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  1. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    the dry side
    Posts
    4,365

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    If you are going to camp in someone's field, be sure you have permission. I've had the pleasure of waking up to a really pissed off farmer before. He was just cranky and asked us to leave. Thank goodness hubby and I were camping, not just me.
    2015 Liv Intrigue 2
    Pro Mongoose Titanium Singlespeed
    2012 Trek Madone 4.6 Compact SRAM

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    West of Toledo, OH
    Posts
    95
    I am a WarmShowers host, as both a single woman and now as part of a couple. I try to be especially welcoming to solo women travelers! I don't get a lot, but those that have stayed have had many positive experiences. WarmShowers provides the ability to leave feedback (both for guests and hosts) so pay attention to the feedback. Contact hosts several days in advance by enpmail, and try to have at least one phone conversation. Trust your instincts. And have a great time!

  3. #18
    Jolt is offline Dodging the potholes...
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Southern Maine
    Posts
    1,668
    Quote Originally Posted by Jaclyn View Post
    I am a WarmShowers host, as both a single woman and now as part of a couple. I try to be especially welcoming to solo women travelers! I don't get a lot, but those that have stayed have had many positive experiences. WarmShowers provides the ability to leave feedback (both for guests and hosts) so pay attention to the feedback. Contact hosts several days in advance by enpmail, and try to have at least one phone conversation. Trust your instincts. And have a great time!
    I am curious to find out how you managed things security-wise when you hosted by yourself. Did you have guests stay in the house, or did they just camp in the backyard? Is there any provision on Warmshowers to specify what kinds of groups you would be comfortable hosting (women solo or in small groups, couples, etc. as opposed to a strange guy by himself)?
    2011 Surly LHT
    1995 Trek 830

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Uncanny Valley
    Posts
    14,498
    It occurred to me on my run today that at that moment I was really no less vulnerable than the situations you're thinking about getting into. It's not that I run anywhere remote or terribly far from home as miles go, but most of the roads I run on have very little traffic (like, once I get off the county roads, I usually don't see any cars at all), half a mile or more between houses, cover of woods, etc. When I travel, I often run in industrial parks adjacent to the hotel, after hours and pretty deserted. If someone wanted to do me harm, no one would ever find me. But I've never had an issue and it really isn't something I worry about. I leave my route up on my computer where DH could find it if there was a problem, and let him know roughly how long I expect to be out, but that's it. So if it's safe experiences from solo women you're looking for, I think that counts.


    ETA: I get that when you're naked in the shower in a stranger's house, it feels way more vulnerable psychologically than when you're outside fully clothed. But in terms of actual ability to alert someone within earshot, or escape from the situation, not so much. That's what I was getting at, just pointing out that if you've gone somewhere that has neighbors and an address and texted that address to your loved ones, you're already way ahead of "well by this time she was probably on one of these four township roads," or any number of situations you are regularly on while day-riding, too.

    But +1 on the SPOT, more for crashes on the road really than for eleven o'clock news kind of things. I insist DH take his when he's riding his moto long distance alone, and he's on a maillist where stories of people having been found via their SPOT trackers are fairly common. I keep thinking I should bring it on my runs, again not so much for intentional situations but just in case I'd be hit by a car, or just fall the wrong way into a ditch. But so far I haven't been carrying it - it's kind of heavy for running (though honestly it would just be one more thing along with the two liters of water, several gels, phone, Epi-Pen and the pepper spray I started carrying after I was bitten by two dogs within ten days earlier this summer).
    Last edited by OakLeaf; 09-25-2014 at 04:46 AM.
    Speed comes from what you put behind you. - Judi Ketteler

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    5
    cool topic

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Oslo, Norway
    Posts
    4,066
    Oak, I'm curious, how do you comfortably carry that much while running? I use a small hipbelt when running to work, but can hardly stash more than the bare essentials before it feels irritating. And I don't even carry water (runs sub one hour usually).
    Winter riding is much less about badassery and much more about bundle-uppery. - malkin

    1995 Kona Cinder Cone commuterFrankenbike/Selle Italia SLR Lady Gel Flow
    2008 white Nakamura Summit Custom mtb/Terry Falcon X
    2000 Schwinn Fastback Comp road bike/Specialized Jett

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Uncanny Valley
    Posts
    14,498
    Vest!

    All that stuff literally rides lighter in a vest than 24 oz of water in a three-bottle waist belt. My first one is/was a Nathan Intensity, which I wore out but got Irulan to refurbish (she does great work BTW) - now I also have an Ultimate Direction Jenny. No bounce, very little slosh in either one; they fit a bit different, but both hug the ribcage and stay put. It does obviously change the balance of my upper body and I have to work harder not to lean forward at the waist, but I'm too far out in the country to run long without bringing water.

    For bare essentials on runs too short to carry water, and also for gels while racing, I have a Nathan Gel Pak. The pouch part is well structured without being stiff, the belt part has just a tiny bit of stretch, so it sits snug and flat on the small of my back without any bounce at all. I tried like five different belts before I found that one.
    Last edited by OakLeaf; 11-10-2014 at 03:20 AM.
    Speed comes from what you put behind you. - Judi Ketteler

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Western Canada-prairies, mountain & ocean
    Posts
    6,984
    My Personal blog on cycling & other favourite passions.
    遙知馬力日久見人心 Over a long distance, you learn about the strength of your horse; over a long period of time, you get to know what’s in a person’s heart.

  9. #24
    Jolt is offline Dodging the potholes...
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Southern Maine
    Posts
    1,668
    Quote Originally Posted by shootingstar View Post
    Yuck...I am officially creeped out by that story! Fortunately nothing bad actually happened, but the guy seems pretty sleazy (particularly since he was being deceptive by pretending on the site to be a woman, presumably to gain trust--how despicable). I am also disturbed by the fact that there seem to be a significant number of people who are on couchsurfing in order to find people to hook up with. I'm sure these kinds of incidents are not THAT common, but it's enough to make me not want to take the risk of staying with a complete stranger (it'd be different if it were a "friend of a friend" kind of situation where someone I know and trust could vouch for them).
    2011 Surly LHT
    1995 Trek 830

 

 

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