Bicycling across the USA: to carry or not to carry?

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SleazyRider

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God willing, for my 61st birthday next June I plan to bicycle from Seattle to New York, a journey I've been contemplating for many years. I'll be travelling solo and self-supported, camping out most nights along my generally northern route.

I can make an argument both for and against taking along my Ruger LCP. The pros are obvious: self-protection and survival. The cons pale in comparison but add up quickly: WA,IL, MN and OH don't honor my carry permit; the hassle of transporting a firearm (along with a bicycle) on an airline; securing the firearm during travel stops; camping in state/town parks that prohibit firearms; weight; et cetera. I'm not even sure I can be in possession of an unloaded firearm in some of these situations, and I certainly won't have a trunk in which to secure one. Part of me says leave the gun at home and pick up a can of bear spray in Seattle.

During the day I'll be at the mercy of inattentive motorists and dog attacks; at night I'll have only the protection afforded only by my tent and sleeping bag, a vulnerable and altogether indefensible position. In the past, I've resorted to sleeping in barns (with permission), backyards (by invitation), and even baseball dugouts. It would be nice to have the Ruger by my side.

I value the advice of THR members and would appreciate your input with regard to carrying a firearm during this endeavor, or any alternative means of protection you could suggest.
 
Couple of answers: In less than a year's time you should be able to pick up your UT permit. It isn't difficult or all that expensive and then you'd be perfectly legal in WA, MN, and OH. IL is annoying, but there's folks here who can help you stay on the right side of the law there. (A case "in" your "vehicle" should do it, I think.)

No way I'd be rolling the dice that many nights out without something at hand more potent than a harsh word.

I will say I'd absolutely carry OC spray as well.
 
Stay out of New Jersey, unless you are passing through in a motor vehicle and make no stops and everything is securely locked in the trunk under FOPA. If you can stay out of New Jersey, I think you will be in good shape.

Good Luck
 
Personally, I'd stop in PA and have a local gun shop ship the handgun back to you in care of your local dealer before I crossed into New York. That will cost you maybe $30-$50, but I'd definitely want the gun throughout the rest of my route and I'd definately not want to be found with it in New York which is a black hole of awfulness for pistol owners.

Also, be careful about NY and pepper spray. The animal sprays are lawful to carry, but human defensive sprays aren't legal to sell, and I'm not sure what happens if you use the stuff on a person. I assume you'll have to defend your actions in court and proving your need to defend yourself would probably be an affirmative defense to an unlawful use charge, but I'm just not sure. Be good to find out.
 
I'd avoid the communist states or do as advised above and ship the pistol on the outskirts.

As for cycling and firearms... I use to commute in a small city every day. In just that scenario, I was hit by a car twice, chased by a psycho once, and had two guys try to knock me off my bike and steal it.

Please be aware and remember to stay alert to stay alive.
 
Avoiding IL and NY would be awesome, but really that's not terribly practical. If he cuts across the top corner of IL he could be through and gone in two days. Otherwise, probably 10x longer to go around. Probably worth the risk, even though that's Chicago.

And if NY is his destination, well, then that's where he wants to go. If he's just looking for "sea to shining sea" he could stay down in PA and then cut across through Delaware, which would be MUCH more pleasant. But DE ain't NYC. And if you want to experience NYC once just to say you did...well, might as well ship the gun home and go for it.
 
Many people do this just fine without a gun. I think some pepper spray would probably assuage your fears well enough.

(I want to try bike touring some day and considered this as well. Basically decided it was too much trouble trying to figure out how to secure a weapon on a bicycle.)
 
I've done a similar trip (Bikecentennial, Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA.) I had a long debate with myself about carrying and decided not to.

A dowel rod, about 30" long and 1" or 7/8" or so, will suffice for dogs. Dogs were only a real problem in Kentucky; one day I was chased 7 times, not counting dogs too small to do harm.

Western US; churches and the like will let you camp. Eastern US small towns the local high school is usually on the outskirts of town; camp behind the school close to the building (not visible from the road). Parks with moderate to high traffic are not good campsites.

Train a lot before you start the trip but remember that no matter how hard you train you are not in shape for loaded touring and the first week will be tough.

The hardest part of doing this is getting out to the start point with all your gear that first morning. This is where >90% fail. The ride is the easy part; one day at a time.

Your bike is geared too high. You need a low gear of around 20". Think 24 tooth front/28 tooth rear cogs. If you don't have this your knees will be hurting and you may have to walk up some hills.
 
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These days with the wonderful recent improvements in carry laws all across the country, and light and effective handguns easy to find, carrying on a trip like this is far easier than ever before.
 
Wow! Appreciate the thoughts so far. I never considered the Utah permit option, but the classes are available at my local Gander Mountain---I think I'll sign up.

I live in New York State, Sam, just 50 miles west of the Big Apple, so I won't need to venture into the city or New Jersey. It's perfectly legal for me to carry in New York and Pennsylvania, as I have CCW permits in both. It's my PA permit that gets me the reciprocity, not New York, which doesn't give me reciprocity with any state.
 
AAAaahhh, completely missed that! Well then, you're perfectly set! Sheesh, I was thinking OR ---> NY and missed the obvious point that you're already covered in NY.

So about 100 miles of IL is all you have to "worry" about, and that's no problem with their definition of a "container" if I understand right.
 
mahansm said:
I've done a similar trip (Bikecentennial, Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA.) I had a long debate with myself about carrying and decided not to.

