A short but heart-stopping helmetcam vid of a bear chasing a pack of mountain bikers on a trail in Vancouver’s iconic North Shore area.

>>> ‘Mountain biker accidentally jumps over a bear’ and other classic clips

Unlike infamous ‘bear chasing bikers’ videos of previous years that have turned out to be fake, this one looks like it’s genuine.

Speaking of fake/real debates. Remember this video from  couple of years ago? It’s a bit weird that the riders come to a halt so quickly after the bear has seemingly scurried away, don’t you think? We don’t think we’d be hanging around after that episode! Having said that, maybe the trail is about to head right and back into the path of the exist-stage-right bear?

Be bear aware

This obviously isn’t advice aimed at our UK audience (unless you’re off on a riding holiday to bear country) but it is worth pointing out some Dos and Don’ts about biking in bear zones.

It seems mountain bikers are disproportionately at risk from bear attacks. There are much fewer mountain bikers than hikers in grizzly bear areas but the higher speed and relative silence of bikers means that bears are less quick to notice them and move out of the way.

The recommendations for mountain bikers in grizzly bear habitats is to stay vigilant, slow down, carry bear spray, make noise, don’t ride alone and never ride at dusk, dawn or night.

A common bit of advice is to carry bear spray – and know how to use it. There are holders that will hold the bear spray can in bottle cages.