I decided to ride my bike to work today as we woke up to a gorgeous, sunny day. Besides, it was national "ride-your-bike-to-work-day"- another compelling excuse to get out there and push myself.
The way is pretty wooded and I’m always a bit aware of the presence of would-be-bears- esp. on the single track trail which zips down a heavily wooded hill with lots of blind corners. Still fresh from having last night’s store clinic (Living and Recreating in Bear and Cougar Country) in my head, I realized I should be making noise. I started warbling along to my iPod while zipping willfully down the hills in the dense, mossy forest.
I made it down the single track with no incident and let my guard down since I was now on the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail (a paved albeit wooded trail used by walkers, rollerbladers and cyclists). At this point, I stopped, grabbed a Powerbar, turned the iPod up and started cruising. Headed westbound, that particular trail slopes slightly downhill- so you can really pick up some good speed. The ride so far had been free of people- no one on the Snoqualmie Trail, no one on the single track, and no one in sight on the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail. I was enjoying my solitude and the beauty of the area.
Roughly 4 minutes after my brief break I picked up speed and rounded a corner where I slammed on my brakes. In front of me was one of the largest black bears I’ve seen in the valley. I was way too close and I could tell the bike was confusing him. My immediate reaction (oddly) was to dismount the bike and quietly back away. Then I came to my senses and realized that I needed to let him know I was human. I started talking loudly and letting him know that I was a person and not intending to threaten him. He stood in the middle of the trail and starred me down. I continued to back up. When I felt I was far enough back, I watched to see what he would do. I positioned my bike in front of me- just in case he charged. My adrenaline was pumping like crazy and I knew I just had to stand still.
The irony was rich- the “bear whisperer” nearly hits a bear on her bike- …the day after our store hosted last night's bear clinic. The funny thing is that I get teased because I see so many bears. The biologists who were presenting had seen this crazy phenomenon first hand when we went out cougar tracking last summer. We saw 4 bears- the most they'd ever seen in one day in that particular area. At one point in the evening last night the biologists mentioned that it was a late bear season this year and they hadn't had too many sightings. I told her that I had only seen one in our neighborhood this year (I saw one about 1 week ago in our neighborhood at night). She just shook her head and laughed "do you realize," she said "most people see only one in the wild in their lifetime?" Also discussed in last night's class was how unlikely bear attacks are in the Northwest. For a brief moment the thought of a bear attacking me was comical- attacking ME (of all people). I imagined what it would have been like for the two biologists who taught the class last night (hearing through the grapevine) news of a cyclist attacked by a bear on the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail, and then shaking their heads when they heard who it was.
Luckily, this was not my day to tangle. He continued to stare and then after several moments, the big fella seemed to calm down and go from side to side eating grass along the trail. After a bit he meandered off the trail and I knew I would have to pass by that area on my bike. I walked forward slowly shouting all sorts of hilarious things “You’re a BIG bear.. please don’t hurt me.. I promise.. I’m a big fan.. you wouldn’t want to hurt someone who really cared about bears would you? Okay BIG guy.. I’m coming through.. yep.. just coming right through here... I'm human.. don't hurt me.. humans ride bikes.. bears don't ride bikes..well, okay maybe circus bears ride bikes.”… etc. I was babbling senselessly and loudly- pretty much saying whatever came to mind trying to let him know I was there. I saw him off to the hillside of the trail a distance, still looking my way. There was no incident- he went his way- I went mine.
I crossed the main busy road going into Preston and grabbed the trail on the other side. After several more miles I came upon 2 piles of bear scat. I wondered if it was his or another bear. Further down near High Point someone’s garbage had been overturned and scattered around and on the top of the can- like a text book.. was a perfect bear print.
Through the bear encounter I tried to get my cell phone to cooperate. Because I never take pictures with it and because I was so anxious- I couldn't figure out how to make the camera work. After I passed the area I snapped a picture of the trail- and a self-portrait of me- happy to be continuing on my way to work- incident free.
Despite the scare.. it was a great day. I'll never leave the house to ride to work without my bear pepper spray again. I was thankful for the situational reminder and the amazing sight of that huge, healthy black bear.
The picture here is looking back after I'd passed the spot where the bear went into the woods. I was headed down the trail and rounded this corner to find the bear right in the dead center of this trail.
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