[Skookum]

Did a solo ride in the mountains and came behind a young couple. The guy was packing (get this) a broadsword. It was almost bigger than he was. i squeeked my Orca horn "George" and caught the guys attention as i approached.
The skittish girl freaked out as she turned around. i laughed and commented that it was kind of funny that she be the one afraid, since they were packing a huge frikkin Conan sword.
The guy went on to comment that he was originally from Montana where Grizzlies and Mt. Lions are abundant and that he smelled bear as they got out of the car to start their hike.
i gave out some assurances as i rode by, that critters really don't like eating people. Mainly for the sake of the girl who probably was just freaked out from the guys laughable overreaction.

i just thought it was so funny, i don't even think that guy could have lifted the sword over his head. Too much D&D?:biggrin:

 

[Changleen]

If it was so minded, the bear would still just kill him by the time he hefted the thing.

 

[Skookum]

If it was so minded, the bear would still just kill him by the time he hefted the thing.

Sure of course, and not to mention many bear around here will run if you just fart in their direction.

 

[splat]

..... that he smelled bear as they got out of the car......

so now you smell like a Bear? Dam it man take a shower fer christ sake!

 

[skinny mike]

Ciaran is somewhere unzipping his pants.

12345

 

[Skookum]

so now you smell like a Bear? Dam it man take a shower fer christ sake!

They stole my old smelly camelbak i have a new one now, so i know it wasn't me.:biggrin:

Honestly i smelled bear a few times on the way up. Duuuh, it's the frikkin woods, and there are tons and i mean tons of Huckleberries so ripe on the alpine ridge, they're about to drop....

i should have brought my camera the Autumn colors were very cool lookin...

 

[JRogers]

So.....this guy had an enormous sword just sitting in his car?

 

[stevew]

Too much D&D?:biggrin:

Did he forget to pack his invisible cloak?

 

[Jim Mac]

I have a coworker here in NY who bought a glock "in case he sees any bears while hiking"...then he went on to say that he really, really should get it licensed...oh boy.

 

[S.K.C.]

Ya know I've thought about this... how to best protect oneself if you DO get into trouble... but the broadsword is fu@kin ridiculous.

I ride a lot over at Diablo here in north Jersey, and I gotta say I am getting worried. There has been a TON of construction going on in and around MT. Creek. I spoke w/ the owner of a local pizza shop and he said that in addition to the construction of the new base lodge and hotel at the base of Creek, they are adding a new highway and a whole bunch of other projects. The Days Inn in McAffee just down the road from the mountain is expanding and adding more rooms. They are digging and adding to the hotel right where a black bear and it's 2 cubs used to go rummaging through the garbage dumpster in broad daylight for food.

Anyone who has gone to the U.S. Open will remember this place. But now those bears have lost a "food source" of sorts.

My point is that with all that construction going on, a lot of bears and other animals are going to get displaced - just this past year at one of the Diablo Domination races a bear charged Whitsell while he was doing a practice run. He was already past the bear and the bear was off to his right near the edge of the resort property, but, could you imagine crossing paths with a bear coming around a corner at DH speeds???

I was thinking of talking to shaun about this, and maybe getting riders to wear bells on their bikes so as to let any woodland creatures out there know that something is coming - maybe spook them off... They plan on having a roving Mountain Patrol for next year... hope they've got .375's or something...

 

[eaterofdog]

I have a coworker here in NY who bought a glock "in case he sees any bears while hiking"...then he went on to say that he really, really should get it licensed...oh boy.

Now that is funny. I hope it's at least a 40 cal and not a 9. Shooting a grizzly with a 9 is just going to piss it off.

 

[Westy]

Now that is funny. I hope it's at least a 40 cal and not a 9. Shooting a grizzly with a 9 is just going to piss it off.

Not too many Grizzlies in NY, but in certain areas black bears have become a real problem. Enough people have had poor food disipline that bears have come to associate people with food. A friend of mine has a video he took in the Adirondacks of a bear spending a half an hour tearing into his supposedly bear proof Ursuline bear bag and eating his food. The whole time he was yelling and throwing chit at the bear and it didn't even flinch.

 

[loco-gringo]

What is it with the use of long blades in the west?

 

[splat]

What is it with the use of long blades in the west?

to make up for other shortcomings

 

[Wumpus]

could you imagine crossing paths with a bear coming around a corner at DH speeds???

