I have come across several black bears suddenly while mountain biking in the Rockies. Fortunately the bears ran.

Every Tuesday without fail, black bears tip over up my neighbours garbage bin and drag the contents around the 'hood, requiring me to make (yet another) angry visit, after they sheepishly clean it all up. Sometimes I have to 'motivate' bears to move out of my back yard, with spray from a garden hose or a hockey stick. Once, the neighbours garbage included a container of hot chocolate powder. The bear dragged this onto my from porch, and then leisurely consumed the whole thing with obvious delight. No amount of my coaxing would get this bear to move...

My closest grizzly bear encounter was 30 feet away from a Momma and two cubs. Scary scary stuff.

A couple weeks ago I was riding home on my daily commute, and a family of grizzly bears was perched on a rock outcropping at the side of the road at the top of my climb. Probably waiting for a cyclist dinner.... Faced with a tedious 45-minute detour, I decided to make a run for it and sprint past the bears. I'm still here....