Video: Mountain Biker Captures Bear Encounter While Self Filming

A mountain biker has posted footage of an encounter he had with a black bear while filming himself on the North Shore.

The encounter occurred on August 10 and shows the rider pushing back up for another run when the bear appears behind him. The rider makes himself look bigger and stands his ground, which is enough to scare off the black bear who then decides to investigate his camera instead before moving off and leaving the rider alone.

A look back through Viral Hog's channel also shows another close encounter with a bear we hadn't shared before. This time a bear cub runs alongside a rider at Snowshoe in June. The rider said, "We were biking down the Skyline trail at Snowshoe Bike Park Sunday morning, 6/20, and saw the bear cubs off to the right of the trail before one ran out in alongside me. We looked out for the momma bear but didn’t see her around and kept moving. There were 2 other bikers behind me. There had been many recent bear sightings in this area."


It's worth bearing in mind that when we ride we do so in the territory of wildlife that was there long before us and needs protection from us more so than we do from it. Remember the four S’s if you ever do encounter a bear out on the trails or at home: Stay Calm, Stand Still – Do Not Run!, Speak calmly, Slowly back away (Credit: NSMBA). For more info on how to behave and safely coexist with these bears, please have a look at this website.