four other "home boys" pulled up next to me in a car and started yelling at me. At first I thought oh #@*& here we go. What they were trying to tell me is that I had dropped something. I turned around and saw my prescription sunglasses laying on the shoulder of the road. Thank you, and so much for stereotypes.

My wife, while reading over my shoulder told me to remind the OP " that after he completes a long tour he'll also have a pretty red neck !
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Old 04-05-10, 03:05 PM
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An engaging conversation with a local that's worth a million bucks, but only allows me 20 miles for the day.
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