Bicycle Hunting

Over the last couple of years I have been trying to do more hunting that involves as much physical effort on my part by relying less on machines with motors to get me to my hunting locations.  I don't mean to imply that I am not driving my truck or boat at all to get to the hunting locations, I'm just trying to use them less or as little as possible occasionally with the intent of doing this more often.  My reasons for this are solely for my own enjoyment and satisfaction and the feeling of earning what I get not for some kind of climate change stance or a holier-than-thou environmentalist attitude.  I love riding a bike, I love kayaking, and I love hunting so combining them just makes sense for me when practical.
I recently did a 24 mile bike bear hunting trip that was successful as a bike ride and wildlife viewing trip but not as a hunting trip and thought I'd share a few pictures of how one bike hunts.

I did use my truck to travel the 13 miles from town to the end of the pavement where the dirt Forest Service roads begin and then from there switched from truck to bicycle to pedal a 24 mile trip involving a road that makes a loop and a trail that ends at a very scenic and peaceful lake.

Where a solitary beaver swam back and forth not far away.  I saw one beaver, one deer, one porcupine, and one wolf on this trip.  Unfortunately, the wolf heard my bike make a loud clunking shift as I was changing gears to go up a steep hill so got spooked before I was able to get out my camera.  I didn't see any bears on this trip but did have a very close encounter with one as I topped a rise on the road and heard and saw the bushes and small trees right next to the road shaking as a bear ran away from the strange two wheeled creature that suddenly appeared.  The bear must have been a couple of seconds from having been on the road when I came upon it as the shaking bushes were only a few feet from me when I passed.

Most of my hunting gear including some extra clothes were in the bag under my seat and in the bag inside the triangle of the frame.  I was also wearing a small backpack mainly for my hands free water bag but also had my camera and a few other things in it as well.  I'll be riding a 56 mile route on Wednesday that is the cycling portion of a triathlon that will be happening here at the end of the month but I won't be taking a rifle or hunting gear so I'm sure to see a giant bear!  I probably won't even be taking a camera on that ride so I'm also bound to see Sasquatch or some other equally legendary or unusual creature.