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« on: March 26, 2022, 07:18:01 pm »
I do understand the problems with bears and have bicycled in the areas too.
My understanding is, that American outdoor culture often involves driving to a remote campground with a car, set up camp, fire up the barbecue and start frying some big chunks of meet, bacon, maybe some fish from the nearby river or lake. All that grease and meat will smell miles away, even for humans. Then in the evening they might dump the grease, the bones, fish remanings "somewhere" since there is no trash can. And go to sleep in their tents. I fully recognize this is a problem. I think the bear practices target especially those campers. Correct me if I'm wrong.
However, if you are a cyclist I believe no matter what, how much care you take, there will always be some odors. 6 hours earlier you might have spilled a drop of juice or soda on your pants, maybe you were at a family restaurant and a drop of grease came into contact with your pants unnoticed. For some reason a bread crumb entered your pocket. You ate a chocolate bar and put the wrap in your pocket where a tiny amount of chocolate came in contact with the pocket fabric before you could find a bin.
I get the feeling, the only way to prevent bear attacks is to run around naked all day long, shower in cold water with no soap and no shampoo to keep the up the "human odor", never eat and never brush teeth with tooth paste.
Lucas
PS: If I had a bear in my camp at 3am in the morning I would not be able to sleep anymore.