Jim,
Thanks for the fuller explanation about your gearing wrt your local hills; that helped a lot. Here in the Southern Willamette Valley, I live in a sort of bowl on three sides, so I often find myself climbing similar long, steep grades. Sure gets one in shape in a hurry!
Have you ever considered using a bear-bell for those occasions when you _don't_ wish to encounter animals? One of my major rides last year was through "cougar country" where mountain lions had taken a number of cattle, wounded some horses and pets, and had begun to lose their general fear of humans. I have a hiker's bear bell, damped by a magnet for silence when unneeded, and thought about taking into the High Cascades with me this early Spring for a test -- assuming it doesn't drive me insane in practice. It might also work as a "tamper detector" on the bicycle at night, should some little animal wish to nibble the mounted Ortliebs for a midnight snack (beware porcupines, who are especially attracted to salt left on gloves, helmets, and Brooks saddles. A friend and I had a small problem with wild foxes at night in the Netherlands' Veluwe park and nature preserve; we awakened to find they had gnawed on my friend's wooden spatula). Of course, in bear country, I always bag my food and winch it high into a tree. I do the same with the pannier that held it, as food odors will often cling to a bag, and I don't think Mr. Bear is too facile at working the closures properly.
Best,
Dan.
