Do You Carry Pepper Spray?

planegirlsb

Hey girls, (and lurking guys),
Yesterday I put 70 miles of pavement beneath my new road bike out in the Idaho boonies. Riding solo, no road shoulder, barely any cell phone reception, I started wondering what measures other women take for self protection? I wasn't particularly worried or paranoid, but maybe it is a prudent consideration to make.... Is it enough simply to tell people when/where you're going before you ride, should I revive my kickboxing skills, or learn to make good use of my little plastic hand pump?
What do you carry with you should the worst happen and you need to defend yourself?

Meeba

Hi Planegirlsb, if l didnt feel "right "when riding solo, then l wouldnt go .l would trust my intuition, + try to ride with mates or popular area.
ld rather enjoy my cycle and not have to stress over my safety
With night riding: if lm moving along at nice pace ,then somehow l dont feel as vulnerable as walking,lm concentrating on not crashing,(stupid)
you got me a little worried now

planegirlsb

Well shoot, I didn't want to cause any paranoia!! There's certainly a line between reasonable caution and undue fear.... Normally it's no issue and I feel safe as a swaddled baby, but just that once in a while while riding all alone the line seems thin and fuzzy and I begin to wonder if I should travel with a little more defensive equipment on board. Just lookin' to hear that others do about this....
Thanks for the input!

jordon198

I think that pepper spray would be a great idea, for dangerous animals that you might encounter, human or otherwise.

What you need to look at when you buy the spray is its " Scoville Heating Unit ", it might be on the label as SCU. Basiclly it is a measue of how hot the stuff is when it hits the target. You will want to see a number of 1.5 to 2 million. Don't get hung up on the percentage of the pepper spray, the only thing that matters is it's SCU.

If you get some keep these things in mind:

1. Spray the target in the face, so that the eyes and nose get the most coverage.

2. If you spray into the wind expect some blow back twords yourself, always try to srapy with the wind if possible.

3. Test spray your can when you get it to see how the pattern of spray comes out. There are some that come out in a stream, mist, even thick foam. It would be best to buy two cans so that you could practice with one and carry the other.

4. Last and most important, Nothing works on everyone. I have seen with my own eyes 2 people that pepper spray had little or no effect on. Always have a plan B.

I am in law enforcemet and have been a certified O.C. trainer for over 10 years, the brand that I would reccomend is called " Cap-Stun " If you can find that I would go with it. I have had to be sprayed dozens of times while training new deputies, and I have found this brand to be the most effective.

Ride safe.

planegirlsb

Thank you, Jordon! I really appreciate all the info, and had to laugh when you mentioned dangerous animals because I got chased by no less than 2 ferocious weinder dogs the other day! That may sound to be a bit of an oxymoron, but they were feisty lil things and moved their short legs at a cadence I can only dream of obtaining.... At least they weren't too hard to out-pedal!

Thanks again, Sarah

closesupport

I considered purchasing a CS Spray for a dog in the street since it bit me on numerous occassions, but i could never find it forsale in the UK

MtnBikerChk

This is an interesting thread. I never thought about carrying pepper spray but I suppose it would be a good idea. The problem would be where to carry it. I can't put it in my jersey pocket and to put it in a saddle bag would make it inaccessible for those "emergenices."

My dad is a retired cop and he gave me a can of HALT once when I was being terrorized by a doberman on my way to school. I never had to use it though.

FYI
http://www.rainbowtech.net/catalog.php?pid=170&cat=16

shewhobikes

Gosh, this is timely. Haven't had much (any) trouble with dogs but this weekend, a group of us were riding way out in the country and a pretty aggressive dog came flying out and really challenged our ride leader (another lady). He backed off, but it got me to thinking....

Would pepper spray be a good idea in case he came after me?
And if so, how/where would I keep it for easy access? As mentioned, not in the pack. So can you attach something like this to the handlebars?