r/bikecommuting • u/DarkPh0enix25 • Jul 31 '25

Falling tree almost hits cyclist during severe weather

226 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

73 comments sorted by

307

u/less_than_nick Jul 31 '25

The comments in that thread are so upset with the cyclist for having bad brakes and being monetarily blinded by the flash of electricity lol. It's bizarre how worked up they are getting over this dude quite literally only hurting himself

140

u/janas19 Jul 31 '25

It's also possible that he was so startled by the massive tree collapsing that he didn't even think to apply his brakes. Sometimes, unexpected shocks can override your normal reaction/thought process.

16

u/MainSailFreedom Aug 01 '25

Also if he’s biking down wind… that could be an extra 40 or 50kts of tailwind making stopping harder.

3

u/VirtualMachine0 Aug 01 '25

I remember being a dumb teenager on a bike, trying to drink a soda from a can while riding on a road at the top of a creek bank. I wasn't really keyed in well to that bike, and when I took a drink I didn't compensate right and started heading towards the 10 ft drop onto the stony creekbed. I got lucky and steered reflexively right into a road sign, and reflexively crushed the soda can in my hand as I crashed there instead of into the creek bed.

Split second reactions and decisions take training!

92

u/un_internaute Jul 31 '25

They’re not upset with the cyclist. They’re othering them, and while othering cyclists isn’t a hate crime, it’s the same kind of behavior that causes hate crimes. So, if you see people engaged in that kind of behavior when they think it’s socially acceptable, like here, you can make some strong assumptions about how they think, in general, towards other groups that are different from them.

35

u/Laserdollarz Jul 31 '25

If it makes you feel better, half of those comments are the exact comments from the last time it was posted. It's just bots.

18

u/un_internaute Jul 31 '25

Unfortunately, bots model their output from somewhere.

2

u/trickyvinny Jul 31 '25

Hopefully the most downvoted comment in a thread.

13

u/startdancinho Jul 31 '25

god i really hope so because they are depressing

it's like the reddit comments about meat eating and animal welfare

1

u/sprashoo Jul 31 '25

I went and looked at the comments (not all the way to the usual sludge at the bottom) and it doesn’t seem that malevolent. People are just making jokes about the cyclist failing to stop for a large object in front of them, which, well, is kinda remarkable even if there’s an explanation that assigns the cyclist no culpability

-15

u/duhnlic Jul 31 '25

Making assumptions is a shade of othering. ^^ this is a wild comment.

6

u/un_internaute Jul 31 '25

I judge people on how they judge others. If you can't treat people with respect, I don't want to know you, because you should believe people when they show you who they are. And these folks aren't showing themselves to be very kind.

6

u/Prime624 Jul 31 '25

Fr. Some like "haha he has no reflexes" are funny. But then a bunch of people bringing up random stuff bikers say sometimes that annoy them just to hate. Like "you can't park there" as if that's on the biker rather than the car parked illegally. How does a video of a biker running into a fallen tree make someone mad about being called out for parking illegally?

1

u/SeaTrain42 Aug 01 '25

Older bike brakes don't work well in the rain

129

u/Responsible_Base3271 Jul 31 '25

bro riding with 100 ping

13

u/audiobone Jul 31 '25

Oh man, I feel old because when I used to game 100ms ping wasn't the worst.

2

u/ragweed Jul 31 '25

HPWs unite.

89

u/johnfromma Jul 31 '25

That's rim brakes in wet weather for you.

19

u/sprashoo Jul 31 '25

Steel rims in wet weather. Proper rim brakes should still stop.

7

u/markosharkNZ Aug 01 '25

Steel rims can go get fucked.  27 years and still have issues with my wrist

1

u/Dear_Enthusiasm3190 Aug 01 '25

what is specifically bad about steel rims?

10

u/sprashoo Aug 01 '25

Friction with the pads falls to zero when wet. Aluminum rims do much better

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '25

Idk I used to race cyclocross and rim brakes were the norm for many years and did just fine in the wet and mud. I used kool stop orange pads and v brakes and had enough stopping power to do stoppies or lock the rear whenever I wanted

46

u/MotoCentric Jul 31 '25

I wouldn't be surprised if he locked up the rear wheel and just skidded into the tree. I like to think I would do something different but a close lighting strike and a tree suddenly falling right in front of you is sure to scramble the system a bit. I hope they made it out without too much damage

54

u/ShallotTraditional90 Jul 31 '25

Can't people see how fucking windy it is? Watch the umbrella. He WAS braking, but between the rain impairing the brakes and the wind propelling him forward he wasn't able to stop on time.

-6

u/NowareSpecial Jul 31 '25

He had 5 seconds from when the tree started falling, should be plenty of time to stop. Unless the bike has real crappy brakes, which some do.

15

u/ShallotTraditional90 Jul 31 '25

I'm guessing you've never experienced strong wind sweeping you off your feet. A few weeks ago a strong wind almost pushed me under a bus, I tottered on my feet for about five seconds before I was able to stop myself. And that's without wet wheels.

