I am a woman and have never been afraid of lion confrontation. Every mountain biker needs to know something about lion activity and lion behavior. Like all cats, lions don't like confrontation. They attack prey that is unaware. If I turn towards a lion and make alot of noise, he will run. All of the lions in So Cal are thankfully healthy and well feed as deer is plentiful. Now if something happens to the deer population I will have to be more cautious and make sure 1) I ride with someone or 2) I ride where other people will be. No worries!