What's that out of the corner of my eye?..........

topcat33
topcat33 Posts: 57
edited July 2009 in The bottom bracket
Yep, it's a Grizzly Bear!!! :shock:

I saw him while cycling up Highwood Pass (supposed to be Canada's highest public road) He did look up at me while I was taking the picture but fortunately he just carried on. At this point I removed my headphones for the rest of the ride as I figured I might need all my senses!

Cracking ride though, Highwood Pass is a stunning road, goes up to 2200m.

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Comments

  • fletch8928
    fletch8928 Posts: 756
    I saw a similar thing today, granted it was in england, i was on my mountain bike and it was a




    dead mole

    seeing things like that (Bears) must be awesome
    fly like a mouse, run like a cushion be the small bookcase!
  • topcat33
    topcat33 Posts: 57
    It was amazing. I'm an expat from Manchester so I'm not used to encountering animals like this. People here carry bear spray etc but I figure if he get's close enough to use that it's probably too late. I carry an Airzound horn thingy which I rekon (hope) will be more effective.
  • larfingravy
    larfingravy Posts: 95
    Amazing!

    Fletch8928 - you did make me chortle!
  • mmitchell88
    mmitchell88 Posts: 340
    Jake151 wrote:
    Thats an interesting setup there you have :shock:

    Er...yeah. What's going on there?? (3/4 bottle wine, I'm feeling punchy!)

    Anyway topcat, bear spray. What do they put in that? Bullets??
    Making a cup of coffee is like making love to a beautiful woman. It's got to be hot. You've got to take your time. You've got to stir... gently and firmly. You've got to grind your beans until they squeak.
    And then you put in the milk.
  • Stewie Griffin
    Stewie Griffin Posts: 4,330
    mmitchell88 wrote:
    Jake151 wrote:
    Thats an interesting setup there you have :shock:

    Er...yeah. What's going on there?? (3/4 bottle wine, I'm feeling punchy!)

    Anyway topcat, bear spray. What do they put in that? Bullets??

    :lol: Thats about right, its 10 foot tall, my spray would be an ak47. Cool thing to see though, from a distance.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    Did the bear sh!t in the woods :lol:
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • topcat33
    topcat33 Posts: 57
    Did the bear sh!t in the woods

    Dunno but I rekon if he would've run at me I might have needed a change of shorts.
  • zedders
    zedders Posts: 509
    topcat33 wrote:
    Did the bear sh!t in the woods

    Dunno but I rekon if he would've run at me I might have needed a change of shorts.
    How fast can bears run? Bet if you needed to jump on the Binachi you would of gone downhill? My climbing skills? - 100% going downhill.

    I haven't seen any Bears in Leicester, just the odd ''hippo'' on the high street!
    "I spend my petrol money on Bikes, Beer, Pizza, and Donuts "

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/38256268@N04/3517156549/
  • pedylan
    pedylan Posts: 768
    According to an article in a travel supplement to yesterday's paper (which was extolling the virtues of bear stalking in Slovakia), bears can run at 60km/hr.

    That takes some believing but it's exactly twice as fast as my average long ride speed and equivalent to a time of 16 mins for a 10 mile TT. (they'd probably be disqualified though for some rule infringement or other).

    So even if 60km/hr is the short burst capability of your average bear, a bike would not be the getaway vehicle of choice.

    Some serioulsy great outdoors Topcat33.
    Where the neon madmen climb
  • EdZed
    EdZed Posts: 119
    Jake151:
    Thats an interesting setup there you have :shock:

    hmmnn.. what is that with your handlebars? It looks like an unusual setup. :o
  • topcat33
    topcat33 Posts: 57
    If he'd have made the run up the hill towards me I definately would've headed down the mountain. I was actually closer to him than the picture at one point (about 20 feet) but I thought i'd put a little bit of distance between us so I could get the picture "safely"

    Strange setup? Not that I'm aware, I suppose my brake levers are a bit low on the bars? Might just be the angle of the picture?..........
  • 1892
    1892 Posts: 1,690
    If it had caught you, it would have been a different type of road kill to what we get in England.
    Talking of road kill, the biggest we tend to get is badgers, what have you come across @ the side of the road?
    Justice for the 96
  • pantsani
    pantsani Posts: 114
    Great story and pic of the bear, I'd love to be able to ride some of those routes, they look beautiful
    topcat33 wrote:
    Strange setup? Not that I'm aware, I suppose my brake levers are a bit low on the bars? Might just be the angle of the picture?..........

    Yep, couldn't help looking at that , as I'm a bit of an obsessive with setup. The hoods aren't so much hung low as the bars seem to be postioned so the bar ends are pointing upwards ( most are normally flat or pointing slightly downwards ) and that combined with the the angle of the seat and heightened stem to bring up the bar position.

    It just looks a tad, erm, how shall I say it , unique, if it works for you who cares eh. . . .
  • EdZed
    EdZed Posts: 119
    Each to their own I suppose... it just looks like the handlebars have slipped/rotated downwards due to a loose stem plate. Or maybe it was the force of your effort trying to get away from the bear :wink:

    Regardless of the above, I'm curious... what are the roads like out there? (the scenery is a given) Are they quiet? Well maintained? etc.

    I've never ridden outside the UK and the only time I normally get to the mountains is for skiing - just love the mountains. :mrgreen:

    Nice bike too 8)

    Best road kill I've seen = snakes.
  • topcat33
    topcat33 Posts: 57
    Cheers guys, I hadn't noticed the thing with the handlebars!! I'll have a fiddle around with them tonight.

    The roads here are mostly pretty good, that particular road is closed to cars from the start of December to the beginning of June, it's a very poular road for cyclists.