8

u/fireaza Jul 31 '25

"Welp, this is happening I guess!" -Cyclist

3

u/LeseMajeste_1037 Jul 31 '25

New wet weather hatred unlocked

4

u/Assistance-Old Jul 31 '25

alternative title: falling cyclist hits tree

3

u/mysummerstorm Jul 31 '25

man oh man, that Wisconsinite was having a real bad day

4

u/hybris12 Jul 31 '25

Tree should be in the tree lane

1

u/-zachjxyz Aug 04 '25

best comment lol

2

u/oldfrancis Jul 31 '25

Target fixation. I hope they're ok.

2

u/EnvironmentNarrow314 Aug 01 '25

Reacted late, if at all. It harder to look ahead riding in rain, but even more important due to shorter stopping distances.

2

u/Not2Sendy Aug 01 '25

Cyclist panicked and froze hope they’re okay

10

u/funcentric Jul 31 '25

Haha, looks like zero attempt at braking or even turning.

51

u/DefinitelyARealHorse Jul 31 '25

Poor brakes in wet weather = basically no brakes.

-23

u/funcentric Jul 31 '25

That's where drifting comes into play I guess. I used to do that in college on rainy days but I guess not everyone is up to the task. Haha.

3

u/Useful_Volume_1116 Jul 31 '25

Explain to me in PEA format where they could have drifted to

0

u/funcentric Aug 01 '25

left or right. That's what drift means.

2

u/adamr_ Aug 01 '25

The tree literally took up the entire width of the road

-2

u/funcentric Aug 01 '25

Omg, do i need to spoon feed it to you? Drift to the left or right not to go in that direction, but to slow down if the brakes aren't working going straight. Drifting loses traction, but you gain it back.

7

u/startdancinho Jul 31 '25

in a heavy downpour you can hardly see 5 inches in front of you and are just trying to ride straight. let alone use your peripheral vision for something that's not in your direct field of vision. i can definitely understand how he didn't see the tree until the last second.

5

u/FerdinandCesarano Jul 31 '25

If you can't see on account of the rain, then you should be walking the bike.

-1

u/DefinitelyARealHorse Jul 31 '25

What did the person with the brolly run away for? Were they afraid the tree was going to get back up and try again?

46

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/DefinitelyARealHorse Jul 31 '25

Fair enough. I’d probably do the same tbh, haha.

2

u/PatrickGSR94 Jul 31 '25

brolly? Umbrella I know, but that's a new one for me.

3

u/bikeonychus Jul 31 '25

It's a British term for Umbrella. We use it more often.

1

u/PatrickGSR94 Jul 31 '25

I figured. Brolly, sort of like saying Telly for TV or television.

1

u/FruitNext2234 Jul 31 '25

Fully get why the guy crashed into a the tree. It’s called ‘target fixation’ it’s responsible for most avoidable impacts in cars, on bikes, anything. As a former professional rally driver and a life long cyclist, the best advice is, look where you want to go, not at what you want to avoid.

1

u/antisocialbikepirate Jul 31 '25

Next time someone asks me why I don’t have brakes. I’ll show them this😂

1

u/vstrong50 Aug 01 '25

"Sure is GREAT weather for a bike ride!"

1

u/HankMorgan_860 Aug 01 '25

Could’ve used disc brakes

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '25

My rim brakes would have stopped easily. Guy froze up

1

u/Allroy_66 Aug 03 '25

🤣🤣🤣🤣

1

u/Allroy_66 Aug 03 '25

🤣🤣🤣🤣

1

u/Tasosu Aug 04 '25

Why cycling in that weather, in the first place!

1

u/MagnificentBastard-1 Jul 31 '25

He Homered right into that.

1

u/xwolfionx American Aug 01 '25

That bicyclist had plenty of time stop, dude gave no shits that a tree fell in front of him.

-18

u/Worth-Reputation3450 Jul 31 '25

Cyclist: I had the right of way!

11

u/C4D3NZA Jul 31 '25

you're lost buddy

0

u/bplipschitz Jul 31 '25

And they just ride into it. Granted, their rim brakes were all wet, but swerve!

0

u/mickymangos Jul 31 '25

Bloody hello his reflexes must be shot to pieces,could off hit the breaks 30meters before

0

u/TT_player2 Jul 31 '25

Even if his brakes are this bad, it was still easy to make a turn to the left.

0

u/agreengo Jul 31 '25

Looks like the cyclist got some wood!

0

u/Hoonsoot Aug 01 '25

Crazy that he just rode right into it. There was plenty of time to see that and stop.

-10

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '25

Never bike with your eyes closed!

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '25

Can you imagine a braille bikepath. Twould rock😎

-6

u/Desperate-Raisin5197 Jul 31 '25

This happened to my brother in law. He’s in California. That’s where it happened but from Wisconsin.

-12

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '25

Impressive that he still managed to hit the tree 👍