[mtbikermark]

I thought it would be entertaining to read one another's experiences with wild animals while mountain biking. It could be funny or scary or whatever...

Here's mine:

One day I was riding above Wiskeytown Lake near Redding, CA. It was dusk and I was in a hurry to get in a ride on one of my favorite trails before dark. I was cursing myself for not wearing my glasses because the darkening conditions were making it more difficult to see obstacles in the trail.

At one point I was crossing a remote bridge and noticed that a boulder sized object was blocking the exit of the narrow bridge. As I rode closer, the boulder moved. The boulder was, in fact, a large black bear. I immediately stopped and dismounted my bike...my heart was beating out of my chest! The bear sniffed at me a bit and, seeminly disinterested, wandered off into the brush.

Relieved, I completed my ride but I can't tell you how many times I looked over my shoulder...just in case.

 

[douglas]

pre riding at an XC race (catskill Mtn - Hunter, NY) ....I looked up the hill and there was a 200-250 lb bear crossing the ski slope headed to the trail I was riding up

I decided not to preride the rest of the course

 

[biggins]

i saw some rednecks in the woods once when i was riding.

 

[MMcG]

pre riding at an XC race (catskill Mtn - Hunter, NY) ....I looked up the hill and there was a 200-250 lb bear crossing the ski slope headed to the trail I was riding up

I decided not to preride the rest of the course

Probably a wise move there douglas!

 

[I Are Baboon]

Riding in Southern Cal with Heidi and -BB-, I was out front just riding along on a climb, when I suddenly hit the brakes due to the unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake in the middle of the trail. It was just staring at me rattling away, then slithered off. Certainly not a scary experience, but it was cool seeing a rattlesnake. We don't see them here in New England.

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

i saw some rednecks in the woods once when i was riding.

Come on now, do they get any redder than you? We never did get any banjo playing party?

 

[Echo]

I saw a bear at Whistler... He just looked at us though. Nobody got mauled or anything. That would have made the whole experience much more invigorating.

 

[Westy]

Saw a bear while barreling down a hill, I scared it, it scared me. I went a little slower that day until I got off the mountain.

 

[biggins]

seriously though heres my story:

One day I was riding above pisgah. It was dusk and I was in a hurry to get in a ride on one of my favorite trails before dark. I was cursing myself for not wearing my glasses because the darkening conditions were making it more difficult to see obstacles in the trail.

At one point I was crossing a remote bridge and noticed that a boulder sized object was blocking the exit of the narrow bridge. As I rode closer, the boulder moved. The boulder was, in fact, a large redneck. I immediately stopped and dismounted my bike...my heart was beating out of my chest! The bear sniffed at me a bit and, seeminly disinterested, threw a beer can on the ground and wandered off into the brush.

Relieved, I completed my ride but I can't tell you how many times I looked over my shoulder...just in case.

 

[biggins]

Come on now, do they get any redder than you? We never did get any banjo playing party?

kinda hard to play my banjo when i have a 22 ounce pabst blue ribbon in each hand.

 

[JRB]

Riding in Southern Cal with Heidi and -BB-, I was out front just riding along on a climb, when I suddenly hit the brakes due to the unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake in the middle of the trail. It was just staring at me rattling away, then slithered off. Certainly not a scary experience, but it was cool seeing a rattlesnake. We don't see them here in New England.

I wouldn't mind living there. I have had several encounters with snakes. I also have run into 2 cows on the trails. One here locally and one in Smithville at a 6 hour race. I have also had several skunk encounters. Never sprayed, but concerned none the less. I also got bombed by an owl on a night ride. I saw huge cat prints at the same place a couple of years ago, but don't worry too much about cats around here. It's pretty open at that place.

 

[BurlyShirley]

I nailed a mongoose in Hawaii on the DH course and it died.

 

[DamienC]

I saw a bear at Whistler... He just looked at us though. Nobody got mauled or anything. That would have made the whole experience much more invigorating.

Was that the run that we did where we popped out of Crack Addict and saw that black bear just chillin' out in the open? It seems like we saw bears every day at Whistler, mostly while going up on the lift thankfully. My favorite sighting was seeing some black bear cubs chomping away at some berries while mama bear was hanging out nearby...very cute! Luckily we were well above them in the chair lift or else I don't think I'd be here to tell the tale.

 

[Echo]

Was that the run that we did where we popped out of Crack Addict and saw that black bear just chillin' out in the open?

Yeah that was the one I was talkin' about

I saw a couple other bears that week, but that was the only time I was that close. All that sucker would have had to do was walk about 20 steps to give me a beating.

 

[DamienC]

Okay...so this wasn't while riding but my favorite wildlife encounter was probably coming across this group of Adelie penguins in Antarctica. I had been somewhat disappointed that I had been there for about a month without seeing any and then one day these guys showed up. They didn't do much but they were fun to watch nonetheless.