Bears Seeking Food Near People in Denver

By CHASE SQUIRES
The Associated Press

DENVER - Triathlete Sabrina Oei was speeding downhill at nearly 40 mph, cycling through the Colorado foothills during a race, when something brought her to a sudden, painful, stop: a bear.

Oei, 31, slammed broadside into a black bear when it wandered onto the race course Sunday. She went airborne, then slid on her back across the pavement.

She wasn't seriously injured and even finished the triathlon. The bear didn't seem to be hurt, either, scampering back into the woods.

But the unusual high-speed encounter is a dramatic example of what experts are seeing across the West as drought forces bears to forage farther for food while urban development pushes into formerly wild areas.

Oei said she was focusing on the paved trail in the Boulder Peak Triathlon, which draws more than 1,400 athletes to a course just three miles outside of Boulder. She spotted the bear out of the corner of her eye and knew in a flash she had no way to avoid it.

"It was just unbelievable," Oei said Monday, recovering from scrapes and bruises. "In that moment you think, 'I'm going to hit this bear.'"

Oei's encounter is the latest anecdotal evidence coming in from around the West this year: In Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, a bear climbed into a vintage convertible July 2 and snacked on pizza and beer as a crowd gathered. In Alaska, a bear charged a jogger in an Anchorage city park this month. In Colorado Springs, a woman last week came home to find a bear rummaging through her refrigerator.


http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/1-07252006-688275.html

 

[eaterofdog]

Yes, I am ashamed of myself.

 

[DRB]

Yes, I am ashamed of myself.

Excellent idea. Bad execution.

 

[eaterofdog]

Excellent idea. Bad execution.

Sorry, but I hate spelling like I'm retarded.

 

[MMike]

I would own a bear in a breakdance fight

 

[S.K.C.]

Sweet Jesus...

Wumpus:

Bears Seeking Food Near People in Denver

By CHASE SQUIRES
The Associated Press

DENVER - Triathlete Sabrina Oei was speeding downhill at nearly 40 mph, cycling through the Colorado foothills during a race, when something brought her to a sudden, painful, stop: a bear.

Oei, 31, slammed broadside into a black bear when it wandered onto the race course Sunday. She went airborne, then slid on her back across the pavement.

She wasn't seriously injured and even finished the triathlon. The bear didn't seem to be hurt, either, scampering back into the woods.

But the unusual high-speed encounter is a dramatic example of what experts are seeing across the West as drought forces bears to forage farther for food while urban development pushes into formerly wild areas.

Oei said she was focusing on the paved trail in the Boulder Peak Triathlon, which draws more than 1,400 athletes to a course just three miles outside of Boulder. She spotted the bear out of the corner of her eye and knew in a flash she had no way to avoid it.

"It was just unbelievable," Oei said Monday, recovering from scrapes and bruises. "In that moment you think, 'I'm going to hit this bear.'"

Oei's encounter is the latest anecdotal evidence coming in from around the West this year: In Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, a bear climbed into a vintage convertible July 2 and snacked on pizza and beer as a crowd gathered. In Alaska, a bear charged a jogger in an Anchorage city park this month. In Colorado Springs, a woman last week came home to find a bear rummaging through her refrigerator.


http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...06-688275.html

...now see this was a roadie accident... I'm thinking that if I'm riding DH on my DH bike (off-road, as in Eric Carter/Sam Hill) and plow into a bear in the woods, the bear would be less likely to run - I'm on HIS turf you know... at least that's my thought on the subject.

 

[bella]

My point is that with all that construction going on, a lot of bears and other animals are going to get displaced - just this past year at one of the Diablo Domination races a bear charged Whitsell while he was doing a practice run. He was already past the bear and the bear was off to his right near the edge of the resort property, but, could you imagine crossing paths with a bear coming around a corner at DH speeds???

i know someone who had that happen at whistler, he swerved to miss the bear on the trial and hit a tree instead...

 

[Jim Mac]

to make up for other shortcomings

Now THAT made me laugh out loud at work!

 

[S.K.C.]

bella:

i know someone who had that happen at whistler, he swerved to miss the bear on the trial and hit a tree instead...

...and the bear did what exactly?

a.) Run.
b.) Eat him.
c.) Look confused and walk away.
d.) Offer tips on how to straighten the fork legs on your friends bike.

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>
...now see this was a roadie accident... I'm thinking that if I'm riding DH on my DH bike (off-road, as in Eric Carter/Sam Hill) and plow into a bear in the woods, the bear would be less likely to run - I'm on HIS turf you know... at least that's my thought on the subject.

