Protecting Ourselves Against Man's (But Not Peter's) Best Friend

     The weather on Thursday was very unpleasant for cycling: fairly strong wind in our faces for the entire 55 mile route, and rain for much of the time. But we're tough, so with raingear and drafting we arrived at our destination town of Silver Lake, MN (population 799) safe and sound, and in good spirits.
     One of the pleasant surprises of our trip so far has been the absence of significant problems with dogs. Peter is afraid of, and hates, dogs, so his biggest concern when we planned the trip was not his strength and stamina for crossing the Rockies or biking 3800 miles, but dog attacks. He researched dog-protection accessories, and learned that the options are ultrasonic dog repellers (which are not very effective) and pepper spray. Pepper spray is illegal in a number of states, including Massachusetts, so he ordered it online for delivery to Carol's daughter Nicky in Philadelphia. He carries it in a holster attached to his bike (see picture below), but fortunately has not had to use it yet. In the 2500 miles we've cycled so far, only 4 dogs have run after us. Each of those times, Peter pulled out the can of pepper spray ready to use it, but in each case we were able to outrun the dogs or they proved not to be dangerous.

Taking a break from the wind and rain on Thursday

Can of pepper spray

Pepper spray in its holster on Peter's bike

Peter practicing his technique for using the spray