 

[narlus]

the only bears i've ever seen have been while biking. 1st was out in downieville, on the shuttle ride up to the chimney rock ride. saw two cubs running up the dirt road. later on that day, after the 5 mile climb and the start of the descent, i was in the lead when i stopped because there were two cubs in the trail. my buddy came up shortly after and rang his bell, and they scattered. never did see mama bear, but once all the group was recovened we hightailed it.

saw a bear in moab too, on flat pass. but he was a ways down the trail, in a dry river bed.

coolest sighting for me has to be seeing a fisher, both times in the local woods near my house.

actually, scratch that. after a day of downhilling at sunday river, we were getting ready to head down to the brewpub and were walking to the car when all of a sudden we hear a loud *SWOOOSH*. a peregrine falcon made a dive bomb mission for some song bird but it got away.

and the next day i saw one of these bad boys:

good day, birding and DH'ing.

 

[dh girlie]

I nailed a mongoose in Hawaii on the DH course and it died.

you killed Rikki Tikki Tavi!?!?!?!

 

[SpeedyObnox]

probably the tightest book i have ever read

 

[ioscope]

I ran over a grouse doing intervals uphill on a xc ride with my unc. He has his own xc club in Spokane.

And at Whistler there was a bear in the bushes at the top of dirt merchant, it was roaring and shaking the bushes, I almost pissed myself.
Then my friend smacked a pedal on the "This obstacle's difficulty reflects the skills necessary to complete...." Which was ironic because the sign was not actually the obstacle, but my friend was still unable to complete the sign as an obstable, while he made the ladderthingy fine.

EDIT
And an eagle fighting a crow, and an osprey.

 

[ioscope]

And lots of deer,

 

[Megan Black]

Luckily we were well above them in the chair lift or else I don't think I'd be here to tell the tale.

meh, you'd be here still, those bears up at whistler don't give a rat's a$$ about the bikers....they know what's going down. some of my friends were coming down fantastik when they saw a bear coming towards the drop park. they wanted to hit the drops as it was the last run of the day so they rode ahead anyway, my friend hit the drop just before the bear got underneath it. he swears he would have gapped the big guy if he had to...

 

[mack]

One time while riding in CT, i was on a hike a bike, and got to the top of the hill, ready to kit the DH, it was spring time. But i really had to take a ****! So i took off my helmet and am about to take a crap when i hear a loud BANG!. I was at the top of the mountain, but there was a rock place about 400ft above me and there was a BIG ASS BEAR whod just knocked a boulder off. Well, i didnt crap my pants but i think i took the fastest DH run of my life.
I left my goggles there and have never gone back to get them!

And once i ran over a snake while going to play golf, i felt really bad. sorry mr snake.

 

[jdcamb]

I ran over a Rat on the Charles Street Bridge in Boston on the way to work. I rode past it for 3 weeks after that. The Seagulls picked the carcass clean. It was cool.....jdcamb

 

[-BB-]

Couple of stories:

1) Bear cubs about 5ft off the trail in Whistler (go figure)
2) Came across a pack of wild pigs on thetrail in Henry Coe St. Park. THAT freaked me out.
3) Had to bunnyhop over a snake once.
4) I was riding in Coe another time and there was a herd of cows on the trail.
They ran down in front of me and emptied out all their stomachs and bowels, and I had to ride through it all for over a mile.
There was a fine green mist spraying up everywhere and it go ALL over me. Head to Toe.

 

[-BB-]

Oh.. and a few years back, a bobcat took out a small deer on the climb up to the Crack (SF). It was there for months. I saw it on the first day (not there the day before) and there was tons of meat on it. By the end it was just bones though.

MMmmmm... Venison

 

[Ciaran]

Living in Pasadena in southern California you don't get to see much other than coyotes and rattlesnakes. But one day I was riding the trails in Whittier, which is just a group of little foothills surrounded on all sides by city (Not too far from Pasadena), and come flying around a blind corner and almost run smack into a group of deer. Momma, and two babies. I stop maybe 20 - 30 feet away from them and they just stood there staring at me. After a few minutes of us regarding each other they got bored and casually walked away. It was a beautiful thing.

While this may not be all that amazing to those of you who live in more rural settings, this was an amazing sighting for the middle of the city. Over the years I have seen some other pretty cool creatures, including a scorpion, some big ol fat spiders, coyotes, and many rattlers.

 

[MMike]

I've been to the zoo

 

[.:Jeenyus:.]

Had a cougar come within about 100 feet of me up at a local jump spot in the hills. Just me and my friend up there and we head crackling of leave and called out but there was no response, so we took a peak up over the ridge and sure enough there was a cougar staring back at us. I have never ridden a bicycle faster down from there.

 

[lovebunny]

these

 

[valve bouncer]

Nailed a stray cat one day. Zigged when it should have zagged. A few snakes have been run over and a wild pig sighted.

