Solo Rough Country Accessories

 

Song:  Haunted

Artist:  Gary Numan

Now...

first of all...

I am not one of the stupid types of people trying to look gangster.

These are mere tools for self protection...

for use only in a worst case scenario...

when I have a surprise encounter with a very large...

and very dangerous...Grizzly Bear...Moose...Bison...Mountain Lion...

or packs of Wolves or Coyotes while out in the wilderness

on one of my planned solo multi day rides.

The top long gun is a Mossberg 12 Gauge 590 A1 Shot Gun...

which will be loaded with specially high powered and hardened penetrator Grizzly slugs.

The 590 A1 was made to be an especially heavy duty shotgun...

with a thicker receiver and barrel to stand up to, and function, in rugged conditions...

not only for law enforcement...but for the military.

It has a special coating which keeps it rust free as well.

I am adept in handling this particular shot gun as it is the same make and model

we used to have to qualify with twice a year in my old profession.

It is a pump action which will hold 8  2-3/4 inch shells...

or 6  3" Magnum Grizzly slugs.

These particular slugs are especially high powered (Magnum)...

specially hardened so they will not fragment upon impact...

specially heavy and shaped so they will not only penetrate especially deeply...

but will destroy the largest bones of any predator...

allowing for an immediate takedown...

and if any vital spot is hit...

an almost immediate kill.

The rather small Ruger SP 101 357 revolver 

may seem to be just a toy against a large predator...

however, I have special bear loads which are also specially heavy...

powered...and hardened so they also penetrate deeply without fragmenting.

This...

of course...

will be my emergency backup weapon in case the predator is not put down immediately 

by the shotgun slugs and he gets on top of me.

I have a chest holster for it for immediate draw...

and from which I can draw from either hand...

and in case of the left hand being used...

I can draw and fire from an upside down draw

(I used to have to draw my assigned sidearm using my left hand... 

and be able to fire the gun from the upside down position as part of my training

in my old profession...

in case my right arm were disabled in a gun fight).

I opted for this particular sight as I will not be using this gun for hunting...

or for anything but a close in surprise encounter.

I need to be able to draw, rack, and very quickly and intuitively place a killing shot.

The bright green dot at the end of the barrel will allow me to do this...

even in evening light conditions.

This would be my first response...

if given a choice...and time.

On my journeys...

I will have this in the included holster on my belt for quick draw.

You can see the shotgun scabbard above the shotgun.

I have two of these excellent...

waterproof (not merely water resistant)...

and very large capacity side bags for my trike.

This is the bear spray in the included holster.

Now...

I quickly strapped the shotgun scabbard on to my trike 

just for a photo of how it would attach.

I will most likely mount it to the right side...

as this would allow me to right hand draw the shotgun 

from a sitting position.

This is the chest holster.

It has a quick break snap which will allow immediate draw...

while still allowing secure weapon retention.

And...

once again...

I can legally open carry weapons in my state...

as well as in certain other states.

I quickly attached one of the bags to demonstrate 

how it would look on my trike.  

Of course...

when filled...

each bag would bulge out quite far.

For really long trips...

I would most likely be towing a trailer

which would carry far more supplies as well.

Although such trips will be in the distant future...

it feels good to have what I need for the most part.

I love being alone in the wilderness...

but I also love being prepared.

Now...

do I really expect to have a surprise encounter with a dangerous predator

during my trike rides?

No...

but I never expect to get into an auto accident either...

but I still wear a seat belt.

Sierra Nevada Mountains - Prosser Reservoir Back Roads

 

Song:  Land of Oz

Artist:  Hilary Stagg

I just got back from a wonderful ride in the Sierra Nevada mountains...

starting at Prosser Reservoir...

and turning back around near Boca Reservoir...

only to then head down to the lower portion of Prosser Reservoir.

My younger sister drove my mother and me to the reservoir...

whereupon I off loaded my trike.

I then pedaled my way towards Boca Reservoir on a hard pan and gravel road.

I had pedaled a total of eight or so miles.

Although the road was relatively smooth at first...

it soon degraded to a washboard surface for some of the way.

Much of the route was shaded...

and the air was cool.

I had taken my neck wrap stereo and it played my iPhone playlist the whole way.

My trike was made for the back country mountain roads such as this.

