Bicyclist Going 45 MPH Hits Bear In Boulder Co.

[bunnydodger]

Not sure where to post this, but thought this was quite a story!!

http://cbs4denver.com/watercooler/bike.hits.bear.2.757376.html

[PscyclePath]

Not sure where to post this, but thought this was quite a story!!

http://cbs4denver.com/watercooler/bike.hits.bear.2.757376.html


Glad to hear that the bear and the bike both came out okay...

I'm not sure whether Colorado law considers bears and other large critters as "pedestrians," but the 45 mph speed is a little over the top. The law in most states requires that you ride only as fast as you can control your bike and prevent these sorts of collisions, a more common-sense approach is that you should ride only as fast as your guardian angel can fly ;)

Yeah, it's fun and a thrill... but what if that had been a little old lady, or a child that stepped out in the road like that?

[Veronica]

Hopefully the little old lady or the kid would have looked both ways before stepping out into the street. :D

I've always assumed that speed limit for cyclists was the posted limit on the road.

V.

[Melalvai]

Tim Egan, 53, was riding on Old Stage Road Tuesday afternoon when suddenly a bear appeared in front of him. Egan hit the bear and ended up skidding across the road.

"This bear looked at me with a look of terror on his face and sort of made a noise," said Egan. "I looked at him with a look of terror and we went, 'aaaahhhhh.'"

He cracked some ribs, suffered cuts on his head and had road rash. Egan said he and the bike flipped and flew over the bear, hitting the pavement hard.

The bear ran away after the accident when a deer appeared.
The bike hitting the bear is odd enough, but the bear fleeing from a deer?

Egan's nephew ran to help the injured cyclist.

"When I tell people, they say 'right, are you kidding me, who hits a bear?'"

Egan estimated he was going about 45 mile per hour at impact. He said the bear was about six feet tall and probably weighed 500 pounds.

His bike was okay so he got back on it and pedaled to the hospital.
At this point I was starting to think "is this a hoax?"

Egan said he was relieved his kidneys weren't damaged because he plans to donate one to his sister later this year.
I'm nearly sure it's an april fools story or something and started looking for the clues...but it seems legitimate...I didn't snopes it though.

The accident was the second involving a bear and cyclist in Left Hand Canyon in the past two years. A woman in the Boulder Triathlon ran into a bear in the same area last year.
Mark Twain would be proud...truth is stranger than fiction...

[Tuckervill]

But he lives in Colorado. It's almost impossible NOT to go that fast going downhill.

I hit a max speed on my ride yesterday of 34.5. I didn't know I was going that fast until I checked at the bottom. (I was afraid to look away from the road!) That's the fastest I've ever gone. I can't imagine what 45 feels like!

Karen

[wannaduacentury]

Not sure where to post this, but thought this was quite a story!!

http://cbs4denver.com/watercooler/bike.hits.bear.2.757376.html


Poor bear was as surprised as he was. Glad both will be okay. Jenn

[SadieKate]

I'm not sure whether Colorado law considers bears and other large critters as "pedestrians," but the 45 mph speed is a little over the top. The law in most states requires that you ride only as fast as you can control your bike and prevent these sorts of collisions, a more common-sense approach is that you should ride only as fast as your guardian angel can fly ;)

Yeah, it's fun and a thrill... but what if that had been a little old lady, or a child that stepped out in the road like that?Whaaaaat? What does Old Stage Road look like and what is the speed limit? Would you expect there to be pedestrians suddenly darting across your path? Perhaps vehicular highway speeds should be lowered in case? Perhaps bears and deer should be trained to only cross at intersections?

On a mtb ride many years ago, two bear cubs suddenly sprinted out of the forest and across the dirt road just feet in front of my husband. He slammed on the brakes just as Momma came roaring after them.

I feel for both of the rider and the bear.

[Skierchickie]

I can't imagine what 45 feels like!

Karen

45 feels fantastic! As long as the road is smooth, there is no gravel, and, well, as long as a bear doesn't step in front of you!:D

I was speeding today! I was riding down a big hill into town (when I say town, I don't mean town - just the city limits of a town of 7000 people), and working fairly hard to get up to speed. I hit 40.3 somewhere in the 45mph zone, but was at 39 when the limit dropped to 35. Now where is a cop when you need one? I'd be happy to get that ticket.:p

I do not want to hit a bear on my bike. It really does seems unlikely that anybody could hit a 500lb bear at 45mph, not damage his bike, and keep riding. I wonder if it was smaller (it seems like people who come face to face with bears generally think the bear is much bigger than it really is, until they think about it). I talked to somebody who met one when re came around a curve while leading a trail run (race). Afterward his eyes were like saucers, and he said "it must have been 400, ... 300, ...it must have been 200 pounds!"

