freeheels, I didn't say I couldn't find any records before 2000. I said at least four cyclists were mauled by brown bears before 2000. You don't seem to be able to comprehend a short sentence with one clause. 

I know this because I looked it up on the internet. Did I find every cyclist mauling? Probably not, but the media has a penchant for gory accidents and bear maulings are near the top of the list. I doubt I missed many. So, 4 maulings in the 160 years from the invention of modern bicycles (let's say 1839 for argument's sake) to 2000, and more than one mauling a year, on average, since then. I'd say the rate is increasing. And yes, cyclists spend millions of hours exercising their skills. Most of those hours aren't in bear country. The increasing rate of maulings seems to be correlated with many more backcountry trails and cyclists. So lets build more trails in the woods and double the number of cyclists on them and see what happens.