Originally Posted by
indyfabz
Where do people who have a real need for weapons and defense mechanisms tour? Pakistan? Of more interest is where do you live. I have lived in Philly nearly all of my 50 years and have never been in a situation where I needed pepper spray or something more "effective." And certainly never while touring. Maybe I live a charmed life. Maybe there is a guardian angel watching over me. Or maybe some of you have been influenced my external sources to the point where you feel there is a threat lurking around every corner.
Someone from Wyoming started a thread last week about touring with a firearm to ward of animals and, more importantly, people. (The thread seems to have gone missing.) Wyoming is the least populated state in the nation and is supposed to be edenic, at least if you believe most people from the state. Indeed, Laramie is nicknamed "Laradise." Maybe I should never return to Wyoming if it's so darn dangerous.
You can of course use that line of argumentation but I mean you can extend that to pretty much everything from bicycle helmets to rear brakes. "don't want 'em, don't need 'em"
I live in Scandinavia which is probably the safest place on the planet in every possible aspect. Nonetheless I've seen enough violence and bad people even here to make me a bit fidgety and untrusting. I work in the criminal justice system so I feel I'm justified to be suspicous of everyone. Last summer we were touring in the local archipelago which is probably the safest place in Scandinavia and even there some of our stuff got stolen.
So now that we're heading to Europe what I'm mostly worried about is
- Roma, ie. gypsies. Highway robbery is a thing that does happen in Europe and it's on the rise. I'm not giving up my stuff without a fight.
- Common drunkards. I've had drunk people try to hit me, push me, run after me and otherwise attack while I've cycled past them.
- Slum types. You can find these from every major city and since we're going unplanned it's more than likely that we might at some point ride past some place where you can find these people. An expensive bike with lotsa gear makes for a nice spontaneous theft / robbery
- Dogs. If a dog runs after me, it's getting sprayed. Not gonna take risks on this regard.
- The fact that I'm not going alone, but rather I'm touring with my SO. Nothing is going to happen to her if I'm still kickin'. Running is the best option, but if the getaway route is blocked the weapons come out (somebody has their hand on her handlebar etc). Usually just opening a telescopic baton has enough of a psychological effect that a way will open.
- There's a lot of petty thievery in Europe due to high tourism rates. It's likely that a theft is not going to turn into a robbery, but I like to be prepared.
People are much, much worse than you believe them to be.