Don't let a wolf get you.
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Don't let a wolf get you.
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Take a look at the follow up photos. Compared the to the tale, one of them suggests that the whole thing was a hoax. The tale itself is incredible. "Shattered tent poles," yet his friend allegedly rode up later with the poles in hand. He managed to ride full out in his top gear and spray the wolf, which was allegedly behind him, several times with mace? A human can walk 20" in a matter of seconds. He dismounted by jumping over the handlebars, all while holding on to the can of spray? Don't try that at home, kids.
Last edited by indyfabz; 12-24-14 at 01:44 PM.
#5
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There were lengthy threads on this incident back in July 2013 when it happened.
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/90...st-alaska.html
Bicycle Touring: Forum: Wildlife: #598: "Cyclist attacked by wolf on Al-Can Highway", posted by Neil Gunton*(neil)*(admin) on Tue 9 Jul 2013 12:45 (US/Pacific)
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/90...st-alaska.html
Bicycle Touring: Forum: Wildlife: #598: "Cyclist attacked by wolf on Al-Can Highway", posted by Neil Gunton*(neil)*(admin) on Tue 9 Jul 2013 12:45 (US/Pacific)
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For one thing, how did the bike end up nicely on the shoulder of the road and behind the RV when the story is that the guy jumped off the bike over the bars, the RV passed him and stopped in front of the bike?
My guess is that this hoax was made up to get traffic to his fundraising website.
My guess is that this hoax was made up to get traffic to his fundraising website.
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A guy could carry a hanndgunn except when he crossed into Canada he'd get tossed into the slammer. When it comes to 2nd Amendment rights the Canadians think Americans are nuts.
Last edited by Louis Le Tour; 01-01-15 at 12:57 PM.
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Take a look at the follow up photos. Compared the to the tale, one of them suggests that the whole thing was a hoax. The tale itself is incredible. "Shattered tent poles," yet his friend allegedly rode up later with the poles in hand. He managed to ride full out in his top gear and spray the wolf, which was allegedly behind him, several times with mace? A human can walk 20" in a matter of seconds. He dismounted by jumping over the handlebars, all while holding on to the can of spray? Don't try that at home, kids.
This animal has learned about humans. He or she is not scared of humans.
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And only an idiot would try to run from a wolf. Or a bear. Or a cougar. Then you're prey. Spray is meant to be discharged when stopped, in a huge cloud.
The comments are interesting. I'd add a story of my own:
I grew up with one brother on a homestead near Fairbanks. Both our parents worked, so we were home alone a lot in the summer. I would have been 8 and my brother 11 when this happened. We were out in the yard, building roads and playing trucks at one edge of our homestead house clearing, on the stacks of tundra and trees we'd dozed off to find soil to plant a garden in. Suddenly a pack of wolves entered the clearing from the opposite side. They were trotting single file, head to tail, silent, going somewhere. We held perfectly still. They never even looked at us, though we were only maybe 40' from them and in plain sight. They just trotted past us out the other side of the clearing and were gone. It was absolutely magic.
The comments are interesting. I'd add a story of my own:
I grew up with one brother on a homestead near Fairbanks. Both our parents worked, so we were home alone a lot in the summer. I would have been 8 and my brother 11 when this happened. We were out in the yard, building roads and playing trucks at one edge of our homestead house clearing, on the stacks of tundra and trees we'd dozed off to find soil to plant a garden in. Suddenly a pack of wolves entered the clearing from the opposite side. They were trotting single file, head to tail, silent, going somewhere. We held perfectly still. They never even looked at us, though we were only maybe 40' from them and in plain sight. They just trotted past us out the other side of the clearing and were gone. It was absolutely magic.
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#14
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First of all, an average wolf can run at speeds between 35 and 40 miles for quite a distance when closing in on prey.
Unless this wolf wasn't healthy, or it was unsure of it's self or the prey, I'm skeptical. There aren't many people that
can suddenly sprint faster than that with a fully loaded touring bike unless they're going down a steep grade.
The same goes for trying to outrun a bear. I also would like to see someone who's scared and trying to go as fast as
he can be able to get and operate a can of bear spray without losing a great deal of that precious speed. It's not
that easy to quickly use those cans even when standing on the ground. Yes, a wolf could have followed, chased, or
ripped open his panniers etc, but if indeed the incident happened, I'm confident the story has been greatly imbellished.
Unless this wolf wasn't healthy, or it was unsure of it's self or the prey, I'm skeptical. There aren't many people that
can suddenly sprint faster than that with a fully loaded touring bike unless they're going down a steep grade.
The same goes for trying to outrun a bear. I also would like to see someone who's scared and trying to go as fast as
he can be able to get and operate a can of bear spray without losing a great deal of that precious speed. It's not
that easy to quickly use those cans even when standing on the ground. Yes, a wolf could have followed, chased, or
ripped open his panniers etc, but if indeed the incident happened, I'm confident the story has been greatly imbellished.
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No need to worry about the Arizona-Utah wolf that was recently sighted. That one was shot dead.
Coyote hunter kills a wolf by mistake near Beaver | The Salt Lake Tribune
Coyote hunter kills a wolf by mistake near Beaver | The Salt Lake Tribune
#16
This article was referenced in an earlier thread. I posted my encounter with a lone wolf while riding in the Alaskan Tundra.
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#18
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That's not the case though. I live on the edge of healthy wolf populations, in fact, there are too many to the point that our herbivores
are suffering and our cattle ranchers are losing stock. I have seen many wolves, have had them very near my camps on several occasions, witnessed just how persistent and fast they can be, had a sizable pack serenade me while I was tenting on my bicycle ride on the Alaskan Hwy. and had a black one sit down on the shoulder of that same hwy and watch us cycle by.
I stand by what I implied....if the incident happened, either the wolf wasn't fully healthy or wasn't sure of himself so didn't pursue full out at top speed. When someone is terribly scared and full of 'fight or flight' adrenaline, it's very easy to strongly believe the worst and relate the
events in exaggerated form. I don't find it hard to believe that he was frightened to the point of panic, especially when trying to get into the RV unit, and I have no reason to doubt that the animal ripped away at his panniers on his ditched bike. I've seen bears do the same.
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Good'nuff.
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You can have poetic license, staged photos (later you moved the bike nearer for greater convenience, didn't bother to move it back for the photo, without the main points being at odds. Etc...
If I was going to spray the wolf, I would be totally OK with letting him gain on me, then let him have it from near touching range.
100 years ago you used to be able to buy handghunns for a few bucks out of department store catalogs in Canada, the history of minor regulations was extensive, but not terribly restrictive until the post WWII period. Very little is a right in Canada, in parliamentary systems most stuff can be changed at the stroke of a pen, but practically matters in Canada were not that different for a long time. We would have objected more to the idea of a bill of rights for most of our history, than we would have objected to the content of any of those rights, including the second amendment, for most of our history. There are many products that are illegal in the US that are perfectly legal in Canada, and some of the banned products have legal work arounds.
If I was going to spray the wolf, I would be totally OK with letting him gain on me, then let him have it from near touching range.
100 years ago you used to be able to buy handghunns for a few bucks out of department store catalogs in Canada, the history of minor regulations was extensive, but not terribly restrictive until the post WWII period. Very little is a right in Canada, in parliamentary systems most stuff can be changed at the stroke of a pen, but practically matters in Canada were not that different for a long time. We would have objected more to the idea of a bill of rights for most of our history, than we would have objected to the content of any of those rights, including the second amendment, for most of our history. There are many products that are illegal in the US that are perfectly legal in Canada, and some of the banned products have legal work arounds.
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