mtblurkr

ABC7 news report here

redal

I was up there today. I didn't see it. I did see all of the warning signs for the mountain lion and a couple having sex in a car. Cougar?

jpconrad

The guy in the interview was wearing an SC Velo kit.

Socalcycling

Oh no, Mountain Lions in the mountains.. what to do???

redal

I was supposed to ride until dark. I ended up getting a flat and for some reason my CO2 adaptor wasn't in my seat bag. I flatted at the very top, just past the maintenance station. I rode all the way home and called my wife about 6:15 to tell her to bring me home a tire. Her first question was, "Did you get interviewed?". She had heard about the interview, but hadn't seen it. She knew I was up there. I guess I wasn't the only person in an SC Velo kit up there today.

redal

That's a 2006 kit. I don't even have that one anymore.

furiousferret

I've seen one on Devil's Canyon, by the 18 in San Berdoo. At least this reinforces what my friends call a 'irrational fear' of mountain lions.

redal

I agree. I saw three on the backside of GMR about 3 years ago. They were waiting for me in the road until a truck came through and they scurried off the side.

furiousferret

heh, I edited it after I saw the video. I find the attack hard to believe, but cycling at nightfall or daybreak is obviously the wrong time to go.

jpconrad

Yeah, and I was just starting to think a night ride up GMR would be nice.

bitingduck

I haven't seen any mountain lions up there, but I've seen plenty of cougars.

redal

I find the attack hard to believe too. Who knows? As far as nightfall goes, there are some days where work gets in the way and in order to get the hours in, I have to ride until dark.

furiousferret

Yeah, other than the fact that it is when predators hunt, the bigger factor is visibility. Having crashed on GMR due to a small but sharp shale on the road, visibility is important on those descents. I'll stick to the flat rides in the evenings.

mtv8dmarine

We all accept the risks of riding up there...downhill skateboards, motorcyclists, cars and wildlife alike. Just keep an ear out and don't ride when they are most likely to be out.

audioslavery

I'm still going up this weekend.

I love it up there. But damn I was up there on Tuesday morning eating a nice peanut butter chewy bar towards the top. Mindlessly relaxing

Kinda random, but I didn't see any signs, nor did I see any cyclists =Q

This weekend should be busy though.

cjbruin

I'll probably ride up there on Sat morning.

jeff^d

We'll be up there Sat or Mon (or both). Too much commotion during the day for those cats to come around, unless they're sick or old.

surfrider

Apparently the so-called news reporters got it wrong (probably for dramatic effect - so whats new?). The attackee posted on the san gabriel mnts hiking forum and states that he saw a coyote on the road, which apparently was being stalked by the mountain lion. When the coyote saw him and took off across the road, it appears the mountain lion ran after it and came out of the brush just as the MTB'r came by. Scared the crap out of the cat (MEOWWWW!) and it jumped over the surrounding brush (around 5ft high) back into the bushes for where it emerged! The mtbr got injured from hitting the rocky road, (it was on Glendora Mtn Road), not from the lion.

surfrider

Here's the forum and post. I got it worng. Post was by one of the attackee's friends (but still more reliable than the "talking heads" on TV!). See pages 3 & 4 for the post:

https://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.or...0-0-asc-30.php

obie

...and if I ever, ever, see a shark or lion I'll never surf or ride again.


In the 15 years I've been in SoCal I recall two fatal shark attacks (Ocean Beach & Solano Beach) and, one fatal lion attack on a MTB'er (Irvine/Tustin area - can't exactly remember - thereabouts in any case.)

I worry a hella lot more about riding the 405 around here in my truck.

cjbruin

I was up there on Saturday morning. Both GMR & GRR were closed to automobile/motorcycle traffic so that was nice. No sign of mountain lions or even coyotes. Some db's spray painted graffiti on the road sometime after I went up and before I came down...I hate that. There were lots of mini rock slides (maybe it was a mountain lion following me ). That proved to be the most dangerous part as I didn't see a jagged rock when I was descending and going around a shaded curve...BLAM! It put a hole in my front tire that I had to boot with a dollar bill. Four miles from the village and 17 miles to my car...with closed roads Fortunately, I was able to get back without further incident.