Dealing with fear....

[TigerT]

How does everyone deal with this?

I am doing my first solo race in July and it seems that most people are saying things to make me more afraid of adventuring out. The ride is also the forest trunk road 40A along the Rockies.

They have my head filled with thoughts of brown/black bear, cougar, wolves attacking me on sight. What they are starting to say sadly I feel like is getting to me.

I dont want to to feel like I am being totally irresponsible on this trip throwing myself into the gauntlet.... But at the same time I feel like not doing something like this is essentially limiting me to a life of no adventure.

30 people entered the race last year, 15 finished and zero were ate by a animal.



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[harryonaspot]

I think some fear is probably healthy.   It can keep you doing the right things to keep yourself safe. Spend some time doing short trips in the area or areas with the same wildlife.  Know how to be "bear aware". And learn all the ways to safeguard yourself. People have been going into the back country forever and the percentage who become dinner is infinitesimal. If you don't feel comfortable in the back country, it is likely to impact your performance and enjoyment of this event and keep you from doing others. Your best defense is your brain. Be smart and control what you can.

[Alpinist112]

30 people entered the race last year, 15 finished and zero were ate by a animal.

It is unofficial and no one wants to talk about it, but is well known: 15 who finished were able to finish because they were chased by bears. Some of them were not ready for race, but bribed bears with some honey just to be chased and finish race. Cheaters!
 

[offroute]

LOL Alpinist

I don't think there is anything to have concern about in the lower 48 except the odd grizzly, brown or moose, and your chances of a bad encounter are, as Harry inferred, not worth ruminating over. Do moose and griz even live on the course? Everything else will run from you.

Reel yourself in, relax and have fun. There's no end to things you could worry about if you start down that path.

[Alpinist112]

Several times I run into bears mountaineering here around Vancouver. They are not aggressive black bears. I just gave them space and all was fine. I was slow but major concern is to bike into one (around sharp corner etc.) I had few bells attached on my bike handlebar while biking Vancouver Island route last July. No bears seen ...

[joeydurango]

I'm accustomed to the idea that I ride in bear and lion territory.  But I HATE snakes.  This led to a bit of irrational fear on the runup to the AZTR a couple years back.  Essentially, I had the fear of getting bitten by a rattler out there (a friend of mine was struck on the shoe while on the AZT in a previous year's race), but I decided I wasn't going to let it stop me from doing something awesome that I would remember forever.  This goes for any type of fear: fear of animals, fear of failure, fear of unpreparedness, fear of whatever.

For me, anyway, it all goes away the instant we're rolling.  I could be a total nervous nutjob 5 minutes prior to start, but once the gun goes off it's smooth sailing.

For the record, I saw precisely zero rattlesnakes while on the AZT.

[dh024]

I am doing my first solo race in July and it seems that most people are saying things to make me more afraid of adventuring out. The ride is also the forest trunk road 40A along the Rockies.

They have my head filled with thoughts of brown/black bear, cougar, wolves attacking me on sight. What they are starting to say sadly I feel like is getting to me.

For most of that route, and especially the Forestry Trunk Road (Hwy 40) portion, I would be a LOT more worried about the redneck Albertans racing their pickup trucks and oversized ATV trailers down that road beside you - that's way more scarey. Don't let your imagination get the better of you regarding the wildlife you might encounter along the way.

[Alpinist112]

I have this kit during my summer bike trips ...  Even tough West coast doesn't have bad snakes.
https://www.amazon.ca/Sawyer-Products-B4-Extractor-Yellow/dp/B000AU9PEC

Interior British Columbia is different. We biked once through rattlesnakes country near Kelowna BC.
 
But it will be so hard to manage extraction if snake bit me in the back.
I mostly bike solo. I former Yugoslavia where I grew up, we had a very poisonous snakes dropping to mountaineer/hiker. I fear snakes will just slip from rock on me. When I was reading about AZT or Stagecoach 400 I was surprised people sleep in bivvy sacks. Brave man ... I would have a small tent but use bivvy up North for sure.
 

[bakerjw]

I rode part of the TD last June and prior to going would wake at night with an overwhelming fear of "What am I thinking?" When I got out there, the apprehension subsided and I decided to not let it ruin the experience.

I did have one bear encounter but once the bear realized that I was there, it ran off and all was good again. I was more worried about free ranging bulls in the cattle herds that I encountered.

At the base of it all, I believe in preparedness. Have a plan of action and response thought out in advance for anything. If a bear shows up at night while you are sleeping, it likely smells something and is wanting to find it to eat it. Most likely, it is not you. You hear a noise? Make some noise - of course have bear spray in hand.

Mountain lions? I suspect that they stalk an occasional cyclist. Heck I've seen house cats stalk deer. Nothing to get worked up over; however, I ride on the side of the road away from hillsides.

One other thing to keep in mind. There are 3 kinds of cyclists on forums. Those who are supportive and want to share knowledge, those who don't care one way or the other, or the worst kind... the Prima-Donna's who will try to tear anything down if it doesn't fit their ideal. Ignore the Prima-Donna types.

Have fun and don't let apprehension ruin an experience.

