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A few weeks ago I posted a story about a man hitting a bear while riding his bike. I was surprised a few days later when the gentleman (Tim) that was hit commented on the post! Ah the wonder of the internet. I followed up with him and asked for an interview. I think you will find the conclusion of the interview below to be quite inspiring . . .
Q: Tell us a little a bit about yourself and your biking background. And how long have you lived and ridden around Boulder, Colorado?
A: I moved from London to Boulder in November of 2006, although I played hockey for Colorado College in the 1970’s…I am a pretty experienced long distance cyclist, having completed several 200-300 mile events on the East Coast, and Paris Brest Paris (750 miles, one stage) in 1999. I ride regularly from Boulder to Lyons and everything in between. I had ridden to Estes Park the Sunday before my accident.
Q: So how did you find out that bikehacks.com had posted a story on your encounter?
A: After the accident on June 24th a friend told me he had used Google to find the article in the Boulder Daily Camera, so I did the same a couple of days later and found your article on bikehacks.com!
Q: How many times have you descended the same road prior to the accident?
A: Surprisingly it was the first time I had been on that stretch of road. I regularly ride to Jamestown from 36, but on the 24th of June I was out at lunchtime for a short ride and decided to go up Lee Hill Road and then straight on Olde Stage to the Lefthand Canyon intersection.
Q: When you hit the bear were you coming around a corner or did the bear suddenly walk into the road on a straight stretch? What is the last thing you remember prior to hitting the bear?
A: I would like to say that I saw the bear and could have avoided him, as it seems to be the question that I am most asked lately, but I was on a big, clear straightaway heading downhill…very open, and had been pedaling rapidly, but was just coasting fast when on my right I saw the bear running at full speed perpendicular to my path about a second before we hit each other….the road drops off to the right off the right shoulder and he just came bounding up the slope and into the road…it was impossible to see him before we collided. The last thing I vividly remember was the look on the bear’s face….he was shocked to see me, and his mouth was open and his eye was WIDE, and he made a loud noise.
Q: You state that you rode your bike 8 miles to the hospital after the accident. First, YOU THE MAN! What was the condition of your bike and more curiously, were there not any passing cars willing to lend you a hand or did you not have a cell phone to call for help?
A: The bear flipped me completely and this action sent my bike high into the air as my feet were intitally connected to my Speedplay pedals…and the bike was sent an additional 20ft. past my landing spot. I flipped and landed on my back and then rolled several times before stopping in the middle of the road. The bike is carbon, a Trek SSL, the climbing bike that Lance Armstrong rode to many mountain stage victories….a very light bike, obviously, and it bounced several times and came to rest in the middle of the road.
After all the excitement with the bear rearing up on his hind legs and holding his paws high in the air, and the deer coming along and capturing his attention and causing him to growl at the deer and then scamper away as they both departed, I was able to lay back down and try to assess the damage to me and then eventually to my bike. We realized we would have to get back to town as I was bleeding quite a lot from the elbows and knees and the top of my head where a stone must have stuck following the explosion of the helmet.
So we surveyed the bike, and the handlebar was of course completely turned sideways, and the front wheel was completely out of round…but we released the brake in front, tried to straighten the wheel with our own body weight, and made the bike rideable….all the while worrying about broken carbon in the frame, stem, handlebar, etc….all I needed at that point was another crash!
Q: As painful as it might be, can you list all of the injuries you sustained?
A: I had horrible cuts, deeper than road rash on my left elbow, forearm and left knee and shin…my right elbow was badly cut up, as was my right knee and shin. I had a puncture wound near my right kidney that was worrisome initially as I am scheduled for kidney donation in October of this year, and I was bleeding quite profusely from my scalp. But the worst of it was the broken ribs. I have since been to a specialist who said I broke 3 ribs and broke the cartilage in between them….so it has been a painful three weeks!
Q: How about your bike, what kind of condition was it in after the accident?
A: I had my bike repaired with a new Mavic wheelset, new stem, new handlebar, as it is the safest thing to do with light carbon components….one doesn’t want to be descending the next mountain road to find that indeed the stem WAS nurturing a hairline crack!
Q: It’s pretty crazy that right after you hit the bear a deer appeared and distracted the bear - sure the accident was bad, but do you feel like someone was looking out for you?
