[Closed] sooner or later someone is going to end up paralyzed or dead...

i nearly died riding to the shops for a pint of milk

They get paid?

.. worth it?

For them it is obviously.

It's not like it's The Hunger Games and you have to do it if your name comes up.

Calculated risk innit.

JoB - Member
i nearly died riding to the shops for a pint of milk

POSTED 6 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

This!

I gather the person holding a gun to his head is just out of shot?

We're human beings. We do really stupid shit! We normally do this really stupid shit because it's a right laugh! Being an idiot is bloody brilliant fun!!! Most of us live through it though.

God called it 'Freedom of Choice'

And who are we to argue with him 😀

🙂

much respect to them, but i'm not sure that the risks they are taking is worth the reward.... and bear in mind, if you crash and snap your self you are not going to be walking away with a cheque for 45K.

we all take risks when out riding. i've enough scars and the odd broken bone, torn ligament and tendon, too...

i'm just a bit "meh" when it comes to the whole Rampage thing. not really sure what the point is.

not really sure what the point is.

There has to be a point?

sooner or later someone is going to end up paralyzed or dead...

I personally think the death and injury rate in cars is unacceptable, but we all still use them.

That crash didn't look that bad really. It's not something I would do, or even contemplate for any amount of money really, but it's not something new, to do dangerous stuff. You can watch early examples of motor racing on Youtube, the bodies of crash victims being dragged to the side of the track while the racing continued around them. On the grand scale of things, most sports have probably become safer.

Someone may end up paralysed AND dead...
I don't think you've fully weighed up the consequences.

It's called living life. I'm glad they do it, I admire and respect them, I couldn't/wouldn't and I'm happy that they are achieving their dreams.

I nearly died riding to the shops for a pint of milk

Skimmed or semi-skimmed?

This interview with Cam Zink provides an interesting perspective on this [url= http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Cam-Zinks-Big-Move-YT-Bikes-2014.html ]Link[/url]

alpin - Member

and for what? 45000 green dollars.... worth it?

No loss. Their choice of earning a living.

🙄

and for what? 45000 green dollars.... worth it?

No, i doubt the money even comes into it. Nobody chooses to this sort if thing for the money. If we attached risk to monetary gain then these guys would be multi millionaires. They do it because they want to and there is a platform that allows them to do it that opens it and them to the whole world with a very little added bonus of some prize money.

Fair play to all of them.

No, i doubt the money even comes into it. Nobody chooses to this sort if thing for the money. If we attached risk to monetary gain then these guys would be multi millionaires. They do it because they want to and there is a platform that allows them to do it that opens it and them to the whole world with a very little added bonus of some prize money.

Whilst I largely agree with this, it has to be said that a lot of these guys must be under massive amounts of pressure to perform. The prize money will be of little relevance, but their sponsors will certainly be thinking about money, and to make money you've got to be the best. It's a bit like when riders are pushed into doping in pro cycling. And I dare say not everyone is entirely comfortable with what they're doing out there. But at the same time, I bet some of them love it, and as has been said, no-one has a gun to their head. And every single one of them were drawn to the risk in the first place. You don't even consider a career like that unless you're a complete loon to start with.

I gather the person holding a gun to his head is just out of shot?

❓

This makes no sense 😉

Is it just me or is everything the "analyst" says complete bollocks? It had nothing to do with landing "further down the landing" or "his body not being ready", and everything to do with being under-rotated when the back wheel touches down, surely? 😕

Was the analyst Cotton or Pepper?

Is it just me or is everything the "analyst" says complete bollocks?

Not watched much sport in the US, I assume? Their commentary is brilliant in the level of utter drivel they spout.

I find Rampage unwatchable these days (and I've been a spectator out there in the past) because what the riders are doing is so high consequence (with such meagre reward). While it's true that nobody is holding a gun to their heads, I think there's a certain exploitation going on, of young men's bravado and recklessness, of peer pressure, of the cut-throat competition for sponsorship. That's just my personal pov.

