Wow, great posts.
On the weapon, I ALWAYS carry a stainless Smith & Wesson 9mm with two clips in a shoulder holster when i ride in the trees. I've had many occassions where I found a bear or large cat in the trail in front of me (we also now have wolves in the forrest, thanks to the green folks). Ironically, the only time I have had to actully unholster was for the two legged type animal. Fortunately, never had to fire a shot.
Having a 9mm with me gives my wife more comfort as well, especially if we had to stay the night for some reason. While there are drawbacks to stainless weapons, the attributes of stainless, and it's ability to withstand harsh environments outweighs other issues.
On the sports drinks, I, too, used to drink a mix of various stuff. However, after having blood in my urine after a really tough race, I asked the Doc what was best. His comment: Hydrate before you ride, and drink only water during. This was supported by an event last week in which a friend of mine started off on a little 50 mile road bicycle ride. At the 1/2 way point, he slammed down 2 Red Bull drinks, and just a few mile later dropped to the ground from a high heart rate. Apparently, there is one ingrediant in Red Bull that almost did "give him wings". He was life flighted to the hospital, where they eventually had to STOP HIS HEART
in order to get it beating properly again. The doctors attribute the episode 100% to consuming the ingrediant (sorry don't know what it is) in Red Bull that is suppose to "give you wings". Unfortunately for Red Bull, my friend is an attorney, and since just a little longer on the side of the road would have resulted in his death, you can guess how he plans to proceed...
As for taking beer on the trail, I once went on a little 100 trail ride with a group of folks I didn't know. To my surprise, we stopped about every 45 minutes for beer. It turns out that several of the guys had special backpacks with a rubber liner that had been filled with ice and beer. At the 1/2 way point, they filled their backpacks with another 12 pack. Since I don't drink, I didn't enjoy stopping so much for beer, but was amazed at how well these guys rode after consuming so much alcohol. You can bet that I made sure I was the first one loaded and on the road, with my trail mates in their trucks behind me.
Rick
