When he arrived on the scene, a crowd already had gathered around the dying bear. Alt was told that the cyclist had not been seriously injured. Imagine his surprise, first when an ambulance arrived, and then when it picked up the cyclist who had been lying on the ground on the other side of the road. Not one person, Alt says, not even his riding companion, had stayed with him. Everyone was with the bear.
People have a thing about bears.
People always stop Alt to tell him about personal bear encounters that took place, in some cases, more than 50 years ago. They tell him infinite details about where they saw bears and what the animals did. Many have only seen a wild bear once in their lives from a great distance, but still, it makes a huge impression. It's in their memories forever. People are afraid, but still, you can't keep 'em away.