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Video: Drone footage shows black bear chasing cyclist

Scary incident happened on a trail in Montana ... luckily the rider got away

We’ve featured videos on road.cc before of bears chasing cyclists – but this is the first one we’ve seen where the footage was shot from a drone, which provides for some heart-stopping moments as the animal cuts corners to try and catch up with a downhill mountain biker who luckily manages to outpace it.

The video was shot last year, according to the entertainment website TMZ, but has only now been shared online, with Montana Knife Company posting the clip to its Instagram feed this week.

It’s one thing trying to outrun a bear on the flat or better still a descent, but what if it comes after you as you’re riding uphill?

That’s what happened to a cyclist in Alberta, Canada in 2017, who was alerted to the fact a grizzly bear was chasing him by a pick-up driver, who said afterwards that he believed the animal “had visions of supper.”

> Drivers in Canada save cyclist from grizzly bear attack

The motorist and another pick-up driver who saw what was happening managed to insert their vehicles between the cyclist and the bear, which helped the rider get away.

“It was very surreal,” said the driver, Robbie Fleming. “My first concern was that I was going to hit the bear. And then I realised I wasn’t going to hit the bear and then, OK, ‘He’s after that cyclist.’”

After beeping his horn repeatedly, he managed to attract the cyclist’s attention.

“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.”

Well, you would, wouldn’t you?

The latest clip was filmed near Whitefish in the Rocky Mountains in northwest Montana, with the town acting as a gateway to the Glacier National Park.

Speaking about the black bear’s pursuit of the cyclist, a spokesperson for Montana Bike Company, who confirmed the cyclist had made it to safety, told TMZ: “This is why even bikers and hikers should be carrying out knives!”

You can’t blame them for taking the opportunity of trying to plug the products they’re selling – although better advice on how to ensure you aren’t caught while out cycling in bear country might be to always ride with someone else, and ensure they are slower on the bike than you are.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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15 comments

Avatar
Jenova20 | 3 years ago
1 like

Wait...This isn't the NASA Mars drone footage I was expecting...

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hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
4 likes

I don't think that bear was really trying to catch the cyclist - it looked a bit more casual than running flat out. Bears can run at up to 35mph so you have to be going fairly fast to out-cycle them. I'm not sure that carrying a knife is going to be much protection from a bear.

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brooksby replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
2 likes

Isn't there some woodsy advice: you don't need to be able to out-ride the bear, just be able to out-ride the guy behind you...

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Sriracha replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
2 likes

That breaks down when the guy behind is also behind the bear, as here.

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hawkinspeter replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
0 likes
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PRSboy replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
1 like

Reminds me of the good advice I was told; if you have a gun, and you are about to be attacked by a bear, shoot yourself.

Lucky we have squirrels here in Britain, not bears.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to PRSboy | 3 years ago
4 likes
PRSboy wrote:

Reminds me of the good advice I was told; if you have a gun, and you are about to be attacked by a bear, shoot yourself.

Lucky we have squirrels here in Britain, not bears.

We have what now?

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joe9090 | 3 years ago
5 likes

"Oh hi, thanks for calling me back about the job, just a second, bear with me..."

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Captain Badger | 3 years ago
2 likes

Fancy! Out on the trails with a bear behind.....

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cbrndc | 3 years ago
3 likes

What seems remarkable is that the bear had worked out that the rider would follow the trail and that the best strategy to catch him was to go direct down hill to intercept him as he turned back towards the bear on the trail.

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Sriracha replied to cbrndc | 3 years ago
1 like

Or maybe the bear was running away from the following cyclist who was chasing him.

Of course the bear would have figured that he did not need to outrun the cyclist who was chasing him, but only overtake the cyclist in front, hence the shortcuts.

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joe9090 replied to cbrndc | 3 years ago
0 likes

Yogi?

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Grahamd replied to joe9090 | 3 years ago
0 likes
joe9090 wrote:

Yogi?

No, Yogi was brown and less athletic.

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PRSboy replied to Grahamd | 3 years ago
4 likes

And he was interested in Pic-a-nic baskets, not cyclists.

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Awavey replied to PRSboy | 3 years ago
3 likes

My mum had a Pic Nic bike (yes folding bikes existed before Bromptons), maybe the bear misread the logos  3

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