    I've only had about one close call since I've been here (about 12 months) and most noticably, not one knobhead shouting or throwing things out of a car!!!
  • Harry B
    Harry B Posts: 1,239
    pantsani wrote:
    Great story and pic of the bear, I'd love to be able to ride some of those routes, they look beautiful
    topcat33 wrote:
    Strange setup? Not that I'm aware, I suppose my brake levers are a bit low on the bars? Might just be the angle of the picture?..........

    Yep, couldn't help looking at that , as I'm a bit of an obsessive with setup. The hoods aren't so much hung low as the bars seem to be postioned so the bar ends are pointing upwards ( most are normally flat or pointing slightly downwards ) and that combined with the the angle of the seat and heightened stem to bring up the bar position.

    It just looks a tad, erm, how shall I say it , unique, if it works for you who cares eh. . . .

    I had some nice new carbon bars fitted to my baby the other week. On my first ride out I gradually got more and more uncomfortable. It turned out that the numpty in the LBS who fitted them had only done the bolts on the stem up finger tight and as I rode the hoods were gradually slipping forwards. It was an uncomfortable 50 miles but alls okay now :roll:

    Looks like a fabulous ride that bears or no bears!
    www.justgiving.com/thetwodaves
  • robmanic1
    robmanic1 Posts: 2,150
    I reckon I could ride pretty fast with a bear behind
    Pictures are better than words because some words are big and hard to understand.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/34335188@N07/3336802663/
  • Le Commentateur
    Le Commentateur Posts: 4,099
    Get one for Cadel and Lance!
    Un uomo solo al commando
  • zedders
    zedders Posts: 509
    topcat33 wrote:
    Cheers guys, I hadn't noticed the thing with the handlebars!! I'll have a fiddle around with them tonight.

    The roads here are mostly pretty good, that particular road is closed to cars from the start of December to the beginning of June, it's a very poular road for cyclists.

    I've only had about one close call since I've been here (about 12 months) and most noticably, not one knobhead shouting or throwing things out of a car!!!

    I must admit when I saw your photo I did think the bars looked to be in a bit of an odd position. But then thought you might be happy with them like that? What feels right to you might look odd to someone else, so do you really need to fiddle with them?
    "I spend my petrol money on Bikes, Beer, Pizza, and Donuts "

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/38256268@N04/3517156549/
  • topcat33
    topcat33 Posts: 57
    Well.....I've been getting a bit of backache recently and have been putting it down to being unfit and treating it as I do the rest of the aches and pains, ignoring it. The bars thing must have happened gradually. I've changed the setup and I'll give it a spin tonight.

    I've booked Thursday off and I'm off to Highway 40 again! If I see anything again I'll try and get some better pics.

    Answering the roadkill question, I haven't seen anything curiously....perhaps it get's eaten pretty quickly.
  • EdZed
    EdZed Posts: 119
    I like the idea of the road being closed to cars for 6 months of the year, I'm not surprised it's popular with cyclists. But then I suspect during a few of those winter months not much will get through without snow tyres or chains on. Good for mtbs?

    Hopefully your backache will be a thing of the past, looks like you might have been overextending your back when riding on the hoods.

    Harry B - has your LBS not heard of a torque wrench?
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Jake151 wrote:
    Wow utterly breath taking, dont get anything like that in the UK well not anything that I have seen haha :

    Thank god!
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • pneumatic
    pneumatic Posts: 1,989
    Robmanic1 wrote:
    I reckon I could ride pretty fast with a bear behind

    Mary had a little bear
    To which she was so kind
    That everywhere that Mary went
    You saw her bear behind

    sorry :oops: :oops:

    Fast and Bulbous
    Peregrinations
    Eddingtons: 80 (Metric); 60 (Imperial)
  • UncleFred
    UncleFred Posts: 227
    TopCat.

    I'm going to be in Calgary a week before the TransRockies, can you recommend some warm up rides from the City?

    Ta
  • topcat33
    topcat33 Posts: 57
    UncleFred Posted:
    TopCat.

    I'm going to be in Calgary a week before the TransRockies, can you recommend some warm up rides from the City?

    From the city is a bit difficult, you need to get 80 miles or so out of the city before the Rockies and the quiet riding begin properly. I think you could get into some decent riding to the east of the city a bit sooner but it's perfectly flat and with the Rockies to the west I've never been inclined to go east. Are you staying in the city center? if so, your best bet is googling for a map of the bike paths, Calgary has the biggest bike path network in North America (over 400 miles) apparently.

    If you fancy some rides into the Rockies as a warm up, PM me, with your details and I'll try and get some time off work, then I can pick you up and we can do some decent rides? We can go on Highway 40 where I saw the Bear :shock:
  • EdZed
    EdZed Posts: 119
    UncleFred - you'll only need the bear essentials :lol:

    Well...
  • UncleFred
    UncleFred Posts: 227
    Is your's the one with the hood?
  • EdZed
    EdZed Posts: 119
    ¿qué? :?
  • topcat33
    topcat33 Posts: 57
    EdZed Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 11:01 pm Post subject:

    UncleFred - you'll only need the bear essentials
    LOL :lol:

    Hey, Edzed, Zedders, Pantsani and anyone else who commented on my handlebar position, a big THANKS!! out for the second time today with my "new" setup without a hint of backache! Funny how you don't sometimes notice the bloody obvious. Perhaps there should be a new thread with pictures of peoples setup so you can diagnose any problems?

    I might still keep going to the chiropractor because she's rather fit and, well it's free!

    Cheers guys.
  • EdZed
    EdZed Posts: 119

    I might still keep going to the chiropractor because she's rather fit and, well it's free!
    Sounds like the sensible thing to do - don't tell her your backache's gone :wink:

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