Idaho Bear Bike Brawl

The typical result of a bear encounter usually ends with the person and the bear going their separate ways, a bit shaken up. Rarely, if ever, does it end up in a mauling. But have you ever heard of a person surviving a wrestling match with a bear and coming out unscathed?

That’s exactly what happened to Niki Mussman three weeks ago on the Aspen Trail near Driggs, Idaho. He was completing the 10-mile loop on his mountain bike, and after a tight downhill turn he suddenly came upon a mother black bear and her cubs. The cubs, startled, ran into the bushes. The mother, however, charged Mussman.