Mountain biker falls after being startled by a bear in the US

A man in California has had a startling interruption to his bike ride near Lake Tahoe - when he was confronted by a bear.

David Souza was wearing a chest camera while pedalling at high speed on the Mills Peak trail on June 14. Footage from his camera shows him suddenly toppling off the bike, after seeing a bear.

He later posted the whole blink-and-you’ll-miss-it encounter to his Instagram.

“This bear came out of nowhere and was gone before I could ask if it was alright or anything,” he wrote.

His video has been viewed almost 8,000 times after being posted a week ago.

“Thank God you weren’t hurt,” a user, ‘longlivequeenie’, wrote.

Others were more concerned for the bear’s welfare.

“Nobody knows if this bear is fine. It flew through the air after getting hit,” another user, Bieberfeeber, observed.