Just caught up with this post again.

Water: I happily drank from village wells and water supplies without boiling it and with nil effects. Yes there is a risk but I don't think it is high (although years ago I caught hepatitus a in Nepal from following this policy - so sometimes there is a downside). From my perspective i hate the litter and waste that bottled water and canned drinks bring so I am ready to make this trade-off.

Wild animals: Yes always a possibility, but I think very low probability. For most of us the dogs that the locals use to guard their flocks are more of a risk than any wild predator. I certainly would not camp near a local yurt unless I had agreement for that reason. I camped most nights and had no issues other than at one sight where the chomping noise made by the local gerbils as they munched the grass through the night was impressively loud. (And as an aside its hard to predict which animals are dangerous. A kangaroo came sideways out of the scrub and landed on my front wheel, when I was doing 80 km/hr the other day and took me out - that was a lot more dangerous than any other wild animal I've ever dealt with)

Its very easy to worry about too many things when preparing for these trips ( I know I do sometimes) but for 99% of travellers it is not the dramatic stuff such as wild animals, robbers or the like that will cause problems, it is the simple things like a flat tyre, broken bike or the rest. I think it is best to simply do the best prep you can in learning your way around your bike and learning a little (even a few words) of the language, the history and culture of where you are going - then get out and enjoy.