Meet Bob
 

So I took the off day yesterday, I did an 80 mile/6 hr roundtrip ride up AC to Cloud Burst Summit (super cross and head winds). Usually it’s all business, nose to ground and grinding away and stopping only for water. I do see a lot of neat things but on this particular training ride, I encountered a large Bob Cat. I’ve seen smaller ones but they usually run away and disappear fast. I rolled up to him just past Clear Creek and stopped as he did not look intimidated at all. He was 20 feet away. He had big paws and was the size of a medium sized dog. He then walked across the road and sat down next to the guard rail clearly undisturbed by my presence (crappy cell phone photo). I stayed there for about 5 minutes as we just stared at each other and I enjoyed the moment. A really neat experience but I wondered if he was sizing me up for lunch.

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I've seen a few of these in the Angeles Forest but never one that big. I wouldn't doubt that you looked like a tasty kaBOB to that Cat. I ended up riding behind one that was running down HWY 39 one time. It must have thought I was chasing it and finally stopped and turned around in a fight mode. I stopped and it ran off into the brush. When you are on your bike you are truly at one with your surroundings.

No need to fear bobcats... humans are hardly their prey (they like rabbit). It's common for mountain bikers (like me) to ride along side a loping bobcat. Always cool to see however.

Now if you happen to ride up to a mountain lion, I would be alittle more nervous (although miost could care less about us humans - they like deer).

Very nice. I've ridden my mountain bike past coyotes a few times. They just stare in curiosity. I've only encountered a bob cat while driving.

Not true.

http://www.calamarichris.com/junk/canhazyoungguy.jpg

Actually, that already happened. I was coming down the Mnt. Lukens/Haines Canyon on my SC Blur, closer toward the bottom, coming down hot, came around a long turn, and saw a large animal coming up the fireroad. The encounter lasted about 15-20 seconds. I saw a white chin at first. He didn't see me at first. Seconds later, he saw me, turned around, then I saw the long black tipped tail. He took 2 hops down the road and a third down the side towards the creek. I clearly remember it's face, the tail, the long body and especially how the shoulders were and the movement. He was the size of a large dog. I was only nervous after the event as it happened to fast.

Cool! Encountered coyotes at most but no lions. If I ever do, I'm hoping they don't like dark meat!:D

I've run across lions in Santiago Oaks, Chino Hills, Wood Canyon, Fremont/Weir and Limestone Canyon. All encounters were both very cool and super scary. In Santiago Oaks I was hiking down the 3 B's and took a break to look at the scenery. The sun was setting and it was getting dark. Just in front of me I saw a flicker - a tail with black on the tip and then the lion stood up, turned, saw me and dashed down the hill. What made that encounter scary was I still had to walk down past where the lion dashed off to. The hair stood up on the back of my neck until I got to the car.

In Wood Canyon had a really cool encounter... 5 of us were riding. I was on the left and some were on the right. We all stopped about the same time. I saw a bobcat, my friends stopped because they saw a lion. We came upon a bobcat and lion facing off. By the time I also saw the lion, they both turned and ran. I think we saved the bobcat's life!

Chino Hills has lots of coyotes and bobcats. See them there all the time - basically everytime I ride there. Saw a lion only once... after one of the bad fires... when the park finally opened, riding with friends around 6pm and there he was - just sitting on top of a hill pondering the situation. Thankfully there is safety in numbers!

Saw a mountain lion on the north end of the SGRT just north of encanto park once about 3months ago. He ran across the trail about 50 yards in front of us and dissappeared into the river bed. Kinda freaked us out a little.

Wow! Lucky you!

Nah. He was thinking "Those wheels are sic! Bet the whole thing is about 16.5 lbs."

I've never seen a lion; though one paced underneath me one night while I slept in my hammock. I never knew until morning!!
Just like week, I passed a bob shile going down the Aliso Creek Trail. I was pacing him at about 22mph when he darted across only 1 foot in front opf my wheel. Wheh, that was close!

I love cats, big & small. I also respect them immensely. Never been lucky enough to see one in person.

The only time I was worried about a bobcat was when her cub started running in front of me crying and mom was behind me, not a good situation.

I've seen a lot more bobcats in the ANF recently. The one that you sent a picture of doesn't look bigger than the norm. I've definitely seen bigger.

Haven't seen any sort of cats, but I have seen a couple of rattle snakes!

Big cats are awesome, and they can be dangerous. In 2004 Mark Reynolds, an accomplished mountain biker, was killed by a mountain lion in Whiting Ranch Wilderness in Orange County. A woman was badly injured by the same cat. Here is an old USAToday article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...ain-lion_x.htm

It's easy to find advice about how to reduce your risk of attack. Just do a quick search. In general, the advice boils down to: 1) Don't run, because you'll look like prey. 2) Make yourself look big by standing tall, waving your arms and yelling.

Of course the safest thing would be to just stay in bed all day, but then you would miss the chance of seeing one of these amazing creatures. Just be careful!!!

I thought they had determined that that particular one was mentally deranged and that most mountain lions don't attack humans unless they feel provoked or threatened. Either way, your advice still stands.

Yeah, he kept babbling about the Illuminati when they hauled him in...

I was descending 39 today, and saw a furry black housecat about 5 miles north of Azusa. Still wondering how the hell he got up there...

I've only ever seen one bobcat while riding, and that was on Little Tujunga.

i've seen one up there too about 6 months ago

UK - the lion was not "deranged"- this young male lion has lost his mother early and was basically starving because he had not been taught to hunt properly. Reynolds was riding at "hunting" time (dusk) and bent over and occupied with fixing his bike - easy prey for a young lion with an empty stomach. Lion's normal prey is deer. If riding in a area where deer roam people should be aware that a lion could be in the area. In all my encounters with lions I was never afraid of attack but I was always "aware" and cautious. It also pays to do how to act just in case. If faced off with a lion 1) don't make eye contact 2) make lots and lots of noise - having a whistle is a good thing - blow it hard! 3) wave arms and act "BIG". Lions believe in turning and running if there a confrontation.

I inadvertently ride by a snake about every three weeks or so heading up Big T at night. Most every time it's too late to swerve and it's just a few inches away when I pass. Sometimes I can tell it's dead, sometimes I can't tell but it's always too late anyways. Sometimes I can tell it's a rattler, sometimes it's black and yellow colored. It's not that I'm not paying attention, it's that at night I'm usually just focused on the white line, just a few feet below me until a snake comes into the frame. Saw a big one last week, not sure what it was, so I have a couple weeks before my next sighting.

I shopped for some small/lightweight cameras at Costco - good prices. Really need to carry one with me on rides. Haven't seen a bear while riding, so maybe that'll happen at some point.

I saw a housecat on Mount Able during a snowstorm, made me feel bad. Some idiot probably dumped it there.
I've seen 2 mountain lions near home while on the mtb.

I prefer to see lethal animals in the zoo -- where nature intended them to be.