McTB profile

I am alive. Here me roar

We here you. Loud and clere

I am in the same boat. Serious dog phobia.

I know it's irrational because if I had to choose between going down a trail with a growling dog or going down a trail with a bear, I would go bear every time. I know it's in my head."Just don't be afraid and the dog will be cool" is not helpful advice to me

When I have a dog encounter, it is usually the biggest rush of adrenaline I have on the entire ride! If I hear barking in the distance, I have a hard time going towards it. The commercial dog walkers are the worst. A bunch leashes, 4 or 5 running free. Terrifying

I have had a roommate with a dog that was friendly, but it didn't help with my fear of dogs I don't know. I have come to grips with the fact that there is no fixing it. Do other people try to fix their phobias? Do people go hang out with snakes and spiders? It's tough for us, because no one ever brings their pet 2' tall spider to work and expects you to love and pet it.

I usually take the advice above and tell the dog owner "sorry, I have an irrational fear of dogs". They give me a look that says "we will never be friends" but usually are quick to bring their pooch under control.

Thanks for posting, it's nice to know I'm not the only one.

Hi Lee.

Not Lee.

Wow, is he ever under your skin!

I learned:
Don't be a bully in person.
Don't be a bully on the internet.

If having this all just go away is what we think is best for our community, retaining a lawyer to demand a public apology is not the move of someone who just wants this to all go away. I'll stop paying attention when it stops being interesting.

how many cougar attacks per year in BC on adults? 1? 2?

when was the last time someone got attacked by a bear or cougar on the north shore?

Squamish 2011? Does that count?
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/06/15/mountain-biker-wary-after-cougar-attack/

Here's a list of Cougar attacks in North America since 2011. I count 6 on adults in BC.
http://www.cougarinfo.org/attacks4.htm

wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_cougar_attacks_in_North_America
Only 20 fatal attacks in 120 years apparently but….
At least 20 people in North America were killed by cougars between 1890 and 2011, including six in California. More than two-thirds of the Canadian fatalities occurred on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

It's worth talking about, I think.

You can cherry pick stats to reinforce any argument. I just found some that reinforce a BA as the way to go.

from :http://www.aucc.ca/media-room/news-and-commentary/latest-data-on-trends-in-university-enrolment-released/

"Trends points out that even during the recessionary years of 2008-2010, 300,000 new jobs were created for university graduates. This compares to 430,000 jobs lost for those with no postsecondary education. The research also shows that the income advantage for a bachelor’s graduate over a registered tradesperson or college graduate working full-time is 40 percent ($1 million), while the advantage over those with a high school education grows to 75 percent ($1.3 million)."

I took a BFA, and went right into my field. (Show Biz). It's what I've always wanted to do and it's still rad. My closest friend took a trade, and he's also super happy. Figure out what you want to do and go do it, whatever it is.

One final point, if you are a young man, university provides excellent odds.
from: http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/tag/male-female-ratio/

"female-dominated campuses are an increasing reality at universities across the country. According to Statistics Canada, 57 per cent of the student body in universities is female. Of the 69 schools Maclean’s surveyed in its 2010 university guide, 24 institutions have a student body that’s over 60 per cent female. And it’s not just Mount Saint Vincent where the females make up more than 70 per cent of the population. It’s the same at NSCAD University and Université Sainte-Anne"

In my program, it was 3 to 1. just sayin'

Nice to see I'm not the only one keeping track! There are some real hardcores on here.

98 mtb rides

49 Fromme
15 Hartland (Victoria)
6 Whistler Bike Park
5 Mt Bruce (Saltspring)
4 Seymour
3 SFU
2 Silverstar
2 Maple Mtn
2 Tzouhalem
2 Cumberland
1 Mt. Washington
1 Woodlot
1 Hammerfest
5 Dirt roads

63 DH Bike (53 climbing and pushing, 9 bike park, 1 shuttle)
35 XC bike

I also put in 110 rides (commuting and other) on my road bike to hit my goal of 208 days last year. 4 times a week. Going for 209 this year.

5 or more years ago, I was poaching the walking trail next to the trans-canada trail coming off the west side of Burnaby Mountain. I knew it was hiking only but I couldn't bring myself to skip a sweet singletrack descent in favor of the big gravel fall-line that the trans-canada is there.
As I slowed to get past a hiker, he started talking to me. "Hey, I can totally understand why you are riding this but, It's one of the only trails on the mountain where we don't have to worry about bikers coming down on us. I just live over there….." No judgement, No anger, No attitude. I haven't been able to bring myself to poach it since. If I ever ran into him again, I would be mortified.

I met a guy from Prince Rupert who worked in forestry or something like that and he said flares were the best for encounters with wildlife. See something too close, light it up. Nothing messes with the fire god. I think he said there was a kind you just pull something to light.

Spot looks cool.
Do any of the GPS devices work well for emergencies? I want to geek out on GPS mapping (elevation etc.) and have a reliable locator.
Glad you are OK mfreeman. Food for thought for sure.