A: So many people have commented on the deer showing up…my first thought was that I was in Wild Kingdom! Here was a bear on his hind legs with his paws in the air on one side of the road, I am laying in the middle trying to get to my feet so he doesn’t get any more aggressive (as opposed to the prescribed behavior if a Grizzly is encountered at close range…in that case one should turtle and stay down.
But not with a black bear…at least that is what we are taught in Minnesota where I grew up), and suddenly a big deer is standing not 15 feet from the bear…I had no doubt that an eagle was about to pick me up if I didn’t get to my feet!! My sister suggested that the deer was an angel…it is a nice thought, but it is hers.
Q: Any advice you would like to offer to the audience based upon your experience?
A: As far as advice goes, I would caution cyclists that I was hit by a bear going full speed coming from an open area…you need to be cautious every time you ride in the mountains! You can encounter wildlife in forested areas, in open areas, at dusk and dawn, of course, but ALSO at NOON like I did riding in a very open area not far from homes. The second bit of advice is this…get a ROAD ID bracelet…you may need it.
It will help someone identify you in emergency, and it may just save your life. We all love nature, and cycling, but there are some precautions that make sense. Wear a helmet, carry ID, always ride with a buddy, and be a hero and climb up mountains like a champion, but descend wisely, with caution because that’s when all the accidents happen! Every friend I know who has had a bad accident had it going downhill! Think about that.
Interview Follow Up
An incredible footnote the story is that on July 12th Tim “ate lots of ibuprofen” and rode 125 miles over three passes over 11,500 feet. He said he needed to do it to over the mental challenge. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have had a broken rib and know that with three broken ribs and scabs all over me, the only challenge I would have desired facing is not wincing while cracking open a cold beer on my couch. To top it off, dude is donating a kidney soon!
I often hear sportscasters refer to professional athletes as “warriors.” Yeah, warriors that get luxury travel, accommodations, medical treatment, and are followed by an entourage of personal trainers. As far as I’m concerned, professionals athletes could not hold his jock. Long live the recreational athlete! Below is Tim in action last summer.
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Filed Under: culture




7 comments for this entry ↓
1 Ben // Jul 18, 2008 at 5:08 am
I never believed this guy. I call B.S. He hit a bear, but it was distracted by a deer. My ass.
2 josh // Jul 19, 2008 at 10:59 am
awesome interview, and great followup.
i remember first hearing about this story from a friend. i, too, live in boulder, and at first i thought, “surely, my friend got some details wrong, or it was some stupid youtube viral video he was describing.”
thanks for posting this. both to bikehacks and to tim for being so cool and open about his experience.
3 Bear Attack? « In The Spin // Jul 22, 2008 at 5:20 am
[...] July 18th, 2008 by Matt · 2 Comments [...]
4 Tim Egan // Jul 23, 2008 at 9:40 am
The first time I spoke to Matt at BikeHacks, it was obvious to me that he was a very nice intelligent guy. First of all I want to thank him for his kindness and fair treatment of what is clearly an unusual story! Secondly, I want to respond to the comment from “Ben”, who posted his comment on July 18. The trouble with guys like Ben is that they must have such inferiority complexes that they have to mock others, act like smart asses, or make cynical judgement because they can’t put their own hand into the wound. I feel sorry for people like Ben, and I only hope that someday when something tough happens to them (and it will…), that they finally appreciate that honesty, compassion, and trust are the virtues that make our world a better place. Cyclists have always been a cool group of folks…when one of them tells me something I choose to believe it. I was taught that my reputation would always be the most valuable thing I would every own…and at 53 I know that is true. Sorry you can’t imagine something like this happening Ben, maybe someday you will grow up.
Tim
5 Levi // Jul 25, 2008 at 6:05 am
That’s an unfortunate incident, but a great story. It’s nice to hear it “straight from the horse’s mouth” now, because the story the papers printed had it totally wrong.
I shared the same cynical opinion as Ben due to the newspaper printing statements such as “then a deer showed up and scared the bear away.” Yep…
Luckily I can enjoy the real story now thanks to Tim and BikeHacks.com!
6 Cycling Links for July 31 - 100 KM // Aug 1, 2008 at 12:46 am
[...] Bear Encounter Redux: The Interview - BikeHacks [...]
7 Beware! Wild Bear Gangs Have it out for Cyclists | BikeHacks // Sep 15, 2008 at 12:01 am
[...] hit a bear while riding his bike. The victim, Tim, ended up finding our site and kindly agreed to an interview. At the time I thought hitting a bear was an unusual [...]
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