 

[jeremy155rr]

seen lots of coyotes, fox, turkeys, traces of bear, snakes, no big cats thank God, a swear a wolverine gave me a look one time when i was climbing those things are scary mean critters! okay noone ever believed my wolverine story but i swear on my life i saw one, their not supposed to be this far south. you never know it could have been a rabid possum!

 

[SpeedyObnox]

aww wtf man! why did you have to show me that? i have come pretty close to nailing some when they try staying ahead of me right in front of my tire. but GEEZ thats gross! is it real?

 

[JRB]

okay noone ever believed my wolverine story but i swear on my life i saw one

I saw one in Wisdom, MT and thought it was a badger. Julie wanted me to get out of the truck to take a better picture. We had the "why they say Wolvy berserk, like it's a bad thing" talk.

 

[SoCalsurfer]

Not really a story, but here in Southern California, most stuff you see, is Rattle snakes, deer, lizzards and Cayotes......And of course those darn mountain folks

 

[Ciaran]

And of course those darn mountain folks

In Venice?


.

 

[jimbo_the_biker]

I run into deer on almost every other ride (outside of SST anyways).
Bombin' down some forest roads I was chased by a huge ass dog, fortunately I was going 30mph and it couldn't keep up.

A few months ago at victor falls I ran into a cougar. I didn't get a very good look, but when I checked the prints, it was obvious. Those things are fast. And not too camera friendly either.

BUT, the best encounter was with a grouse. I've never seen such a fiercesome creature. That damn bird chased me for a hundred yards, apparently I rode to close to its nest. I still laugh about that one. I mean, who else has been attacked by a bird?

-James.

 

[SoCalsurfer]

In Venice?


.

No! I Venice there's only freaks...But if you did not now, L.A is surrounded by mountains

 

[Ciaran]

No! I Venice there's only freaks...But if you did not now, L.A is surrounded by mountains

yeah, I know. I live in Pasadena. I was just kiddin ya.

 

[Nate at RIT]

1. Coming down a twisty dirt road, deer jumped out at me. Had to lay it down or hit a deer at 25mph on a bike. People asked why I didn't just hit the deer. "Hey, genius, what does a deer do to your car? Think about doing that on a bike"

2. Saw a momma bear and her cubs on the rails to trails about 10 feet away from me at the last second. Never sprinted that hard in my life

3. Saw a wild boar one time while out on a ride

4. Coming down a dirt road, come around a corner, there's a cow in the middle of the road. Full grown Holstein, probably 1500 lbs. Thank god for disc brakes, b/c there was no where to go

Yeah, I live out in the sticks (when I'm not in Rochester)

Plus all the standard run-ins with dogs. I almost make it a game now to outrun them.

 

[luken8r]

here are the few more memorable ones.
1) while not in the woods...i was riding down the street to my cousin's house and i come aroudn this corner to find a flock of guinea hens in the middle of the road. this old farmer at the bottom of the hill had a zillion of them always running aboot. well, since i was on my old, beat up BMX i couldnt stop and nailed one, went OTB and landed on my back on another one; killed them both and nearly myself in the process.
2) riding down a dirt road i came upon a field with 10 deer just chillin and eatin their fill of free grass. i dismounted and tried to walk my bike to them as close as i could. i got probably within 30 yards of one before it saw me. the thing looked up, snorted and went back down to what it was doing. i tried to get a bit closer, but they all took off.
3) was attacked by the meanest little JRT while riding across the Shepfold in the Fells north of Boston. the Shepfold is this big ass open field, probably 10 acres, where everyone takes their dog. at the far end of the field is the entrance to some of the trails where this little damn dog was. the thing rips off at me, head on and im thinking nothing of it; ive just ridden by 30 other dogs. so this thing runs to my right turns around and bites me in the calf! then it comes over in front of me to my left to do the same thing. i unclipped and kicked the damn bugger right in the ribs.

other miscellaneous animal encounters whilst not on the bike were both in maine this summer:
first, we were rafting down the penobscot and see two moose eatting in the middle of the river. there were a good 20 rafts in the group; we all drifted by them in teh flat water while they just sat there. this may not seem out of the ordinary for most, but my wife and i go on moose hunts to try to see some, but we never seem to find any. weve gone so far as to drive from boston to moosehead lake in maine to take a moose watch ride across the lake without seeing any....twas just odd that the first one that we see were with 120 other people in the middle of the river. was sort of a big deal for us anyway

on a different trip to maine for a second rafting expodition, we went wheelin deep into the woods all the way up to canada. on the way back we see this cat like critter cross the road in front of us. i think it was a fisher...short legs, cat head, maybe 4' long or so.

Finally...for real finally while at soccer practice in college we used to get harassed by some pergrine falcons during warmups. we would all sit down in the middle of the field doing our stretching and the damn birds would dive bomb us, sometimes getting within a few feet of us. odd? not necessarily. however this is in downtown boston, across from the MFA. "When Animals Attack: Urban Style"