Careful out there! (VT motorcycle vs bear)

[catamount]

Hinesburg man hurt in crash with bear

July 28, 2008

WATERBURY — A Hinesburg man was injured Sunday when he was thrown from his motorcycle after colliding with a black bear, state police said.

Neale Gow, 52, was driving his 2005 Triumph south on Vermont 100 at about 6 p.m. when a bear emerged from the woods in Gow’s lane.

Gow was taken to Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, where he is being treated for broken bones.

[Thunderbisciut]

Holy shit, didn't see that coming. I almost had a collision with a turtle today. I couldn't imagine a bear popping onto the road

[GixerJockey]

So, the important question....


How's the bear?

[jcbell1007]

On wet night, after rain or during rain you need to watch out for frogs on the blacktop as well.

frogs of all sizes seem to cross at night and there are designated amphibian crossing points that have been identified.

slippery little bastards.

[GixerJockey]

slippery little bastards.

Yea, but I'll bet it makes a cool "popping" sound when you get one!

[HIGHONSTRESS]

holy crap, a bear! Wow, man ive been living up here and hiking around the mountains for two years and i havnt seen a bear (although id rather not while hiking).. hope the guys is alright and recovering from the crash

[EZrider]

I had one cross the road about 100 yards in front of me earlier this month near Lincoln, NH.
I've been riding up in that area for years and had never seen one in the wild before.

I was on vacation and we were staying in our timeshare in Lincoln.
I would head out early around 6am to get my rides in.
I'd be back around 9am when everyone was awake and ready to go.
All was good, no one complained about my ride time...it kept the peace.

I was on route 116 (just past the Lost River for those of you who know the area).
It was early in the morning and I was having fun (no one around at that time up there)!
When I first saw it I thought it was a BIG black dog.
But when it stretched out to run accross the road I realized it was a bear .

At first I thought about slowing down to see if I could spot it in the woods on the other side of the road,
but I wanted to avoid a close-encounter of the last kind
so I continued on, just glad that the bear decided to cross before I got there.

Thats my Bear Story.

[yellosuzku]

I encountered one a couple weeks ago in Petersham on the bike. Not a close encounter though. I slowed down and watched him for a second to make sure he wasn't going to decide to bolt across the road but he just trotted off into the forest.......

[markbvt]

Wow. Glad to hear the guy is being treated just for broken bones, not massive internal injuries and bear-mauling.

What with the 2005 Triumph he was riding, I wonder if I've met him at some point.

--mark

[spydah]

I had one cross the road about 100 yards in front of me earlier this month near Lincoln, NH.

Clarks trading post bears don't count!!!

[Paul_E_D]

Must be bear & bike week. This guy walked up to me saturday while I was washing the KTM. I couldn't get my camera quick enough to get a shot of him with my bike

[kamikaze]

So, the important question....


How's the bear?

WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Man hits bear on motorcycle

Condition of the bear is unknown!

[wylee]

Must be bear & bike week. This guy walked up to me saturday while I was washing the KTM. I couldn't get my camera quick enough to get a shot of him with my bike

Keep some marshmellows handy...bear love 'em. You be able to get some pic's...then throw the rest of the marshmellows in the neighbor's yard.

[bostongixxer]

If he was on a gixxah, he'd of ripped through the bear and kept right on going down Rt. 100.

[yellosuzku]

I just had a bear bolt in front of me on rt 122 in New Salem, I bet it was the same bear I saw a couple weeks ago but this time he scared the bejesus out of me! TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT! Keep your eyes peeled everybody! Don't forget the deer too! I clipped one a couple weeks ago, now any movement I see on the road shoulders freaks me out!

[legalspeed]

If he was on a gixxah, he'd of ripped through the bear and kept right on going down Rt. 100.

[kamikaze]

Veronique (Misstwisties) got the menacing bear! You guys can relax!

[kbroderick]

Yikes. I saw a "Bear Crossing" sign the other day (I think it was on 103S) and wondered, "yeah, but what are the odds of that, really?"

I guess I'll just treat 'em like moose crossing signs (and I'm up to two moose spottings on the bike so far; neither of them decided to step in front of me, which was good, because they would have won).

[Erebus]

After dark wildlife worries me more than anything. I try and follow a car if I can. My mother's best friend lost her father when he hit a moose on a bike at night. It was standing broad side in the road but his headlight shined under it because it was so tall. He saw it too late and when he dumped the bike trying to go under it his head/helmet hit it in the belly and broke his neck. This was years ago but it's always in the back of my mind.

[Mondo]

YouTube - Colbert Bears

[yellosuzku]

After dark wildlife worries me more than anything. I try and follow a car if I can. My mother's best friend lost her father when he hit a moose on a bike at night. It was standing broad side in the road but his headlight shined under it because it was so tall. He saw it too late and when he dumped the bike trying to go under it his head/helmet hit it in the belly and broke his neck. This was years ago but it's always in the back of my mind.

After dark is when most people are nervous, I'm nervous all the time! The 2 instances I've collidied with deer (1 bike, 1 car) have been in broad daylight. My 2 bear spottings in the past couple weeks are also daylight, so be prepared at any moment in time!

[krazykarguy]

Wow. Glad to hear the guy is being treated just for broken bones, not massive internal injuries and bear-mauling.

What with the 2005 Triumph he was riding, I wonder if I've met him at some point.

--mark

It looked like a blue late-model Triumph Sprint 1050 based on the 1 second shot of the bike on the WPTZ.com video clip.

Bummer.

[dhuze]

Must be bear & bike week. This guy walked up to me saturday while I was washing the KTM. I couldn't get my camera quick enough to get a shot of him with my bike

I would have made him dinner.