Do you feel this is safe?

[raruss1]

I have been stuggling with this problem for a while now and thought I would get your thoughts as a 'sanity check'.
Here is my situation: I love to ride and explore on the rural roads in my county. This means roads that meander though remote areas that may not have a house for miles and you may see a car every 10 minutes or so.

I dont know anybody to ride with so I go alone.

Would you ride alone in a situation like this?
Am I taking foolish risk?

Thanks

[indysteel]

I ride out in the country alone, too. It's generally not quite that remote, but it's not exactly populated either. I try to minimize the risk by carrying a cell phone, having the gear needed to fix a flat and telling someone where I'm going. I suppose I could carry pepper spray or the like, too.

Wherever your ride and with whom, there's risk involved. We can minimize and prepare for those risks, but we can't really eliminate them. I think I stand a greater chance of getting hit by a car than getting attacked on some country road so it doesn't bother me too much. I'm actually more afraid of stray dogs than anything! I've perfected the art of yelling "Back" at the top of my lungs.

[Sprocket's Mom]

Call me daring, call me irresponsible, call me stupid, I don't care....I love riding rural roads by myself. As long as I have my phone with me, I'm no worse off than when I'm in my car by myself. Stay alert, don't talk to guys who have a "puppy" or "candy" in the car....unless it's chocolate (chocolate lab puppies take careful consideration)....
Usually common sense takes pretty good care of me.

[rij73]

Stay alert, don't talk to guys who have a "puppy" or "candy" in the car....unless it's chocolate (chocolate lab puppies take careful consideration)....

Sorry... but I just have to say that's the funniest thing I've read today!

[katluvr]

. Stay alert, don't talk to guys who have a "puppy" or "candy" in the car....unless it's chocolate (chocolate lab puppies take careful consideration)....

That is sooooooooooo funny! I don't own one, but I do love chocolate labs and they are irresitable!
I needed a good smile/laugh at this time of the day on a Friday when I cannot wait to escape!
I know...I digress from the thread. So to get back to the thread....isn't this why cell phones were made? So we could go where we want be alone if we want? Yet be safe! Sounds like a great thing!

[vermonster]

I ride alone most of the time and ride rural areas (though maybe not as remote as what you're describing). I never feel "unsafe" when I'm out for a ride, but my mom (and several other relatives) really worry about me out riding alone in places where there aren't a whole lot of people around. I think it's probably one of those things where if you just don't feel safe about it or if you're uncomfortable with it---don't do it. I don't even think twice about it and I just go (cuz the alternative is not riding and that's just not an option I care to think about)----but if you have concerns about it, go with your gut.

[raruss1]

It is reassuring to hear your responses. After being told I am stupid by freinds and family it started to bother me.
I do carry a cellphone and tools.
I also have a can of Halt! Dog Repellent which I have not needed but it is reassuring to have for dogs of multiple species

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I keep some pepper spray on my frame where I can grab it, plus a cell phone with me. And always tell someone where you are going to ride that day. If you live alone, leave a note on your kitchen table as to where you are riding.
If you encounter anything remotely suspicious, pedal in the other direction immediately rather than being afraid to look 'foolish' by turning around.

[SouthernBelle]

That's my favorite kind of riding. Carry a cell.

[CyclaSutra]

Or take a self-defense class if you worry about being 'napped. The first summer I lived out in Wyoming (11 years ago) a woman disappeared while running alone on a rural route. Her husband's name has been cleared officially, but most people here still think he did it. This is why I'm not printing her name.

But I was 22 and scared, so I got a dog for a hiking companion (and cause I like dogs). Her body's never been found. Now that I'm older, and nothing like that has happened since anywhere in the vicinity, and I have a self-defense class under my belt, I never worry about being attacked by a person. Bear, cougar, yes, crazy person, no. I've also read "The Gift of Fear," a fabulous book about listening to your intuition, as Bleecker referred to. It will freak you out for a week or so, but you'll feel better after reading it. There's also very, very little random crime here (one instance per decade?) which is why we think her husband killed her.

