This just happened to a local mountain bike racer this past weekend on the Syncline Trail in Hood River/Bingen,Wa area.......... http://www.hoodrivernews.com/News stories/040 news 3.htm
Everyone Be Careful !!
- Thread starter MotoXmg
- Start date
Precisely why I HATE cliff edges....they freak the living s**t out of me while riding, shuttling, or in a car.
Very sad
Very sad
Hard saying what the causes for the accident were. My guess is that he might have been coming down a little too fast. Maybe he was sitting on the saddle when he should have been in the "attack" position- off of it and a little behind the saddle. Maybe he was very familiar with the trail, except now there was a rock or branch on the trail. Here is where the age thing comes into play-he doesnt see the hazard quick enough and because of his age maybe he is a fraction of a second slower hitting his brakes or hits his brakes to hard, either way he is thrown from the bike with the rock, branch etc factoring into the crash. As riders we usually dont figure everything can go bad at once. The age might be the "wild card" in this because reaction times increase the older you get but at age 49 you might still think you can go down hill like 35 or so.
Heights REALLY get me anxious. The problem is I am always trying to cure myself of the fear by exposing myself to exposed, scary heights. I am less scared of them than I used to be, but not by a great margin.
It really makes you wonder if it was bad, bad luck or a concealed suicide.
It really makes you wonder if it was bad, bad luck or a concealed suicide.
So sad. One of the many reasons that I don't like riding alone in the woods/wilderness. It's hard to tell wheter age, mechanical issues or something as simple as a strong gust of wind blowing him over (or, all the above) caused it. Whatever the case, he's dead and his family and friends are left behind. My condolences go out to them.
We always take risks on nearly every ride we go on. Maybe not always on the scale of this event, but there's always that chance for catastrophy when you climb on the saddle and turn the cranks.
At the same time, I'm sort of jealous of him. He died doing something he enjoyed doing. With my luck, I'm going to pass on in a manner similar to Elvis.
We always take risks on nearly every ride we go on. Maybe not always on the scale of this event, but there's always that chance for catastrophy when you climb on the saddle and turn the cranks.
At the same time, I'm sort of jealous of him. He died doing something he enjoyed doing. With my luck, I'm going to pass on in a manner similar to Elvis.
What...squattin' a grumpy?DBR X6 RIDER said:
Uh-huh.llkoolkeg said:What...squattin' a grumpy?
Needless to say, I'm curious if they'll ever determine the cause of the fall.
DBR X6 RIDER said:
im pretty sure that wasnt going through his head while he fell to his death
phew! im about to go splat doing what i love...glad it was this way and not by getting tagged by a drunk driver..
nahhh, he probably died of a heartattack on the way down...400 feet is a long ways down to think about what you just did and the pain you are about to face...
either way...bad times for family/friends
Go easy on the age thing and e-spec here.Borregokid said:
I wish his family and friends who ever they are my deepest sympathy and prayer in his passing.
To my riding friends/family be carefull, remember reguardless of age, gender, skill, experience, equipment, bla bla bla ....we all fall. Please make sure you are carfull around things that the odds are you cannot recover from. Especialy you youngsters with the fast youthful reflexes that haven't completely realized yet that you are mortal too.
Er, let me rephrase. He was doing something he enjoyed up until the final few moments of his life. I hope to be that lucky.seand said:im pretty sure that wasnt going through his head while he fell to his death
phew! im about to go splat doing what i love...glad it was this way and not by getting tagged by a drunk driver..
nahhh, he probably died of a heartattack on the way down...400 feet is a long ways down to think about what you just did and the pain you are about to face...
either way...bad times for family/friends
No matter, this is definitely an unfortunate occurence.
Velocity Girl said:Precisely why I HATE cliff edges....they freak the living s**t out of me while riding, shuttling, or in a car.
Very sad
I can't ride a stupid parking lot curb without freazing up and falling off one side or another. Cliffs have the same tensioning effect on me.This pick is of me at Taneum last summer(labor Day weekend). It might look "kinda steep" in the picture but the edge just dissapears and the swath cut there is pretty narrow. I have seen bikes fall off the edge and end up in the trees below...never mind the small switch backs.
Always a heart pumper.
It really is pretty country though...
Places I would never get to on my MTB....to far.
Tragic, but people die more driving in cars. If anything the danger aspect of biking up in the mountains makes it that more fun to me. I think I'd rather leave this earth off a cliff then mangled in between steel pillars.... that said
best wishes to this gentlemans family and friends
best wishes to this gentlemans family and friends
Yikes! That will make me think twice before hitting that trail again. Best wishes to all who knew him.
I just moved from Austin TX, and syncline was my first ride out here. I rode that trail for the first time a few weeks ago. I remember thinking how bad it would suck going over the cliff. Being that it's a loose DH right next to a cliff scared the hell outta me, so I walked a majority of it. It's quite sad that it actually happened to someone.