Black bears aren't really much into confrontation. I was hiking up a trailless drainage a couple summers back in the Maroon Bells Wilderness area and startled a bear about 20 feet away. He hightailed it off into the woods.

Of course, I got the f**k out of there too.

Edit: If you come across a baby bear, though, you're f---ed.

 

[loco-gringo]

Black bears aren't really much into confrontation. I was hiking up a trailless drainage a couple summers back in the Maroon Bells Wilderness area and startled a bear about 20 feet away. He hightailed it off into the woods.

Of course, I got the f**k out of there too.

Edit: If you come across a baby bear, though, you're f---ed.

I think mirrored lensed sunglasses are a huge deterrent. Were you wearing glacier glasses by chance?

I would be terrified by a bear. I am scared of snakes, so I can just imagine what a bear would make me do.

 

[SkaredShtles]

I think mirrored lensed sunglasses are a huge deterrent. Were you wearing glacier glasses by chance?

I may have been.....

I would be terrified by a bear. I am scared of snakes, so I can just imagine what a bear would make me do.

It was a bit.......... unsettling.

 

[pinkshirtphotos]

i live in vernon. down the street from diablo at that. and the bair problem has been getting worse. i will admit it. the over population of the town has increses this problem. I live in an old farm house so the bare know to leave it alone. The big problem is that they bares arent coming out of the wood we are moving into the wood. We shouldnt bitch about bares at diablo. Nor should we worry about them. We are in there territory so we have to respect that.

 

[eaterofdog]

If you come across a baby bear, though, you're f---ed.

No, if you come across a baby bear, you are a nasty bastid.

 

[reflux]

I would own a bear in a breakdance fight

What if the bear was in a weaver stance?

 

[loco-gringo]

No, if you come across a baby bear, you are a nasty bastid.

Oh dear.

 

[Westy]

I happened upon a large black bear while hiking in the tetons. I was being stupid and not really looking ahead of me and I damn near tripped over the thing. It basically just looked at me, sniffed then went back eating berries. I tried to scare it off by yelling and throwing stuff but it just ignored me. I had to bushwack off the trail a bit to get around it.

 

[MMike]

hehe hehehheh heh......"tetons"

 

[Jeremy R]

i live in vernon. down the street from diablo at that. and the bair problem has been getting worse. i will admit it. the over population of the town has increses this problem. I live in an old farm house so the bare know to leave it alone. The big problem is that they bares arent coming out of the wood we are moving into the wood. We shouldnt bitch about bares at diablo. Nor should we worry about them. We are in there territory so we have to respect that.

I am so scared of bares that I can bearly sleep at night.
I wake up bear naked and screaming.
I am bearly holding onto my sanity.

 

[loco-gringo]

I am so scared of bares that I can bearly sleep at night.
I wake up bear naked and screaming.
I am bearly holding onto my sanity.

Nice.

 

[rideit]

I live in an old farm house so the bare know to leave it alone. .

that is one of the stupidest general comments that I have ever read regarding bears.

 

[Konabumm]

he smelled bear as they got out of the car

haha he smelled bear

 

[llkoolkeg]

In an autoloader, anything smaller than a 10mm would be foolhardy to squeeze off into a black bear.

But a broadsword...and likely one of those cheap, dull, crapmetal Rennaissance Ranger things beat together in India right next to the smith's tandoor??? Mmike would stand a better chance of survival after rolling a breakdance wave across his chest into a backhand pimpslap of the bear, all the while jigging in motley with his pockets honeycomb-packed.

 

[urbaindk]

haha he smelled bear

Did somebody say bear?

 

[loco-gringo]

In an autoloader, anything smaller than a 10mm would be foolhardy to squeeze off into a black bear.

But a broadsword...and likely one of those cheap, dull, crapmetal Rennaissance Ranger things beat together in India right next to the smith's tandoor??? Mmike would stand a better chance of survival after rolling a breakdance wave across his chest into a backhand pimpslap of the bear, all the while jigging in motley with his pockets honeycomb-packed.

I wonder if it has flat edges even. Nice description of the dance off.

 

[dante]

bella:


...and the bear did what exactly?

a.) Run.
b.) Eat him.
c.) Look confused and walk away.
d.) Offer tips on how to straighten the fork legs on your friends bike.

screw that, I'd steer right into the bear. can't imagine slamming into a tree at high speed and having a bear look up, calmly walk over and start picking at my carcas. :biggrin: