Photo: screenshot from YouTube
Balls! This cyclist has three of them for packing in with a squad of sportbikes down this twisty mountain road. He’s so fast he starts to overtake them, on that flimsy-looking bicycle with brakes the size of jar lids. Oh, wait, he doesn't even have disc brakes, but classic rim ones.
I’m going to be honest with you. Personally, I’m terrified to ride a bicycle in traffic. Yeah, I can do it on a motorcycle with no problems - filter, lanesplit, whatever, but can’t on a bike. There, I said it.
Don’t know exactly why, but being on a pedal-powered two-wheeler near cars makes me feel way vulnerable than on a motorcycle. Maybe it’s because I don’t have instant power, or the fact that there is no fuel tank to grab on with my legs.
Or those puny-looking brakes, or the fact that it wobbles left to right continuously as I pedal... Not to mention the fact it’s dead silent and you have to ride to the side of the road where people getting out of driveways or parking lots can cut you off.
The thing is, I don’t feel right on the damn thing in traffic. And seeing this cyclist in the video here going around 50 mph (80 km/h) down the hill, surrounded by other motorcyclists keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Kudos to him for having the courage to do so. Even the motorcyclists going along were amazed. But I don’t want to imagine what would happen if something goes wrong at that speed and he spills.
He’s nowhere near as equipped as the other riders, wearing just that aerodynamic spandex thingy, sneakers, fingerless gloves and a standard bicycle helmet, with no protection to the chin and sides whatsoever. Knowing I would hit that kind of speeds, I would at least put on a downhill helmet and maybe some strap-on knee and elbow protections.
[LIVELEAK=http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a10_1472677239]
Don’t know exactly why, but being on a pedal-powered two-wheeler near cars makes me feel way vulnerable than on a motorcycle. Maybe it’s because I don’t have instant power, or the fact that there is no fuel tank to grab on with my legs.
Or those puny-looking brakes, or the fact that it wobbles left to right continuously as I pedal... Not to mention the fact it’s dead silent and you have to ride to the side of the road where people getting out of driveways or parking lots can cut you off.
The thing is, I don’t feel right on the damn thing in traffic. And seeing this cyclist in the video here going around 50 mph (80 km/h) down the hill, surrounded by other motorcyclists keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Kudos to him for having the courage to do so. Even the motorcyclists going along were amazed. But I don’t want to imagine what would happen if something goes wrong at that speed and he spills.
He’s nowhere near as equipped as the other riders, wearing just that aerodynamic spandex thingy, sneakers, fingerless gloves and a standard bicycle helmet, with no protection to the chin and sides whatsoever. Knowing I would hit that kind of speeds, I would at least put on a downhill helmet and maybe some strap-on knee and elbow protections.
[LIVELEAK=http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a10_1472677239]
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