by patfri

at 2007-10-29

[edited]

by patfri

at 2007-10-29

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VANCOUVER -- Roy Klopp survived a shocking twist in his daily bike ride Monday after being bit in the behind by a black bear near Clinton.

"It wasn't my day to die," said Klopp, who returned to his job at the sawmill last night after taking a day to recuperate from the attack.

Around 11 a.m. Monday morning, Klopp, 56, and his border collies, Tippy and Chuckie, met an unusually aggressive black bear in the bushes near a curve in the walking trails above Clinton, a town of about 740 residents 380 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

Protected only by a pair of shorts, his bike and his dogs, Klopp heard a sudden "whoosh" from the bushes.

He turned to see a 200-pound one-year-old male bear, rushing toward him.

"I didn't have any time to think," he said.

Running on adrenaline-infused autopilot, Klopp jumped off his bike in front of a tree stump. "Instinct takes over, and you do what you can," he said.

"I don't know why I got off my bike, but I did. I held my bike up as a shield in front of me."

The animal kept bearing down on him.

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