Bears need jobs too.
Posted on 06/25/2008 10:47:23 AM PDT by MtnClimber
As Tim Egan flew down Old Stage Road in Boulder County on Tuesday afternoon on his bike, he saw a large, unusual obstacle in the way.
Before he could squeeze the brakes, the 53-year-old former Colorado College hockey player was in the midst of a bike-vs.-bear accident.
A black bear crossing the road from west to east collided with Egan, who estimated he was going 45 mph. Egan, of Boulder, was tossed into the air and skidded across the asphalt, suffering a nasty case of road rash, cracked ribs and lacerations to his head, he said.
“If it wasn’t me that was there, I wouldn’t believe it,” he said. “But I wanted people to know to watch out for bears, too, not just cars.”
Tim Egan’s nephew, also named Tim Egan, 21, was cycling with his uncle and said the animal looked like a “big black dog” as they approached from a distance. He said he was shocked to find out it was a bear.
As Egan tried to recover in the middle of the street with help from his nephew, the bear stood on its hind legs at the edge of the roadway. The 6-foot-2 Egan said the bear looked taller than he is.
“As I was there on the road and saw it look at me, I thought, ‘Aw, man. It’s going to come over here again,¤” Egan said Tuesday night after returning from Boulder Community Hospital. “But luckily it had other fish to fry.”
It was other deer, actually. While the man and bear collided, a buck wandered into the scene playing out on the road. The bear turned its attention to the animal and roared, scaring the deer off before running off itself.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycamera.com ...
My guess would be speed, balance and adrenaline.
Adrenaline addiction takes on many forms
Often high risk behavior
Jumping out of perfectly good airplanes
Rock climbing
Motorcyclists (me)
All of these involve unnecessarily high mortality risk activities.
I resemble that remark...
Sorry I was so late.
But I didn’t wish the guy dead.
On the other hand, for a comment like that, I imagine there are a lot of other people who have almost been clocked by some of these idiots.
Kind of hard to miss a black bear anyway - BIG, black, hairy. But then, maybe the rider was just enjoying the wind in his flowing hair, running over his nylon tights, smelling the fresh spring flowers, and had his eyes diverted.
I ate about 20yds of asphalt, broke an arm, and a hand
Good equipment kept it from being much worse
Bike did OK
Blew the deer's guts...
Hmm but no "death to cyclists decked out in those gay spandex plum snuggling outfits".
Cut clean throught it he did. The impact also knocked him cold.
When the paramedics arrived they took one look at him all covered in blood and guts and said to themselves "He's dead, alright." and zipped him up in bag.
When my buddy came to and started screaming and trying to tear his way out of the bag the ambulance driver nearly ran off the road from fright.
The other paramedic fainted dead away....
True story.
L
I actually had a bicyclist pass me on a downhill stretch of twisty mountain road...of course, I was driving a VW bus, so I guess that makes me fair game to everyone.
A friend of mine was riding his motorcyle on a one-lane mountain road, came around a sharp corner to find a bull moose standing broadside in the middle of the road. He said there really wasn't room to go around him on either side and it was all he could do to stop the motorcycle before hitting him. He said the moose just calmly looked at him and then ambled off as if he didn't have a care in the world.
On a motorcycle, I once came over a little rise in the road which had concealed a black bear who standing there not knowing what to do. In the nano-second as I came over the rise, the bear went from zero to full speed. I missed him by about 3-4 feet. Speaking on behalf of myself and the bear, that was far too close.
Bears need jobs too.
Saw that this AM, right under the article about tranquilizing & relocating a mama bear in South Boulder.
My Chiropractor was on his motorcycle and hit an elk a bit north of Lee Hill last year.
Now he (Chiro) needs a Chiro
We got us some critters on the roads around here.
‘Watch out for bears’
Mm.
Important Safety Tip.
Whatever you say Gomer. Just a shame havin to share the road with them there stretchy pant know-it-alls, when everybody knows the road is only there for you and your pickup truck.
But this happened waaaaay up in Northern WI and it was no doubt an all-volunteer medic force.
So, you get what you pay for.
L
” I resemble that remark!”
I am honored:-)
Always Loved skiing Tuckerman’s!
Helped carry one guy down who didnt make it
that night! didnt feel much like skiing the next day:-(
If you’d been standing out in the middle of the road like the bear was then you deserved to get clocked. If the bicyclist was on the sidewalk or you were in a crosswalk then it’s a different story.
I wasn’t in my pick-up (how did you know I had a pick-up?)
I was trying to walk across the street at a crosswalk ONCE and was walking on the sidewalk ONCE.
If I was in my pick up the odds would have been in my favor. I always wanted a fancy hood ornament.
Roads have curves.
A primary rule for driving on roads is you are responsible for anything you hit in front of you. You should be in control of your vehicle at all times unless somebody just steps right out in front of you.
But maybe that rule doesn’t apply to bikers with flowing hair and stretch tight fancy pants.
Because invariably when i hear "Get on the sidewalk" it's from a hayseed in a truck.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.