Wild dogs and bears won't stop them

Jun 16 2009 By Polly Manser

A COUPLE is starting an epic 4,200 cycle trip across the USA today equipped with pepper spray to scare off wild dogs and tips on how not to get mauled by bears.

Sarah Law, 32, a producer for ITV, and husband Matt Law, 32, an advertising executive, will travel an average of 60 miles per day through mountains, deserts and cities on a journey that will take them three months to complete.

The couple have planned their route – from Florence in Oregon to Yorktown in Virginia – in minute detail with every overnight stop mapped out, mostly on camp sites.

Sarah, a former pupil of Beaconsfield High School and Holtspur Primary School where she was known as Sarah Rider, said on Monday: "In the Rockies we are quite likely to come across bears so we've done our research. You have to make yourself known to the bear and then back off slowly so as not to startle it. We'll have to to put our stove and our food in a bear box and suspend it from the ground. In Kentucky apparently cyclists are often chased by stray dogs, so we'll have pepper spray or Mace to keep them away."

She added: "We have never done anything this big before. We are just two normal people, but we're very excited now, we just want to go."

The route will take them through some of America's most iconic scenery including Yellowstone National Park, and through weather that will vary from snow in the Rockies to scorching heat on the plains of Kansas.

They've chosen to raise money for the Parkinson's Disease Society because Mr Law's father suffers from the disease, for which there is no cure. They'll be chronicling the whole trip on a blog,

www.pannierpeople.typepad.com.

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/pannierpeople