recommended types of pepper spray on bike rides.

I was wondering what is the most effective and light pepper spray to be carrying while riding your bike in town? Also where do you mount it on your bike to be discrete yet easily accessable.

hahahaha maybe the best response in the history of MP. Not very helpful but hey dam good anyway, what is the pepper spray for? Do people jump cyclists now?

Are you talking about pepper spray for dogs? I carried Halt! while cycling through Kentucky since damn near everyone in rural Kentucky has a free-roaming dog and they love to chase slow-moving cycle tourists.

Clip the spray to your handlebar pack and you're good to go for a fast deployment in case a dog starts nipping at your heels; I probably sprayed about a half-dozen dogs that trip and quite a few more backed off when I raised the canister since they'd been sprayed before when chasing previous cyclists :P.

So you can go with the old stanby... fits nicely into spandex biking shorts.

pepper spray

or you can get a little more serious about it.

pepper spray 2

Dogs...and people...mostly dogs. People walk their dogs on bike paths and when going through housing developments the dogs are running off leash sometimes. I doubt I would press charges and have the dog put down because he bit me but I would spray the pest if he trying to nip on me. The dog owners seem no help when the cyclist is passing by they think it's funny. So I'm riding my bike and this old man had 3 dogs. 1 puppy and all off leash. Small dogs but playful. Of course I'm going by and one starts to follow my bike like it's funnu. The leash dragging behind almost got caught in my wheel. so I stopped cos I almost fell off the bike. The dog owner thinks it's funny. I say you should keep your dog on the leash on bike paths. The dude did not think it was a big deal. If I had the spray I think he would grab that dog of his I'm sure. So also once I was passing by some Mexican dude on bike. I'm totally not racist. Anyway you saw how I look. Ethnic. So the dude passing by touches my ass. I totally almost fell too! I saw super pissed. So I see a police officer and try to report the creep ....like a short mexican on a bike ...The cop was like: what do you want me do do? I was like : catch him and tell him to stop touching women's asses! Of course the cop though it was funny. No help.

Jeff Samuels wrote:So the dude passing by touches my ass. I totally almost fell too! I saw super pissed. So I see a police officer and try to report the creep ....like a short mexican on a bike ...The cop was like: what do you want me do do? I was like : catch him and tell him to stop touching women's asses! Of course the cop though it was funny. No help.

I'm truly sorry that happened to you. That sucks. Molestation is not a joke. And those we pay to protect and serve certainly should NOT take it as such.

I was freaking pissed! Sometimes when I go under a bridge there are a bunch of homeless people sitting there and acting all stupid. Having a spray would make me feel better if one was trying to approach me. I think a bear spray would be good. Something that shoots at least 20 ft.

Jon Zucco wrote: I'm truly sorry that happened to you. That sucks. Molestation is not a joke. And those we pay to protect and serve certainly should NOT take it as such.

It was the way the cop reacted is why I got so mad. Like it was not a big deal. Well if I got my hands on that little sucker who decided to molest bikers I would have hurt him BAD. Then it would be a big deal with the law enforcement?!

a chest type holster is the best

Make sure you test it out (be mindful of the wind) to see how it sprays after you get it. I've used bear/pepper spray before, and didn't realize that it had a bit of a kick to it.

youtube.com/watch?v=sq_tdS3…

Jeff Samuels wrote:I was freaking pissed! Sometimes when I go under a bridge there are a bunch of homeless people sitting there and acting all stupid. Having a spray would make me feel better if one was trying to approach me. I think a bear spray would be good. Something that shoots at least 20 ft.

Sounds like your looking for an excuse to blast someone in the face with pepper spray.
WTF do you expect to find under a bridge Elena? Starbucks?

If you stay away from trouble, it's less likely to find you.

Tom-o Sapien wrote: Sounds like your looking for an excuse to blast someone in the face with pepper spray. WTF do you expect to find under a bridge Elena? Starbucks? If you stay away from trouble, it's less likely to find you.

Tom if you actually rode and knew what you are talking about you would know that bike paths very often go under bridges. Also you can not be careful enough and for a female cyclist that would mean to never leave the house. Get your ass off the couch and on the road then talk.
Nancy, good point. I will definitely test it out first.
To all whose girlfriends ride I would recommend being alert...always. Especially riding solo.

Wait when did Ellanor post her picture. I know she's a bay area resident now and would like I avoid her in PGSF as her irrational thinking would make me nervous to climb next to.

Will be back in Bay area end of May to harrass ye all again!:)

^^^oh look what the cat dragged in!

I am all for the idea of carrying personal protection and highly recommend that people should to the extent that they feel necessary. However, I have some advice that might help you out as far as the dogs chasing you on a bike goes. I have a dog who is docile and is avoidant of people and dogs, even around bikes she is wary. On occasion she is enticed by skateboards and simply can not stop herself from wanting to go after them. I became curious as to what was causing this and read a book called 'The Mind of a Dog'. It is about dog psychology and how we assume they perceive the world. Anyhow a long introduction to get to this point, and I am paraphrasing it mind you, but recommend that you look into this. As it turns out the fluid motion of people on bikes/skateboards/roller blades/etc excites the region of the brain that is responsible for the hunting instincts, it is literally hardwired into their DNA. In essence if they see this motion, unless they are highly trained to ignore this instinct, they can not stop themselves from going after the prey. As such, even dogs who would not typically be aggressive can become so once enticed. However, if you simply stop the motion, they almost always will stop and recognize you as human and not prey. It may seem counter intuitive and your instincts tell you to try and out pace them, but this only worsens it. Now you can simply carry a can of mace and spray the dogs if you are so inclined, but I can guarantee that this will lead to a lot more conflict than you might like. I am also not implying that you should simply stop and potentially get attacked by dogs, as they are all different. I do recommend that you do some research on dog instincts and behavior before deciding what to do. What I can tell you is that people will continue to have dogs off leash on bike paths, and they will continue to want to chase you, all you can do is decide how it is that you want to go about responding to the dog and its owner.

Squirt dogs in the face with your water bottle and shout loudly. Get them right in the nose. Works great on domesticated dogs. Does not work in Georgia or Kentucky.

It's a tough subject. By all means I'm not trying to hurt anyone on purpose. It's the dogs instinct and I blame the owners who should be responsible enough to control their animals. Going through a city park a toddler walked right in front of me. His mom still texting as the kid is in clear path of my bike. I don't go fast in general especially on paths. The kid was right there! I stopped and screamed at the mom to keep her kid out of the path. She called me "bitch" then grabbed the kid, slapped it and Continued with her phone thing like nothing happened. People! I am cautious. I don't think stopping will deter the dog from biting your leg. I think the spray will startle them off. If I get bit the owner of the dog will pay dearly. I would hate for the dog to be put down though...

Back in college I had a girlfriend that got tired of being harassed all of the time by street people out on the other side of the street from school. She got some mace and one day just took it out and sprayed a whole bunch of them in the face. "Bees! Bees!" screamed one guy she told me. Ha ha ha.

NorCalNomad wrote:Wait when did Ellanor post her picture. I know she's a bay area resident now and would like I avoid her in PGSF as her irrational thinking would make me nervous to climb next to.

Elena has a face book page with plenty of pictures