In Banff waiting for the race many of the riders had the same worry on there minds: bears. The previous week there had been a bear "attack" in Jasper and the mountain biker was saved by having the bear bite his bear spray that was stashed in his backpack. He was saved by blind luck in that stowing bear spray in a pack would usually be viewed as ineffective. Maybe this event will spawn the future bear spray suit which has dozens of canisters attached to it. I didn't buckle under the fear and have a last minute bear spray purchase. In my mind I wasn't going to blindly fly down a slope into some unsuspecting bear. My bear whistle was always on hand and I'm unashamed to say I shrilly blew that thing before most blind corners on a good portion of the trip. Perhaps unmanly but my 3 bear encounters were uneventful. In fact I'd say bears are unfairly placed at the top of the dangerous list so in their defense here's my list.
1) Pickup trucks. These things can sneak up on you and sometimes will try to get by without slowing down or waiting for some room. The only fatality on the race was because of a collision with a truck. I definitely fear trucks more than bears.
2) Cold. Yes hypothermia can kill. My hands were so frozen at times I couldn't shift gears and I couldn't feel how much brake pressure was applied. I fear the cold.
3) Down hills. Most people dread the up hills but I dreaded the down hills. It's hard to hurt yourself going up hill at 5km per hour but that's not the case when the eventual down hill comes. Hitting sand at speed can be very exciting. Throw in a corner and things can go sideways fast. Keep in mind I'm a weak downhiller so for most Mt bikers this may be the fun part. I think someone did crash though after losing brakes. I blackened my rotors trying to keep things sane.
4) Dogs. Like most riders I was chased by dogs and in training have been bitten. There's that one awful village that had a pack lose on the road. I walked my bike through while using it as a barricade. It sucked. By the way, I suspect the locals get a kick at watching the whole drama.
5) Lightning. Colorado and New Mexico had the craziest of storms which tend to popup in the afternoon. Summiting a pass trying to get to Cuba I heard massive explosions which were so close I didn't recognize it as lightning. I thought there was some sort of military exercise going on. My leisurely ride turned into panic trying to get off the mountain. The highway patrol even diverted riders at one point. It was weird seeing police officers in the middle of nowhere when I hadn't see anyone for six hours. Lighting in the high plateaus is also exciting. Guess what is the highest point out there?
6) Bulls. There's cattle everywhere on the ride which tend to love standing on the road. I tried various tactics to get them to move. I started with kindly singing which worked pretty well and hurt my ego. In a rush I'd resort to bullying with my best cowboy impression. Cows will respond with a panicked trot to get off the road and as I found out so will bulls. Unfortunately once a bull feels it was unduly spooked by some wacko on a bike, he'll endeavor to show who's really the boss. I'm just glad I was screaming down hill trying to get away from the above mentioned storm. I know it spun around and pawed the ground to charge but in that split second I was already by. Next time I'll consider putting a GoPro on the back.
7) Bears. Okay of course bears are on the list. Just blow that damn whistle. It's better to avoid confrontations rather than hoping bear spray will drive off these beasties. I tried to keep my food in scent proof bags. On the occasion I didn't, I managed to cover myself in peanut butter.
8) Snakes. I did see a few mashed into the road. Other than that nothing. I think trying not to step on one is the best plan.
9) Cougars. Never saw one.
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