Looking for a riding partner in LA this Friday due to fear of bears

[geordanh]

for real.

So I was riding up in Monrovia canyon yesterday and encountered a big brown bear in the middle of the fire road I was riding on. Now I'm freaked out. I'm from BC and used to riding alongside black bears and being smart about grizzlies, mountain lions etc when on back country fire roads, but this was certainly the closest I've ever come to a brown bear. Just about rode over a rattle snake last week and stayed up way too late reading about San Gabriel mountain lion attacks the other night.

I really want to do this loop https://ridewithgps.com/routes/22113464 but have scared myself out of doing it solo. Cell range seems pretty limited in these hills and I'm a big huge chicken when it comes to wildlife.

Tomorrow doing an unknown gravel route with Kyle from Golden Saddle, Thursday riding Baldy, and want to try this loop Friday AM.

Anyone interested in joining so you can ride for help when I'm simultaneously being bit by a rattler, stalked by a mountain lion and attacked by a bear?

[bjf]

Coming from BC, I'm sure you know your bears, but the brown bear/grizzly is supposedly extinct in California. So maybe it was a big, color-variant black bear, or maybe you missed an opportunity to take a photo and make history. Good luck with the fauna.

[Cicli]

You need to post your average speed.
Then make sure the one you ride with is.........slower.

[geordanh]

Originally Posted by bjf

Coming from BC, I'm sure you know your bears, but the brown bear/grizzly is supposedly extinct in California. So maybe it was a big, color-variant black bear, or maybe you missed an opportunity to take a photo and make history. Good luck with the fauna.

Yeah was for sure not a grizzly - was like this one: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/71424344063698620/

Probably not aggressive or anything, more like a black bear probably but still freaked me out.

Cicli: lol

[verticaldoug]

It is just one of the many color phases of black bears. They can come in black, brown , cinnamon, blonde, blue, an even white? You were never lucky enough to see a spirit bear in PNW?

I'd think in the sun in California, the dark brown bears will bleach out a bit.

The easiest way to tell is the big shoulder hump on the grizz/brn vs no real shoulder on the black. The other is the face shape. Grz/Brn have the flat dish face and blacks have the longer triangle shape. Color doesn't work as a tell.

I don't think there has been a grizzly in California since the 20's. So zero chance. Besides, everyone knows in California it is not the bears you need to worry about but the Mountain Lions who ambush you. If the mountain lion in the Canyon doesn't get you, you still may be ambushed by a cougar in a bar or hotel lounge.

[William]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

...If the mountain lion in the Canyon doesn't get you, you still may be ambushed by a cougar in a bar or hotel lounge.

Is that a bad thing?




An ambush deterrent helmet should work on both kinds...



William

[charliedid]

What size bike you ride? ;-)

[whateveronfire]

California black bears (which is what you saw) are very non-aggressive (for bears). They'll eat your camping food all day long, but very rarely engage with humans otherwise. Give them wide berth and they will leave you alone. Especially someone on a bike.

I love that loop. Hope you find someone, I'm too slow to offer.

[parallelfish]

As stated by others, what you encountered was a black bear - they come in various color phases. Backpacking through the Sierras, I have had close encounters with each color - but they are all black bears.

I ride extensively in the San Gabriels, but have encountered bears there only twice. Once climbing the back side of GMR (nothing to be done while climbing a steep incline when a bear crosses the road twenty feet in front of you). Second time a very large brown one, like you encountered, crossed the saddle, where GMR and the ridge road fork, while I was taking a rest.

Running into deer crossing the road is my biggest fear.

Not aware of lion attacks being a big issue in the San Gabriel's. There was a nonfatal attack on Mt. Lowe in 1995. That is the only one I have been able to find record of. They are scary though, how if you do spot one, and blink, they are no longer there. Spooky, knowing that you are likely being observed and unaware of it.

[whateveronfire]

I really really wouldn't worry about the mountain lions. They're not going to let you see them. As long as you're not a deer, you'll be fine.

Admittedly, P-22 ate a koala and P-45 has a thing for alpacas, but they both live in the Santa Monicas and you're not either of those kinds of animals.

[geordanh]

Cool thanks guys. Only ever seen black bears that were black. Had mountain lions on my mind but wasn't aware of bears being a thing around here, so got spooked with a brown one in front of me.


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[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by Cicli

You need to post your average speed.
Then make sure the one you ride with is.........slower.

This made my wife and I laugh out loud. Thanks!!!

[nighthawk]

Timely question as this happened in Anchorage a few days ago:

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2017...hased-by-bear/

My personal experience with black bears over the years is similar to those already stated. I've had them come to my home to remind me to take down my bird feeder in the Spring. I've come across them while hiking and cycling. Generally they don't want to be bothered and will put distance between you and themselves once they are aware of your presence.

I now work (as a wildlife biologist) in an area with one of the most dense coastal brown bear populations in the world. These are the big ones (commonly 10-11' bears). I have had to come to terms with assuming a fairly large amount of risk anytime I head out for a bike ride. I carry a firearm and bear spray, pick my roads carefully (for lines of sight) and am hyper aware of my surroundings. Just about every other ride I have seen a bear, but I always see them long before they see me. I also carry binoculars and they probably do more for me than anything else in keeping me safe. The habitat I'm in is predominantly tundra, wetlands and coastline so it is usually not that difficult to see them first because there are no trees obstructing the view. Still, I have had to alter my routes, end rides early, yell and wave my arms at them, stare down bluff charges, and only once had to shoulder my firearm as a bear approached within 15 yards before it altered its course. Not a pleasant experience, but rare even where I am.

I know this is a much different scenario than you would find yourself in down in California, though. That being said... anytime in known bear habitat it's important to be aware of your surroundings and I wouldn't recommend assuming you know how any given bear will behave. There are several factors that can make individual bears unpredictable (age, health, availability of food resources, time of year, breeding, presence of cubs, etc..). Bears can be aggressive as an act of defense or as an act of predation. Two very different scenarios.

I personally wouldn't let the possibility of running into a bear keep you from riding in that area... realistically the probability is fairly low... but be aware of your surroundings, know how to behave to reduce possible bear interactions, and have a sense of how to react if you find yourself interacting with one (and that might mean defending yourself).

Finding someone to ride with is smart. Larger groups are generally less likely to be approached by a bear. There is plenty of literature online, just do a quick search for "bear aware" or something along those lines. It's common sense stuff for the most part... but good ideas to keep fresh and in mind. Like DON'T RUN AWAY... bears can run faster than you can run or bike.

Hope that doesn't come off as condescending at all.. bears are just a dominant presence in my life right now, and I'm literally the only person in my town that does any cycling. So it's a fascinating subject for me that I don't get to talk about much in the context of cycling.

Here are a sow and three cubs I came across one day at work. She was definitely aware of us.. but all the while kept ushering her little ones to "safety"... (as I was trying not to soil my drawers).

[nighthawk]

Also, I remember hearing about this when it happened last year. While MTBing specific.. the article has some good insight into the accident and avoidance techniques.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdo...y-bear-attack/

[p nut]

Bears don't scare me. Mtn lions and moose do, though. That helmet William posted is a good deterrent, I've heard. Although my friend told me more people die by vending machines than Mtn lion attacks.

When I'm deep in the back country, I do carry bear spray. May not be a bad idea to have one in your mountain feedbag for some quick draw action. If nothing than to make you feel better.