Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Video: Drivers in Canada save cyclist from grizzly bear attack

Young and hungry bear was following cyclist up a slow climb

Two pick-up truck drivers in Canada were caught on camera coming to the aid of a cyclist who was being followed by a grizzly bear.

Robbie Flemming was driving from Calgary toward Radium on July 14 when he saw a cyclist with full touring gear riding slowly up a long climb.

He told Global News: “All of a sudden, I see a young grizzly jump over the Banff-bound guardrail in front of a tour bus and go loping across the highway.

 

“As he gets into my lane…he stands up on his back feet, and I’m sure he can smell that cyclist coming for a bit, and I’m sure he had visions of supper.”

“It was very surreal,” he added. “My first concern was that I was going to hit the bear. And then I realized I wasn’t going to hit the bear and then, OK, ‘He’s after that cyclist.’”

He began hitting his horn to get the cyclist’s attention, seeing that his speed would not outrun the bear.

“Finally he looked over at me and I said, ‘You’ve got a grizzly bear about 25 feet behind you.’ He looked back and went, ‘Oh!’ and started to pound on the pedals.”

He pulled his truck in between the rider and the bear, and turned his hazard lights on. A second pickup-truck driver saw what was happening and also pulled in between the space between the bear and the cyclist.

Once the cyclist was out of the bear’s line of sight, the rider gave a thumbs up to the drivers and rode on.

Cassie Beyer and Donald Poster of Idaho who were in a camper van, took photos at the scene

“He saw the cyclist, we were going down, he was coming uphill and the bear was chasing him,” Beyer told Global News. “It looked like the bear was after the cyclist.”

“His head was turned, he was looking back, he knew [the bear] was back there.”

In 2013, we reported how Brad Paras posted footage to YouTube that showed him and his cousin being charged three times while out on their bikes in Alberta, Canada by a female grizzly bear protecting her cub, with both riders escaping unscathed.

 

Add new comment

15 comments

Avatar
fustuarium | 6 years ago
1 like

Riding around Banff, Jasper, Whistler, Wells Grey etc without bear spray is as dumb as riding at night without lights. That bear was helping us improve our genetic stock.

Avatar
esnifador replied to fustuarium | 6 years ago
3 likes

fustuarium wrote:

Riding around Banff, Jasper, Whistler, Wells Grey etc without bear spray is as dumb as riding at night without lights. That bear was helping us improve our genetic stock.

How do you know for sure he didn't? Admittedly it's very much a hypothetical question given that I cycle around the fierce wilds of Cambridgeshire, but I like to think that I'd try to pedal away from a bear as fast as possible (even if that is actually rather slowly) as my first line of defence rather than letting it get close enough to make bear spray the only only option.

Avatar
HarrogateSpa | 6 years ago
0 likes

Not keen on the video format - steam is coming out of my PC as it tries to load.

Avatar
Carmic0 | 6 years ago
3 likes

The white van equivalent.

 

Avatar
Grahamd | 6 years ago
3 likes

I still think it's more dangerous cycling in the UK.

Avatar
dottigirl | 6 years ago
4 likes

'a cyclist with full touring gear'

Masterful understatement. Looks like he has everything but the kitchen sink. Wonder what his ride was?

Avatar
Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
4 likes

Is a bear-assisted KOM cheating?

Avatar
bobrayner replied to Yorkshire wallet | 2 years ago
0 likes

A couple of years ago, I had a close encounter with Cape baboons in South Africa. Just a pity it wasn't recorded on Strava (or whatever other app). I'll never match that power output again, never in my life.

Definitely worth a try if you want to set a PR.

Avatar
wycombewheeler | 6 years ago
2 likes

Over here I wonder if the drivers would be helping the bear.

Avatar
burtthebike | 6 years ago
2 likes

Just a bit surprised that the grizzly went after a skinny, sinewy cyclist when all those extremely large and tender Americans are on offer.   But maybe they never get out of their cars.

Avatar
ConcordeCX replied to burtthebike | 6 years ago
6 likes

burtthebike wrote:

Just a bit surprised that the grizzly went after a skinny, sinewy cyclist when all those extremely large and tender Americans are on offer.   But maybe they never get out of their cars.

maybe s/he didn't have a tin-opener

Avatar
brooksby replied to ConcordeCX | 6 years ago
3 likes

ConcordeCX wrote:

burtthebike wrote:

Just a bit surprised that the grizzly went after a skinny, sinewy cyclist when all those extremely large and tender Americans are on offer.   But maybe they never get out of their cars.

maybe s/he didn't have a tin-opener

maybe s/he just wasn't smarter than the average...

Avatar
Bentrider | 6 years ago
6 likes

So always remember, if you ride your bike with a bear behind, you'll end up all over Facebook!

 

I'll get my coat!

Avatar
ConcordeCX | 6 years ago
6 likes

Nothing to worry about here - the helmet would have saved his life. 

I always carry a pearl-handled revolver in case a grizzly follows me across Blackfriars Bridge.

Avatar
don simon fbpe | 6 years ago
4 likes

It'll never catch on as a training tool.

Latest Comments