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/bi....2.757376.html

[PscyclePath]

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

http://cbs4denver.com/watercooler/bi....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.

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/bi....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!

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.

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

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, 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..

[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