Never give up, never surrender
October 18, 2013 11:07 AM Subscribe
Almost unbelievable but my gosh, he is lucky that didn't result in an absolutely horrific three bike pileup.
posted by nanojath at 11:21 AM on October 18, 2013
posted by nanojath at 11:21 AM on October 18, 2013
Why weren't they wearing downhill body armour? Or is body armour just a North Shore Van / Vancouver Island thing?
posted by KokuRyu at 11:28 AM on October 18, 2013
posted by KokuRyu at 11:28 AM on October 18, 2013
The wall ride was awesome, but that's nothing compared to Red Bull Rampage.
posted by Big_B at 11:56 AM on October 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Big_B at 11:56 AM on October 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Good move, but typical of the current state of the sport. The bikes have evolved along with the skills of riders who have been on them since they were toddlers.
On October 21, 1976, I got together with a half dozen friends and held a downhill time trial on these funky fat tire bikes we had cobbled together from old cruiser frames.
We called our chosen hill "Repack," because one run down it cooked the grease out of your brake and required repacking it. One race turned into a series of races, and spurred participants to build bikes specifically for that purpose.
This sport traces directly back to that day, and it is sometimes hard to digest what came of what we had thought was a one-time event.
posted by Repack Rider at 12:04 PM on October 18, 2013 [28 favorites]
On October 21, 1976, I got together with a half dozen friends and held a downhill time trial on these funky fat tire bikes we had cobbled together from old cruiser frames.
We called our chosen hill "Repack," because one run down it cooked the grease out of your brake and required repacking it. One race turned into a series of races, and spurred participants to build bikes specifically for that purpose.
This sport traces directly back to that day, and it is sometimes hard to digest what came of what we had thought was a one-time event.
posted by Repack Rider at 12:04 PM on October 18, 2013 [28 favorites]
He shit the bed, then cleaned it off with a fire hose.
posted by CynicalKnight at 12:28 PM on October 18, 2013
posted by CynicalKnight at 12:28 PM on October 18, 2013
>This sport traces directly back to that day
That is certainly the legend as I have heard it and read about it over the years. Wow, Repack Rider -- thanks!! To put it mildly, it must be pretty amazing to look back and see how the sport, the gear, the riders, and the world wide acceptance of mountain biking have exploded in the years since you and your friends did that first downhill run.
posted by mosk at 12:54 PM on October 18, 2013
That is certainly the legend as I have heard it and read about it over the years. Wow, Repack Rider -- thanks!! To put it mildly, it must be pretty amazing to look back and see how the sport, the gear, the riders, and the world wide acceptance of mountain biking have exploded in the years since you and your friends did that first downhill run.
posted by mosk at 12:54 PM on October 18, 2013
I know it's probably par for the course, but his performance seems a bit distasteful. Obviously superior rider (who appears to be sponsored by the race sponsor), showing off on all of his jumps, eats it while showing off, decides he's far enough ahead to stay in it, keeps showing off before and after he catches up. Just seems like a bit much.
posted by JauntyFedora at 1:13 PM on October 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by JauntyFedora at 1:13 PM on October 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
That's excellent, thanks for posting it. Of course as a road biker I'm mystified by all this adventuresome jumping business, to say nothing of the trees (TREES!), but I have several mountain biker friends that I'm quite glad to have new material to taunt them with.
posted by sldownard at 1:22 PM on October 18, 2013
posted by sldownard at 1:22 PM on October 18, 2013
You can see in the second video that the sponsored dude essentially forced the other racers to brake by careening directly into both of them from the wall. This race was not a wipe-out for all three because of the awareness and generosity of the other two riders.
posted by Blasdelb at 2:42 PM on October 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Blasdelb at 2:42 PM on October 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
I would have said "sense of self-preservation" rather than "generosity", considering some guy was coming down over their heads. But otherwise, yeah.
posted by ardgedee at 3:57 PM on October 18, 2013
posted by ardgedee at 3:57 PM on October 18, 2013
I'll raise. Have you seen this? Not yet has a week passed since Zink pulled off this little trick.
posted by RockyChrysler at 6:40 PM on October 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by RockyChrysler at 6:40 PM on October 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
When I was a boy, a bicycle was something you rode on the pavement. Sometimes we would set up ramps and jump in the air a little, but it wasn't much fun because your crotch absorbed the impact. "Poppin' a wheelie" was usually the extent to which we defied gravity.
I knew there were bikes with knobby tires that guys rode in the dirt, called "BMX" bikes or something. But I just assumed the knobby tires helped you get around without pavement.
Then I went to UC Santa Barbara. It was the late 80s and I started hiking the trails in the low, coastal mountains above the city. One of my first days on the trails I heard somebody rushing up behind me and barking a warning.
It was a man on a bicycle. It was a man on a bicycle riding his bicycle up a hiking trail on the side of a mountain. His legs were pumping up and down and the knobby tires were grasping and grinding and pulling him up the side of the mountain, kicking rocks and twigs an dirt out of the way as he went. He passed me, huffing and glistening and totally focused on the trail ahead, and quickly disappeared around a switchback.
And I stood there in awe. Nothing had prepared me for this moment in life when I would be standing on the side of a mountain breathing the dust of the world's greatest athlete, a man who rides his fucking BICYCLE up the side of a mountain. Who was this legendary figure? Or was he a madman? Would anybody believe me when I returned to the city and told them what I had seen? Yes, a man riding his FUCKING BICYCLE UP THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN.
And then I heard more bustle and, looking back down the trail, saw his wife and two children riding their bicycles up the mountain behind him. They smiled politely as they passed me and disappeared around the switchback.
posted by Max Udargo at 7:01 PM on October 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
I knew there were bikes with knobby tires that guys rode in the dirt, called "BMX" bikes or something. But I just assumed the knobby tires helped you get around without pavement.
Then I went to UC Santa Barbara. It was the late 80s and I started hiking the trails in the low, coastal mountains above the city. One of my first days on the trails I heard somebody rushing up behind me and barking a warning.
It was a man on a bicycle. It was a man on a bicycle riding his bicycle up a hiking trail on the side of a mountain. His legs were pumping up and down and the knobby tires were grasping and grinding and pulling him up the side of the mountain, kicking rocks and twigs an dirt out of the way as he went. He passed me, huffing and glistening and totally focused on the trail ahead, and quickly disappeared around a switchback.
And I stood there in awe. Nothing had prepared me for this moment in life when I would be standing on the side of a mountain breathing the dust of the world's greatest athlete, a man who rides his fucking BICYCLE up the side of a mountain. Who was this legendary figure? Or was he a madman? Would anybody believe me when I returned to the city and told them what I had seen? Yes, a man riding his FUCKING BICYCLE UP THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN.
And then I heard more bustle and, looking back down the trail, saw his wife and two children riding their bicycles up the mountain behind him. They smiled politely as they passed me and disappeared around the switchback.
posted by Max Udargo at 7:01 PM on October 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
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posted by cccorlew at 11:16 AM on October 18, 2013 [1 favorite]