[evdog]

But it will be so hard to manage extraction if snake bit me in the back.

No need to worry about getting bit by a rattler on the back!  The stat I read is that 85% of rattlesnake bikes occur to males aged 10-35 between their fingertips and elbow.  Seems to me if you don't try and pet one you'll mostly be ok.  We have tons of rattlers here in San diego and while I've heard of a few close calls there are very few bites.  Occasionally an unlucky hiker will step on one and get bit, but mostly if you pay attention to your surroundings you'll be fine. 

I grew up in Calgary and used to camp along the trunk road a lot.  I'd be surprised if you ever saw a bear with all the traffic on that road.  I did see a moose once and to be honest I'd be more concerned about them as they can be ill tempered.  Bears, especially black bears will usually run away.  If you are responsible with food storage and don't camp in wildlife corridors I doubt you will have any problems. 

[black_labb]

Really once you get out there you should be fine. When you are remote ride a bit more conservatively. You don't know the route as well as your local tracks and you aren't as well prepared to deal with injuries if they happen when you are remote. Animals are not out there to get humans no matter how much we collectively deserve it. When you are on the bike the risk of an animal attack is pretty low on the list. Follow the right precautions and food storage procedure for the area you are in and you will be safe at night as well. I find the biggest issue in bear country is when something wakes you up in the middle of the night in the tent the first thing that comes to mind is a bear right outside the tent.

For those scared of rattle snakes - come riding in Australia. I often see Eastern Brown snakes (Scary aggressive and very deadly) and red belly black snakes (Cuddly in comparison but still potentially deadly venom). I hopped over an Eastern Brown Snake a couple weeks ago. Last year I stopped when 2 big males were having a territorial fight in mating season. When I interrupted I was chased by one of them. Ended up having a 20 minute stand off between the snake and myself including the next 10 people who came riding along. The Eastern brown is much more venemous and more aggressive/territorial than Rattle snakes. They're pretty common around Sydney and much of the East coast.

I had a bear in Romania wake me up at night in 2011. I foolishly hadn't expected bears in the area but made some basic precautions. I rode for 20 minutes after cooking before setting up camp off the side of the road. I left the food pannier out of the tent under the bike. I set up when it was dark and didn't notice that someone had dumped rubbish off the side of where I was camping. The bear obviously came for that as he was picking through it for a while. Eventually it came and investigated my tent and bike. He pushed the wall of the tent right over my head while sniffing before dragging my food bag out from under the bike. Luckily he was scared off by a logging truck with the log holding arms bouncing around as it hit the potholes - the only vehicle to pass for about 10 hours. It wasn't a good night sleep but I didn't even lose my food. I've been more cautious since then, particularly in my trip in Siberia where there were bear tracks everywhere for the 3 month trip.

[Alpinist112]

Sad story to read ... Some tips how to ride safe included.
https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-news/mtb-collision-with-grizzly-bear-led-to-mauling-according-to-investigation/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=17_03_16

[Sparkyga]

I wouldn't sweat the bears too much along Hwy 40a too much. I've been in Hinton/Jasper most of my life and still rarely see much in the way of scary wildlife.

Well except that time when I was bluffed by a Grizzly mama on the GC hwy... Or the elk that charged me along the side of the Athabasca river while fishing in Hinton. Those weren't so scary as the black bear I nearly slammed into last summer on a trail in Jasper. 3 feet is close enough to a hungry bear for me haha :p

(I won't mention the time an Bull African Elephant poked a whole in my tarp in Zimbabwe either while I was making dinner :p Different part of the world)

[Oldguywithnobike]

Keep safety at the front of your plans but yes, get out there and do something. Four wheeled contraptions are the thing to stay away from.  If you are on roads with cars, use good lights and be visible, early morning and dusk are not good times to be on the roads with cars.  Please just go.....

[PMalcolm]

You are the scariest thing in the woods by far. Be sensible, be aware and you'll be fine.

[Hockeygod]

TigerT, I might be doing the same race... Alberta Rockies 700? I have property along the route up the 940 so I know the middle portion well. I agree what others say - be prepared, have plans in place, cook then change locations (bears have an incredible sense of smell), store food and personal effects safely away from you at night and be very careful on the 940 (traffic re: logging trucks and idiots.) I mostly fear the road portion along the 1A from Exshaw to the 940 as that road has barely a shoulder (none for a stretch) and the traffic and people driving it are suspect. I have driven / rode parallel on horseback, ridden my KTM 640 and my road bike out there. The horse (off the highway) was the safest option.
Enjoy the event. Might bump into you... still considering either the 700 or instead, heading south and following the Tour Divide route for a week for fun. (Have a friend on Glen Lake in Montana... near Eureka.)

[dustytires_and_tinyfires]

In 30 years Of wild camping I've had two encounters with a black bear.  One was in Virginia and one was here in Colorado.  Both times the Bear went right by after sniffing the tent.  I always hang my food at least 100 yards from where my tent is, never take food in the tent, and cook somewhere else from where I'm staying.  Do these things and your chances are much greater getting injured in a crash than from bears.  Challenging yourself and being a little scared are good for the soul.