Turns out yours truly was the greater danger as I managed to slice my finger open moving my “survival tool” (sharpened camping trowel) into my jersey pocket due to a gap in the sheath; thankfully I had my first aid kit too. Also sounded like there was someone hunting in the area — thankfully my orange jacket gave me some peace of mind.
Oh, and I did crash slightly when a shortcut on the map turned out to be a green MTB trail and exposed my total lack of skill. I chickened out on one of the bigger berms (ate dirt), and crossed all of the streams on foot (got my feet wet), but I’ll stick with the excuse that I was babying my old gravel tires to avoid puncturing on sharp rocks.
Seriously though, I have to thank everyone for the thoughtful advice as just getting out there to ride helped put things in perspective. I feel so fortunate to live somewhere with such good road, gravel, and mountain biking — all in a single ride out the front door — where I can put the advice to work, overcome my worries and just enjoy the ride!
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Despite my fears in my [original post](https://www.reddit.com/r/gravelcycling/comments/1bpzndz/pnw_cougarbear_safety_am_i_overreacting_if_i/), I made it through the car-free, gravel road + singletrack section of my ride this weekend without encountering any wildlife.
Turns out yours truly was the greater danger as I managed to slice my finger open moving my “survival tool” (sharpened camping trowel) into my jersey pocket due to a gap in the sheath; thankfully I had my first aid kit too. Also sounded like there was someone hunting in the area — thankfully my orange jacket gave me some peace of mind.
Oh, and I did crash slightly when a shortcut on the map turned out to be a green MTB trail and exposed my total lack of skill. I chickened out on one of the bigger berms (ate dirt), and crossed all of the streams on foot (got my feet wet), but I’ll stick with the excuse that I was babying my old gravel tires to avoid puncturing on sharp rocks.
Seriously though, I have to thank everyone for the thoughtful advice as just getting out there to ride helped put things in perspective. I feel so fortunate to live somewhere with such good road, gravel, and mountain biking — all in a single ride out the front door — where I can put the advice to work, overcome my worries and just enjoy the ride!
good luck