Shouldn’t it be “Meese, Bears, and Whistles”? That’s not really the point, but whistles and paracord are the point here.
Bear and moose encounters are a few of the things that Tour Divide planning has caused me to think about. People have various ways to alert the animals or protect themselves from wildlife. One option is a whistle which Jay Petervary and Scott Thigpen used for their Tour Divide rides.
But where is the fun in buying a whistle with a lanyard attached when you can have some fun with paracord and make something yourself?
My lanyard is made from paracord with paracord ranger beads used to adjust the lanyard so it doesn’t hang down as much and get in the way while riding. Ranger beads, or pace beads, are normally used to count distance travelled while hiking. Why be normal when the same idea can be used for adjuster beads instead of pacing beads?
Making the lanyard
Materials
1 breakaway lanyard clasp (can be cut from a cheap lanyard)
1 plastic whistle (less weight to carry around the neck, especially when cycling)
24″-36″ paracord depending on neck size
Slightly melt each end of the paracord and feed it through the breakaway clasp. Once the clasp on, do a heavy melt on the paracord ends being sure to make the melted end wide enough to prevent it from pulling through the clasp. A flat piece of metal works well to make the melted wide and flat.
The next step is to make the cross knot at the bottom of the lanyard. This creates a loop for attaching the whistle and any other items to the lanyard.
Making the Ranger Beads
With the lanyard complete, it’s time to attach a couple of ranger beads. The Paracordist made a good video that shows the process of tying a ranger bead. Why cookies are being bagged during the video, I have no idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkY6gSA8Hl0
The ranger bead takes several passes of tightening to complete. Don’t try to do it all in one pass. The photo below shows a completed bead and one that has not been tightened. Don’t over tighten the bead or it won’t slide along the lanyard.
Close-up of the ranger beads before and after tightening
The final step is to attach the whistle to the loop at the bottom of the lanyard. When riding with the lanyard, slide the ranger beads towards your neck which will prevent the lanyard from hanging down too much.
It takes some getting used to wearing a lanyard while riding, but it’s a good idea to have it handy when in bear or moose country. Although, I guess you could change the Wizard of Oz lyrics into “moose, bears, and bears” and sing really loud. If your singing is as bad as mine, that might be all you need.
Announcements
Don’t forget about Small Business Saturday coming up on November 30th. Hold off on that Black Friday shopping and visit some small businesses on Saturday instead. We small business owners would be very thankful for that.