[SadieKate]

Yeah, most people exaggerate size but . . . .

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Black_Bear

The American Black Bear usually ranges in length from 150 to 180 cm (60 to 72 inches) and typically stands about 80 to 95 cm (34 to 48 inches) at the shoulder. Standing up on its hind feet, a black bear can be up to 7 feet tall[3]. Males are 33% larger than females.[4] Females weigh between 40 and 180 kg (90 and 400 pounds); males weigh between 115 and 275 kg (250 and 600 pounds) [1]. Adult black bears seldom exceed 300 kg (660 pounds) [2] but exceptionally large males have been recorded from the wild at up to 240 cm (95 inches) long and at least 365 kg (800 pounds). The biggest American black bear ever recorded was a male from North Carolina that weighed 880 lbs (400 kilograms)[5].

I'm sure those two cubs who darted out in front of Bubba were around 80 lbs, getting close to Rottweiler size. Mom was muuh much larger, maybe 4 times or more their weight.

[DDH]

Wow, I'm afraid I would have made a mess in my shorts and not been able to ride my bike even if the bike was still ridable.

I can belive the story easy enough. Animals come out in front of cars all the time, dont' think it'd know the difference in a bicycle.
Poor bear, was just plugging along and got hit and it probably still doesn't know what hit it.

[Mr. Bloom]

but the 45 mph speed is a little over the top.


Pfew! I hit 43mph last night...I'm too short to be over the top:D;)

At least it was in an area with a 45mph limit.

I don't want to make light of the whole ordeal, but this quote is just a gem:

"This bear looked at me with a look of terror on his face and sort of made a noise," said Egan. "I looked at him with a look of terror and we went, 'aaaahhhhh.'"

[Tuckervill]

That was a pretty funny comment. Know what else was funny, and I'm just reminded about it now?

In Jamaica, I giant PIG ran out in front of me when I was mountain biking! I couldn't have hit it, but I was laughing so hard I almost wrecked on the rocky road!

Karen

[smurfalicious]

No, the best part today was in the Daily Camera. They have a little section where they put a choice quote from readers. This was todays:

That's how it starts. First someone is running over bears. Next thing you know, they're starting cats on fire. This man must be stopped.

Luckily the bear was not hurt. As you can see from the picture (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Smokeybear.JPG), he shook off the impact and was quite gracious about the whole thing.

[crazycanuck]

I love Smoky Bear :)

Whilst driving from Calgary to Seattle, Ian had no clue what I was on about when i wanted to stop at a Smoky Bear sign..

Running into a bear on your bike would kinda ruin your weekend ya..:rolleyes:

[jesvetmed]

OMG! Last night after the Wed night club ride, we were sitting at the pub, telling stories. And turns out that two weeks ago during club ride, the "fast ones" were coming down a hill and one of our riders hit a bear! He ended up with stitches and pretty beat up/sore. The bear just ran off. He was still pretty beat up the next week -- his wife drove him out to the club ride so he could say hello and check in. What a nightmare!

Jes

[Jenerator]

For those unfamiliar with the area, here's a map from MapMyRide.com (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/co/boulder/649367699) If you check the elevation profile, you'll see why 45mph is possible on the descent.

For the doubters who've been checking snopes, if it made snopes, it would be tagged as true, and it's not the first bear hit by a cyclist there.

Bears are not considered pedestrians under Colorado law, but they do outnumber pedestrians in the area. (I've seen more bears [n=1] in the area than pedestrians) There are a lot more deer in the area than bears, so that makes them a potentially greater hazard. The deer seem to get hit with greater frequency by cars. The bears are apparently better targets for cyclists.

[SouthernBelle]

Even I've cracked 40 on a descent. And I've never had enough nerve not to feather my brakes on this particular hill. Fortunately bears are rather uncommon around here. Deer are not.

[Susan126]

Wow! Interesting story! I usually start to hold back when I reach 40 but DH has gone as fast as 50! He scares me and I have asked him not to go that fast. I think he's only done 50 once. We have a route that takes us to a hill with a 9% grade. He left me in his dust one time and took off down the hill. I noticed a pickup truck behind him. When I reached the bottom of the hill Joe and the truck driver were talking to one another at the stop at the intersection. Joe told me the driver rolled down his window and asked Joe how fast he was going because he could not pass him! That's when I discovered how fast he was going and flipped out!