[Geonz]

If you're where there are many people, it's far more likely one of 'em will be a bad guy

I ride alone very often. I see people now and then out there. They wave. Okay, one guy was prob'ly schnokkered and said "hey, young LADY!" ... in a completely surprised, not leering voice, so I think he was just amazed that I wasn't a guy, and of course by the time he processed that bit of information I was another mile down the road.

When driver's have been aggressive at me, it's been in town, not out in the boonies... tho' I do feel vulnerable. I am not going to let that vulnerability control my life, at least not today. I think of all the other people who are even more vulnerable on the planet - women who have to go to dangerous jobs, are working for nasty people who have power over them... some of 'em making hte products I've bought. Or I think about how many miles I have to go and plot when I"m going to hit which corner and try to beat it.

(And the bad stuff is awfully rare. I did 10,000 miles last year and maybe four times somebody did something *potentially* obnoxious/harmful.)

[Melalvai]

I was hiking in the woods one afternoon and I stood aside so a group of older folks on horseback could make their way past me on the trail. One lady said, "You're so brave to be out here by yourself."

The only crime I'd heard of in those woods was a young lady who committed suicide, way over on the other side of the park. We've had I don't know how many shootings make the news in town recently, and who knows how many crimes that are too mundane to make the news. In fact if she'd killed herself in her dorm we wouldn't have heard about it at all.

[redrhodie]

I have been stuggling with this problem for a while now and thought I would get your thoughts as a 'sanity check'.
Here is my situation: I love to ride and explore on the rural roads in my county. This means roads that meander though remote areas that may not have a house for miles and you may see a car every 10 minutes or so.

I dont know anybody to ride with so I go alone.

Would you ride alone in a situation like this?
Am I taking foolish risk?

Thanks

Are you taking a foolish risk--no.

Are you taking a risk--yes.

You should be able to ride on an isolated road without any problems (in a perfect Utopia). Unfortunately, we live in a crime ridden society. I've witnessed a violent attack, and I've been the victim of an armed robbery where I was tied up along with all of my coworkers. It's not all tv hype. Once when I did jury duty, they polled the potential jurors with the question of who has been the victim of a crime, or known someone who was the victim of a crime, and every single person (about 100 people) raised their hands.

Trust your gut. If you don't feel safe, don't do it. I think someone else suggested self defense training, and I second that. Empower yourself with more than the thought that nothing bad can ever happen.

[Torrilin]

Would I ride alone? Yes. Is it a foolish risk? Maybe.

Being attacked doesn't worry me much. That can happen anywhere, at any time, and there is very little you can do to prevent an attack by a stranger. There is stuff you can do to make yourself a nasty target *g* but that doesn't prevent the attack. It does up your odds of surviving, which I'm all in favor of.

The reason riding alone worries me is pretty simple. If you have an accident or other medical emergency, your best chance for survival is to reach medical care within 1 hour. The faster you get treatment, the better. So if you're more than 30 minutes from the nearest hospital, it is a good idea to be cautious. It's very doable to get far enough out on a bike that cell phone coverage is spotty and EMTs can't get to you easily, and the nearest hospital is far away. Then I would *definitely* want a buddy or two and some first aid refresher courses.

One of my adopted uncles had a heart attack while out deer hunting in the mountains. He ended up hiking off the mountain to get help, alone. He was *very* lucky to make it at all. These days, he's more careful about the buddy system.

Don't get paralyzed by fear tho. Just take sensible precautions. If you're always within 30 minutes of a hospital, make sure people know when to expect you back. If you are going further out, bring a cell phone and check how well it works. Have a plan for the most likely emergencies (it's amazing how much good a space blanket, enough water and a rain jacket can do). A lot of the precautions for an attack by a stranger will be helpful in a medical emergency too.

[Aggie_Ama]

Do I ride alone? Yes. Is it foolish? Maybe.

Some of the roads are rural and I feel less in danger of a human attack but more worried about dogs (no leash laws in the rural areas) or wrecking on my own and being without help. I find the residents in the country areas wave and are pretty pleasant. City motorists are cranky. If I ride alone I tell someone my exact route, how long it should take me and call if I have an issue. I usually stick to routes I am familar with when I am riding alone.