Tim Egan, 53, was riding on Old Stage Road Tuesday afternoon when suddenly a bear appeared in front of him. Egan hit the bear and ended up skidding across the road.
"This bear looked at me with a look of terror on his face and sort of made a noise," said Egan. "I looked at him with a look of terror and we went, 'aaaahhhhh.'"
He cracked some ribs, suffered cuts on his head and had road rash. Egan said he and the bike flipped and flew over the bear, hitting the pavement hard.
The bear ran away after the accident when a deer appeared.
Egan's nephew ran to help the injured cyclist.
"When I tell people, they say 'right, are you kidding me, who hits a bear?'"
Egan estimated he was going about 45 mile per hour at impact. He said the bear was about six feet tall and probably weighed 500 pounds.
His bike was okay so he got back on it and pedaled to the hospital.
Egan said he was relieved his kidneys weren't damaged because he plans to donate one to his sister later this year.
The accident was the second involving a bear and cyclist in Left Hand Canyon in the past two years. A woman in the Boulder Triathlon ran into a bear in the same area last year.
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