The guy who ran into the bear was lucky breaking just a few ribs but I don't understand why the bear ran off only after a deer appeared. But interesting story! Perhaps the poor bear was in shock and the deer brought him around!?

[OakLeaf]

See the threads about descending - there are several on here. Anybody in a hilly area is going to see 45 pretty frequently. Where it's mountainous rather than just hilly, 45 is probably unavoidable.

What this thread is making me realize though, is the need for emergency braking practice. Just because of a bicycle's light weight, high CoG, weety tire contact patch and overall skinny profile, it's a whole 'nother skill to get in perfect alignment and maximum traction for a very hard braking maneuver.

How about it, y'all? Any tricks or things to think about? Is managing the front/rear brake proportions different on a road bike than it is on a vehicle with suspension?

[PscyclePath]

There's no saint like a reformed sinner, I guess...

I hit a deer while on my bike in January of last year. I was going down a slight hill, in the dark of course, when I rounded a blind corner and found a herd of deer grazing in the bike trail. I sideswiped this great big ol' doe, hitting her square on the left side of her butt with my left knee and hip. She took off to the left and disappeared, I spun off to the right and managed to stay on the trail and upright on the bike after some fearsome wobbles. I was running about 18-19 mph at the time.

There's a large population of deer in the park behind the industrial park where the DEQ offices are, and the deer are pretty bold when it comes to cyclists. They'll often stand there in the trail and argue right-of-way issues with you.

I've also managed to collide with the biggest German Shepherd dog that I've ever seen, who was unleashed out at the same place just about, and decided to run across the road to his master about the same time I came hurtling by. He got a little bruised, I got a little road rash and tumbled through a blackberry thicket, so we came out about even. The bike was okay, and better off than me or the dog :p

The fastest I've gotten on the bike is 47 mph on a long downhill run, until my common sense/fear kicked in a little and I started feathering the brakes.


Oakleaf:
Braking a road bike in these situations is a whole lot like braking a suspension mountain bike... in fact I'm of a strong opinion that riding an MTB like this makes you a better road rider. Leveling the pedals, coming up off the saddle and getting your rear end (and weight) shifted back over the rear wheel greatly increases its braking power... which in turn helps keep the rear wheel from skidding and keeps it (and your bike) under control.


Tom

[Grog]

Wait a minute.

If there is a bear sitting on the road, do you REALLY want to brake and stop in front of it? In this case it was a black bear, so not horribly dangerous, but still.

What you probably want is to get out of there fast!!! I know the bear's sense of smell is really good, but what about their sight? If they see you are they going to go back the way they came (like squirrels) or keep going across the street? I'd say the priority would be to keep enough speed AND guess the right trajectory of travel to get away from the bear!

[PscyclePath]

Wait a minute.

If there is a bear sitting on the road, do you REALLY want to brake and stop in front of it? In this case it was a black bear, so not horribly dangerous, but still.

What you probably want is to get out of there fast!!! I know the bear's sense of smell is really good, but what about their sight? If they see you are they going to go back the way they came (like squirrels) or keep going across the street? I'd say the priority would be to keep enough speed AND guess the right trajectory of travel to get away from the bear!


I would most likely elect to "quick turn" out of the bear's path/reach, followed by a bit of a sprint to make sure I drop him/her. In my most recent critter encounter/collision back last December, I chose to try the "rock dodge" manuever against an errant opossum. I found out that while rocks (and LCIs' tennis balls) stay still, 'possums don't; and the little booger ran right into my front wheel. So then I tried a mountain bike trick to try to roll over him like a log, and that worked, even with my road bike & pulling a paceline ;-)

It helped convince me that riding dirt whenever I can makes me a better road biker...

[beccaB]

When I lived in Sussex, New Jersey, I was training for a marathon. There were a lot of hills there, we were only 5 miles from a spot where the Appalachian trail crossed a nearby road. It's a difficult concept for most people that New Jersey would have a place like this. It was truly beautiful and secluded in some places. Well, anyway, I was starting up a big hill and I noticed that some animal had just pooped in the road. To be gross, it was still steaming(cold October morning) and it had berries in it. Or looked like it did. When I rounded the corner I saw a big furry black butt disappear into the woods.It wsn't till I got to the top of the hill that I realized I had just seen a bear. Sussex was known to have them. I felt kinda panicky knowing I'd have to go the same way to get home, and was alone, 3 miles from home!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I find it very hard to believe that cyclist going 45mph hitting a static object like a 500lb bear would only suffer some cracked ribs and road rash and then be able to get back on his undamaged(!!) bicycle and pedal to the hospital.
At 30mph maybe, but not at 45mph impact. :cool:

[SouthernBelle]

My understanding is that at a higher speed you skid rather than just landing kerplunk.

