The right to bear arms

[Sniper68]

As I don’t know the victim or her friends I find the banter amusing.
If it were one of my friends or family and total strangers made light of it on a Forum it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.
There’s too much false concern/sorrow around these days

 

[icowden]

Yes - I learnt that all and any consumables - even (perhaps especially, often being strongly-scented) toothpaste - should be kept in a locker or in a bundle from a tree - AWAY from where you are in a tent. And you don't eat or cook in and around the tents, either, but away from them, in a separate area, so that the tents are not a place of interest to the bears.

This also works for other large wild animals. For example if camping in the New Forest, expect to find your tent being trampled or visited (if left open) by a New Forest Pony should you leave food inside...

 

[slowmotion]

A far simpler solution would be not to camp in a people-eater's home. It has always worked for me.

You can kiss goodbye to camping in large areas of north America then......

 

[KnittyNorah]

This also works for other large wild animals. For example if camping in the New Forest, expect to find your tent being trampled or visited (if left open) by a New Forest Pony should you leave food inside...

When I used to go camping with Jack, he would almost always lie down by my tent, given half a chance. I quickly learnt to leave the guy pegs several inches out of the ground and top them with upturned plastic bottles as a makeshift barrier in case he rolled over in relaxation during the night. Didn't want half a ton of sturdy native pony cosying up to me too closely in my sleeping bag. He was a very good heater, though. It was quite snug in between a hedge or wall, with a pony radiating heat at me!

 

[BoldonLad]

I expect everyone to take the pith mercillessly when I go.

Do we have to wait until you go?

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I expect everyone to take the pith mercillessly when I go.

Pith? Helmet.

 

[Drago]

It's not the first time that a relative of someone who shared an interest in cycling and was killed has found this forum.

The internet makes this a much smaller world and we should remember that this forum has a number of US members.

Heres 20p. Call me when it happens.

It is genuinely tragic that the lady lost her life. Doubly so that she was one of us, a sister on two wheels. Nothing we say here detracts from any of that.

The sad reality is sheet happens, and black humour is how some people deal with it.

 

[Baldy]

Camping in Yosmite Valley, lots of people picnicking and bbq-ing then drink beer, wine etc wonder off leaving food all over the place. Big problem with bears in the campsite.

Finland, everyone keeps clean campsites. They have bears and wolves too, never seen one.

 

[TheDoctor]

I expect everyone to take the pith mercillessly when I go.

Why wait? Let's do it now

 

[HMS_Dave]

Camping in Yosmite Valley, lots of people picnicking and bbq-ing then drink beer, wine etc wonder off leaving food all over the place. Big problem with bears in the campsite.

Finland, everyone keeps clean campsites. They have bears and wolves too, never seen one.

Indeed. The wild campers i've seen that camp respectfully and intelligently in bear countries, seem to hang their food high in the trees when settling down for the night.

 

[slowmotion]

Personally I kissed goodbye to camping anywhere on my first and last camping holiday in about 1978

Very sensible. I did something similar. I missed hot water.

 

[Rusty Nails]

I was camping in Yellowstone National Park about 20 years ago and needed to use the loo in the middle of the night. I was just walking over to the shower block and I saw a bear about 20 yards away. I nearly went before I got to the shower block, but luckily I later learned it was a black bear which are nowhere near as big or as vicious or dangerous as a grizzly bear, and are seen occasionally around some campsites. We once saw grizzly bears through binoculars at about 200-300 yards away and that was near enough, but we didn't hang around and got back to the car.

There were warnings everywhere about keeping food, or perfumed items locked inside cars or in safety boxes at each site.

A horrible thing to happen to that poor woman.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Heres 20p. Call me when it happens.

It is genuinely tragic that the lady lost her life. Doubly so that she was one of us, a sister on two wheels. Nothing we say here detracts from any of that.

The sad reality is sheet happens, and black humour is how some people deal with it.

Hang on to your money, it's already happened.

I'm more than familiar with the use of black humour in those who have to deal with horrible situations but nobody on the thread - so far - has to "deal with" the death of Ms Lokan beyond showing some consideration and respect.

 

[Drago]

Why wait? Let's do it now

I think youll find that while im alive you'd be in breach of copyright!

Glasgow (I feel I know you so well, so I hope I can be forgiven for addressing you as such), generally I agree wholeheartedly and nod sagely at your wisdom. On this occasion, I shall maintain a polite difference of opinion and leave it at that.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

While I'm a big believer in black comedy, the general formula is tragedy + time = comedy.
There has been precious little time in this case.

As said above, the Internet has made the world very small indeed and it's not beyond the bounds for someone closely linked to this tragedy to stumble across this thread. Aldo, some members of this forum do have to consider wildlife in their biking lives.

Apparently, there has been a change in the frequency and type of bear interactions over the past couple of years. Bears are appearing in places not usual for them, in greater frequency and more aggressively.

With Covid and limitations in travel far more people are going into areas unprepared which doesn't help.