A dowel rod, about 30" long and 1" or 7/8" or so, will suffice for dogs. Dogs were only a real problem in Kentucky; one day I was chased 7 times, not counting dogs too small to do harm.

Western US; churches and the like will let you camp. Eastern US small towns the local high school is usually on the outskirts of town; camp behind the school close to the building (not visible from the road). Parks with moderate to high traffic are not good campsites.

Train a lot before you start the trip but remember that no matter how hard you train you are not in shape for loaded touring and the first week will be tough.

The hardest part of doing this is getting out to the start point with all your gear that first morning. This is where >90% fail. The ride is the easy part; one day at a time.

Your bike is geared too high. You need a low gear of around 20". Think 24 tooth front/28 tooth rear cogs. If you don't have this your knees will be hurting and you may have to walk up some hills.
Click to expand...

The thought of pulling over at a school after a hard day's ride and seeing the "GUN FREE SCHOOL ZONE" sign gives me pause. Ditto for town parks.

I'm curious: did you mount the dowel rod on your frame? Perhaps I should bring my sjambok, though it's kind of heavy. Maybe Velcroed to the top or down tube?

Thanks for your thoughts on gearing!
 
Yeah, regardless of what permits you hold, STAY OUT OF SCHOOL ZONES!

A permit to carry allows you to do so only in the state that issued that permit (and, of course, only if that state's permit allows you to). That's federal law, and reciprocity agreements do not trump the GFSZA.
 
@ Sleazyrider

Unless they changed 'again' the state parks allow the carry of a CCW [ especially as in CONCEALED carry ! ].

I live in Western NYS and a retired LEO,so I fully understand your thoughts and I appreciate the fact that you want to be safe and yet avoid jail ---- or the morgue.

The jambock is a weapon and as such NYS will not allow it,and if a LEO is being a tool = your in trouble.

Think TOOLS that are legal to carry in the manner of bystepping the law against being armed [ which is legal as far as our RIGHTS state ].

I like Cold Steels shovel,and any "tool" that can double as a S/D instrument.

There is a very nice mini shovel that is VERY solid and not a takedown,you can also make a VERY valid point of having a small axe/hawk as a tool for camping :neener:.

As to your age,I too have gone past that and see that we are allowed to be considered 'old' and therefore harmless :evil:.

Use that to your advantage,except in areas that are dangerous.

Besides a 'short' long gun is legal and easy to use and might provide many answers to all your problems.

I too prefer to be armed at all times.

Hope its a great trip and that you post it here so we all know how it goes.
 
Sleazyrider,

I carried the club under the bungee cords holding the sleeping bag and tent on the top of the rear rack. It was angled to allow me to grab it with my right hand and pull it out.
Frame pumps work to discourage dogs but in my experience are not repairable after the third hit (Zefal HP). Pepper spray or a spray from a water bottle don't discourage determined dogs. On a hot day water may be in short supply anyhow.
I didn't carry a firearm on my trip and didn't consider such when recommending camping behind schools.
The only untoward incident I had with humans was in Lander, WY, in a public park. I ended up spending the rest of the night in the police station parking lot.

Good luck on your trip.
 
You can avoid Ill all together if you want and not go too far out of your way or maybe it won't be out of your way at all depending on how far north you are in WI to begin with. There is a Ferry that goes from Milwaukee almost straight across Lake Michigan to Muskegon Michigan. You would just have to time it for the right time of day to catch it in the morning in WI. Not sure on cost but then you would not have to deal with Ill at all.
 
Just had a friend from PA ride his bike from LA to FL for Wounded Warriors.

http://wnep.com/2013/02/27/bicycling-coast-to-coast-for-wounded-warriors/

He brought his bow with him. Turns out that he found out about an old Texas law where you can't carry arrows openly in public! :eek:

Great advice to check into as many laws as possible, and don't forget those obscure ones in little towns and such. Good luck on the ride.
 
If you have a sjambok, can't you mount it vertically to your bike someplace and put an orange safety flag at the tip? Presto! Instant justification.
 
Sam1911 said:
If he cuts across the top corner of IL he could be through and gone in two days.
Click to expand...
The problem with that is, that "corner of IL" between WI and IN is ... Chicago - the one place in Illinois where it's the most hassle, yet needed the most. Taking the ferry, as hi-tower suggested, might be your best bet up there. If, however, you find yourself in the southern part of the state, you'll have less hassles. I live just about 35 miles east of St. Louis, and would be happy to give you a gun-friendly place to sleep for the night.
 
A former co-worker of mine spent a year planning and training for a similar trip about 12 years ago. He was going to bicycle from MI to WY and back. From what I can remember, he told me that weight was one of the most critical parts of the trip. He had a detailed list of the things he needed and wanted to bring along and gram weights for everything. He had to shave the list down to keep his weight low as to not get fatigued on the trip. He spent alot of time with this. I can also remember that he planned to sleep in cemetarys often. He concluded they were one of the safer and more private places at night.

Unfortunately, he never made his trip because someone stole his bike a few days before he was set to leave. It was a big deal around here. Even made the news paper.
 
Well since his final destination is NY, and he's gun will not be allowed there doesn't that mean FOPA doesn't mean jack on the rest of the journey?

In my CHL class I was taught that FOPA only applies if the final destination will accept you cargo.
 
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