Mountain biker ‘extra blown away’ by bear cub encounter
Mountain biker David Smith was riding down the Skyline Trail at Snowshoe Bike Park in West Virginia on Sunday when he suddenly had unwanted company running beside him.
A couple of bear cubs came into view as he was racing down the trail. Suddenly, one bear ran off in the opposite direction while the other bear ran alongside him for several feet before bolting off in front of him to the left.
The momma bear was nowhere to be seen.
Smith captured the close encounter on video. (Strong warning about foul language.)
“My first thought was exactly what you hear me say in the video,” Smith told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “I was excited to see the bears, initially thinking they would just run away from me and then I was extra blown away when the one cub started running alongside me.
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“We had heard there were a lot of sightings of a momma and two cubs on that mountain in the bike park area.
“I did think I may collide with the cub, so I slowed down to try and let him safely get across the trail. I didn’t want to run the cub over at full speed and I didn’t want to get knocked over on my back or go too slowly in case the momma was coming behind me.”
Smith said he felt more excitement than fear. He figured the momma had run off with the other cub in the other direction.
“That was only the second time I’ve seen a bear in the wild and definitely the closest encounter,” he told For The Win Outdoors.
Photo courtesy of ViralHog.