I had such a good time triking alone with nothing but the wind, the trees...

and music to accompany me.

I had met my younger sister near Prosser Reservoir.

She had been driving my mother around so she could enjoy the scenery.

The sunset was bland...

but the ride was so good.

I, once again, videoed my ride.

You can see my Insta 360 on the pole.

I actually don't know how much it recorded correctly...

as on the way back...

during a particularly bumpy section of road...

I noticed that my camera pole had bent down to the rear fender.

Hopefully I hadn't lost too much footage due to the camera pointing up at the sky.

After I post this article...

I will review my video footage and post it on my YouTube channel

(The Three Wheeled Philosopher).

------------

Addendum:  The camera mounting pole had fallen backwards early on...

rendering the whole video worthless.

I will go on another ride there sometime in the near future. 

In the meantime...

I have greatly bolstered the stability of the camera pole.

However...

one good came from this ride...

I realized that the music I play while riding makes for a soundtrack.

All I have to do in the future is to talk as I ride every so often...

and there is my narration.

----------

I had a great workout on this ride...

but even better...

I felt so free among the trees of the forest.

There are many more rides I shall be taking in the near future...

although, some of the roads are not ready to be ridden on...

as they are still muddy from snow melt.

I had last ridden this route with my son...

many years ago...

on our mountain bikes.

This time...

the ride was much more comfortable.

Except on the roughest patches of the road...

I felt as if I were soaring among the trees...

as free as an eagle in flight.

Once again...

for we senior citizens...

a recumbent tadpole e-trike is the way to go.

And...

for offroad usage...

a fat tire trike will allow you even more freedom.

Peaceful

 

Song:  Peaceful

Artist:  Helen Reddy

I pedaled out to another sunset just a short while ago.

My younger sister followed me in the car...

as she had just come back from triking with my elder sister.

--------------

I am speaking from many decades of life experience.

There is a world of difference between merely existing for decades...

and from actively living life with all of its problems...

temptations...

dealing first hand with difficult people...

overcoming challenges...

and seeing people under immense stress and how the true nature 

of the human condition unmasks itself.

Again...

I am not speaking from on high.

I have made many missteps in life myself...

but, I learned from those experiences.

The concept of peace is so often misunderstood.

What too many people do is to simply put out of their minds...

all the things they should be worried about so as to feel comfortable in the here and now.

Others will attempt to medicate themselves to relieve themselves of anxiety 

for any number of reasons.

Worry is the smoke alarm.

Merely ignoring the alarm does nothing to make any changes.

Ignore the warning signs in life...

and your whole house may burn down.

An absence of anxiety does not equate to peace.

It is ignoring the warning device engineered to effect action on your part.

Positive action is actually putting out the fire...

so you will not have anything to worry about.

I see worrisome attitudes among the youth.

They attempt to numb themselves to worry to feel "peace" in the present.

Youth is the time to build your life so that your future is secure

so you may have true peace in the secure future.

This is not to say that one may not feel peace until one has secured one's future.

So long as you are walking the path to a secure future...

you may also feel true peace.

These are the only ways to have true serenity.

Anything else is an illusion you have accepted.

I cannot stress this enough...

there are only so many hours in a day...

and only so many days in life.

You must simplify life so you may maximize

the quantity of quality in it.

Once again...

never let your inner child die.

He or she is the playful and adventurous side of you.

He or she is curious and creative...

and it is he or she who loves deeply and with a pure heart.

The mature you is the one who makes life possible.

Your inner child is the one who makes life worthwhile.

If you don't have at least one creative passion in life...

one which gives you such serenity that you feel the depth of colors...

and your inner core reverberates with music...

yes...

there is something wrong.

This is something that you must work on...

for it means your inner child is asleep.

However...

this also means you have a great awakening in store for you...

and just in this...

you should be happy.

Do not be the one who tells himself that watching TV for endless hours a day...

is living life.

It isn't...

and you know it isn't.

If life is boring for you...

it means that you are boring.

If you are unhappy...

fix it.

It is never someone else's responsibility to make you happy...

it is ALWAYS your's.

To know what makes us deeply happy...

and to pursue that happiness...

is one of our most sacred of missions in life.

Doing this...

and leaving behind a legacy...

is the only way to conquer death.

We only have one shot at it...

do not waste it.

The Three Wheeled Philosopher