1st Person Mountain Biker
April 7, 2012 10:39 AM   Subscribe

Ever wonder what it would be like to ride a bike down a bit of Peruvian mountain? Here’s your chance to see it for yourself. [SLYT]
posted by quin (30 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
All those bunny hops! At what point does the rider rocket jump?
posted by zippy at 10:42 AM on April 7, 2012


Spoiler: he doesn't crash (thank god)
posted by mathowie at 10:42 AM on April 7, 2012 [3 favorites]


With the handlebars fixed in the bottom of the frame it looked like a FPS. I was expecting him to change to a tank or a plane at some point. Or maybe a cape.
posted by mosk at 10:49 AM on April 7, 2012


Oh man, warning for extreme vertigo-inducing shakycam of madness. I WANT TO WATCH THIS SO BADLY TOO.
posted by elizardbits at 10:54 AM on April 7, 2012


I can't decide which is more trauma-inducing to watch, the bits where there is a sheer deathcliff on one side, or the bits where there are huge hurty boulders on both sides.

so barfy now sob sob
posted by elizardbits at 10:57 AM on April 7, 2012 [5 favorites]


First YT poster nailed it. Gigantic mountain? Check. Gigantic balls? Check.
posted by sfts2 at 10:59 AM on April 7, 2012


This is insane.

I seem to remember a similar first-person-biking-on-the-edge-of-a-cliff video link on mefi within the past few years, but I can't find it now. Anyone have the link?
posted by TurkishGolds at 11:06 AM on April 7, 2012


Found it!
posted by TurkishGolds at 11:07 AM on April 7, 2012


Gigantic balls?

Makes this ride all the more impressive.
posted by zippy at 11:08 AM on April 7, 2012


Balls. Great riding.. what control! I finally tried mountain biking last summer and... man, I would've been CRAWLING down this stretch. It's really tough to get to the point where passing over huge piles of rocks is easy.
posted by ReeMonster at 11:08 AM on April 7, 2012


Next do it in co-op mode.
posted by Winnemac at 11:09 AM on April 7, 2012


I was going to post how I wasn't going to snark on this video, and indeed I'm not, because only a Japanese-style smiley can suffice: O.o;

but will have to film my next downhill stretch on an mtb outing so that all the "balls" comments can be replaced with "ovaries". Maybe the parts where I pass grown men bigger than me and on better bikes than me, uphill, will be more impressive though.

this has been a hamburgerish comment, don't take the balls vs. ovaries bit too seriously, this here woman just gets a bit tired of the constant low-level radiation of "courage = masculinity" and/or "physical skill = masculinity" is all. It ain't a competition, mountain biking is awesome fun and I only get sarcastic when some dude pulls out the "OH MY GAWD A WOMAN JUST PASSED ME OMG A WOMAN" kind of thing. really, it's not much compared to other stuff, just irksome is all.
posted by fraula at 11:15 AM on April 7, 2012 [9 favorites]


And you know that this is not fake, how? How do you know this is not sped up footage? One interesting clue: when the guy switches off the camera. Usually, when you switch off a cam like that, there's a bit of fumbling - here the guy lifts his arm and BOOM, it's cut just like that... replete with sound effect of switching off... riiight... this is the intrawebs, guys! seems like you just discovered the net - fakery, photoshop and trolling is the norm - wide-eyed credulity is the wrong attitude here.
posted by VikingSword at 11:18 AM on April 7, 2012


My heartrate went up just from the description. I'm afraid to click the link.
posted by Malor at 11:20 AM on April 7, 2012


but will have to film my next downhill stretch on an mtb outing so that all the "balls" comments can be replaced with "ovaries"

With a soundtrack that includes a sample of Kreayshawn's Gucci gucci: "I got swag and it's pumpin' out my ovaries"

posted by zippy at 11:25 AM on April 7, 2012


These Favela videos are still my favorite.
posted by stbalbach at 11:27 AM on April 7, 2012


See people - it is possible to make a riveting and engaging video about an extreme sport and not have a horrible soundtrack play in the background.

Just pure adrenalin.
posted by Fizz at 11:28 AM on April 7, 2012


*adds to bucket list*

I hope to get down to Peru later this year, assuming I don't get killed in backpacking Central America first.
posted by empath at 11:30 AM on April 7, 2012


the brakes the brakes the brakes the brakes you have brakes, omg
posted by not_on_display at 11:35 AM on April 7, 2012 [2 favorites]


Can't you get the bends by descending that quickly? Or something.
posted by glaucon at 11:39 AM on April 7, 2012 [1 favorite]


Can't you get the bends by descending that quickly? Or something.

If you're human, yes this can be a problem. But, I think this video is proof that this is no ordinary human.
posted by Fizz at 11:43 AM on April 7, 2012 [1 favorite]


The Chilean race that shows up in the "related" videos (and has been the subject of an FPP here, I think) makes me pucker every time I see it, especially when the dog wanders in front of him.
posted by Forktine at 11:43 AM on April 7, 2012 [2 favorites]


Vaguely related : Cyanide and Happiness #2759
posted by jeffburdges at 12:22 PM on April 7, 2012


Whenever I see these kind of videos, the first thing I think about is how much trouble this must cause the locals every time some "extreme" tourist goes and gets himself injured/killed. My relatives in Peru once told me about a mountain pass in Peru where the trade route between the indigenous communities in the Amazonian jungle and the Andean communities in the mountains had to be abandoned because the winding mountain road had been turned into a deathtrap by wealthy thrill-seeking tourists who fly over their sports cars in order to zoom up and down the mountain at top speed.
posted by LMGM at 1:15 PM on April 7, 2012


All I can think about is being the miserable hiker wheezing up that climb meeting him on a blind curve. One can only hope to be killed instantly plummeting off the cliff.

(I'm sure his balls do clang, but not loudly enough for warning at that speed.)
posted by BlueHorse at 1:34 PM on April 7, 2012 [2 favorites]


I fell off the Huayna Picchu trail once (slid about 30 feet, caught a shrub, climbed back up to the path). Watching this was scarier than doing that!
posted by nicwolff at 4:38 PM on April 7, 2012


Ah, at least half a dozen moments in that video brought back memories of sliding down jagged rocks on my elbows.
posted by Lucien Dark at 6:42 PM on April 7, 2012


If sped up in non-authentic manner: Boo
Else: F that, F that sooooooo hard.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:28 PM on April 7, 2012


zona de pietras

OH YOU DON'T SAY

What's Spanish for "region where half of the world drops away terrifyingly"?
posted by Lexica at 9:29 PM on April 7, 2012


Don't miss this crazy descent in Chile. Watch out, dog!
posted by sutt at 6:28 AM on April 8, 2012


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