Wow! From someone who has been stalked by animals before (generally medium and big sized cats), I can "appreciate" you situation .

You did precisely the right thing, and now I'm going to get some of that bear spray for myself. I used to carry a large Ka-Bar knife with me hiking, but after some of us had an incident or two, most started carrying those other things that fire hot metal projectiles at a high rate of speed. I'm not a huge fan, as it's definitely not a perfect solution, but better than nothing. Now that I know bear spray works (and apparently very well!) I'm going to pick up some.

In fact, a *great* excuse to go to the outdoor store today .

Great to hear, and good call on giving the knee a break. From someone plagued with knee problems, follow exactly what your doctor said. Staying off the bike sucks, but you've burned enough calories for a week or two I guess