[Mr. Bloom]

OK, a slight deviation from the track of this dialogue....

When braking on a steep downhill,

How much risk is there of a blow out


Resulting from riding your brakes hard?

I don't go fast on blind curves or rough roads. But some I ride on truly exhaust me because I have to brake so hard to keep it under 20mph.

Sometimes, feathering and pumping just aren't enough...

[SadieKate]

Don't leave home without them

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=8262&highlight=emergency+stop

[BabyBlueNTulsa]

I hit a max speed on my ride yesterday of 34.5. I didn't know I was going that fast until I checked at the bottom. (I was afraid to look away from the road!) That's the fastest I've ever gone. I can't imagine what 45 feels like!

Karen

A little ot here, but were you on the WNR in Tulsa??

[Tuckervill]

Nope--Does Tulsa have hills like that? ;) I live in NW Arkansas, so there are some real hills--but I avoid most of them.

Karen

[BadgerGirl]

I have ridden on Old Stage Rd/Lefthand Canyon and several others which lead you into the foothills. Foothills in Colorado mean real mountains. It is easily possible to hit 45 mph on you bike on this roadway and I am sure the speed limit is probably 45 or 50 mph. And on this roadway, small children and/or grandma wouldn't be crossing the road. It is a canyon road with a river and sheer rock walls on it. There are a few driveways leading from it.

Just the other day, I hit 42 mph on a hill in Wisconsin. The speed limit is 45 at this part of the roadway. I guess it is how much risk you are willing to take.

This isn't the first time a bicyclist in the Boulder area has hit a bear. I am just glad everyone is alright.

[sundial]

I hit a max speed on my ride yesterday of 34.5.

Where? In Fayetteville?

I've got some pretty good climbs near my house and I did the same speed going down a steep hill. Wheeeeeeeee!!!!

[BabyBlueNTulsa]

Ahh.. Okay. I thought from an earlier post where you mentioned Tulsa that you might live here. :) I understand now...

I used to live in Bella Vista with my parents - some years back, mind you.

Yep - we have a few pretty good gut buster hills over here... One good downer where I've hit 49.2! It IS scary! I cannot imagine hitting ANYTHING and walking away. Woof...

[imdeanna]

Bear attacks teenaged girl during bike raceby Jill Burke
Sunday, June 29, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A teenage mountain bike racer is fighting for her life after being attacked by a bear on a Hillside trail early Sunday morning.

Her own quick thinking and the help of other racers competing in a day-long, overnight event likely saved her life.

Police have not released the victim's name at her family's request but authorities say she is expected to survive.

A sign on the trail tells it all: a mother grizzly bear with cubs is in Far North Bicentennial Park. And she is protective.

She charged at runners a few weeks ago and may be the same bear that mauled the young mountain bike racer.

Medic Mike Crotty was escorted into the dark woods by shotgun-armed officers in order to help the 15-year-old girl.

The teen was participating in a 24-hour bike race hosted by the Arctic Bicycle Club.

Riders, individually or in teams, biked a circuit of Hillside trails repeatedly, covering a loop nearly nine miles in length.

In past years the race was held at Kincaid Park.

Pete Basinger is a former winner who happened to find the teenager after the bear attack.

Anchorage Fire Department spokesperson Cleo Hill says the girl tried to call 911 but was unable to speak. Dispatchers could only hear someone struggling to breathe, who then whispered one word, "bear," before the line went dead.

Operators called the phone back. Another racer picked up the ringing phone and help quickly rushed in. Rescuers hiked nearly two miles to reach the girl.

Department of Fish and Game biologist Rick Sinnott also responded to the scene.

He told the Anchorage Daily News the teen suffered injuries to her head, torso and thigh. She also had a punctured lung, he said.

Police say she has spent the day undergoing surgery and is in critical but stable condition.

[Tuckervill]

Where? In Fayetteville?

I've got some pretty good climbs near my house and I did the same speed going down a steep hill. Wheeeeeeeee!!!!

It was in Rogers. They take me on these club rides and I never know where I am, but I do usually know where I am in relation to XNA! I can always go there and find my way home.

Karen