How do you stay safe..alone?

[Starfish]

All I can say is that this thread is making me really happy I live in the city.

I'm visiting my mom right now, and I honestly couldn't imagine going off on a bike ride here. Too isolated by far...

For those of you who do not feel safe... Follow your instincts, and be as prepared as possible. But, try not to let the fear keep you down. That's letting the bad guys win.

We are all very different, aren't we!?! (As it should be.) I have lived in both very urban and very rural environments. I always feel safer in the rural settings, but the possibility of a threat exists in both. I have known people who have been both raped and killed in the urban environment. I have known people who have been the victims of home invasion crime in the rural setting.

We're all different, and the urban threats make me more nervous. And, I know that I would not want to give up those incredible rides out in the country alone, when I stop and all I can hear is the wind, and all I can see is an eagle overhead, or an elk at a river.

When I lived rurally, without electricity or phone (and no cell phone reception), I slept with the cabin secured, and myself in a loft. The only way up there was a hole in the floor of the loft. I kept a gun, used it regularly to stay fresh, and was fully prepared (I believe, at least...never having been put to the test) to use it on anyone who woke me up in the night by breaking through my doors, ignoring my warning yells, and sticking their head up through my hole in the floor. My brother thinks I'm nuts for not using the same philosophy by carrying a small handgun on the bike with me, not letting anyone get close enough to take it away and use it on me. We both know people who have been left alone in harrassment situations after revealing they were armed.

I'm know I'm not ready for that on the bike, yet. I'm still not sure I could use it in the harder to read situations outside home defense. But, depending on circumstances changing in the future, I would consider it.