It's not exclusive to free ride MTB - other extreme sports do the same in the quest for ever greater 'spectacle'. But MTB, because I have a have a grasp of what they're being asked to do, makes me feel especially uncomfortable. It's telling that riders have said they don't 'enjoy' Rampage. And pro riders have been paralysed while working (not at Rampage).

He went flying cos his arse smacked the rear wheel, nothing to do with suspension or the landing ramp..

I've always thought its only a matter of time with the Rampage. Riders HAVING to go bigger every year. Yeah they dont have to but they are competing for other bigger prizes; other sponsors, future contracts and this IS exposure.

It aint worth it.

Almost killed riding to the shops? A lorry intentionally tried killing us on the motorway on Sunday- I didnt chose or ask him to do that. Theres a difference fella.

We normally do this really stupid shit because it's a right laugh!

Sorry - WE?

I've seen you ride!

And pro riders have been paralysed while working (not at Rampage).

Indeed, Tara Llanes springs to mind.

hora - Member

Almost killed riding to the shops? A lorry intentionally tried killing us on the motorway on Sunday- I didnt chose or ask him to do that. Theres a difference fella.

congratulations on spotting my point, i'd rather die doing something i chose to do than at the hands of someone else

all riders have the choice whether or not to do this sort of thing, plenty in the past have walked away when they perceive the risk/reward stakes to be skewed the wrong way - for them, there will always be someone more skilled or ballsier, most probably younger following up behind, it's part of the progression to how Rampage has got to where it is now, it's the same for every other 'extreme' sport

people will be doing crazier stuff next year, someone might hurt themselves

i'd rather die doing something i chose to do than at the hands of someone else

Amen! Better to live one day as a wolf doing massive front flips off a mesa than a lifetime as a sheep who can't even pull a sodding wheelie. Live fast, die young, leave a horribly mangled corpse embedded in the transition, that's my motto. Or will be, once I get the hang of wheelies.

These guys know the risks. They live for different reasons to the rest of us, like mountaineers, explorers and whatnot. They're driven to it. The fact that so few of them have bitten the dust properly just goes to show how damn good they are at assessing the risks and balancing them with their abilities. I can't even start to contemplate how to do the stuff they're doing, so I'm not about to start judging them for doing it.

Better to live one day as a wolf doing massive front flips off a mesa than a lifetime as a sheep who can't even pull a sodding wheelie. Live fast, die young, leave a horribly mangled corpse embedded in the transition, that's my motto. Or will be, once I get the hang of wheelies.

😆

the only value in Rampage is showing people at work the videos and letting them believe that's the kind of shit you do at a weekend...

Don't focus on the prize money, it's a visibility thing- you can get more coverage for a single big trick or even crash in Rampage than you can for an entire year's riding otherwise, that gives it a career value way above the prize fund.

I get where folks are coming from but it's hard to even be allowed to ride rampage, and a lot of those who've earned the right to still choose not to, like Antony Messere opting out even though it took him out of the running for the FMB overall. These aren't stupid guys throwing themselves off cliffs and hoping to live, they're not riding anything they don't believe they can land... And look at frinstance Lacondeguy this year, opting not to do a second run, or Kirill Churbanov going all the way to Rampage from Russia then choosing not to ride...

I have no problem with people doing this, it's entirely their choice. I've seen plenty of film of riders hacking the infamous trails and ladders around Seattle and Whistler, and that frightens me more than that video.
Riders on heavy MX bikes have been doing 360 degree backward and forward rotations for years, so I fail to see the big deal about this.

i nearly died riding to the shops for a pint of milk

You do realise that Rampage is done with CGI, don't you? People can't actually do these superhuman things.

This is why vegans live longer

Nah, it just [i]feels[/i] like you're living longer 😆

Which reminds me of redbulls other and Eigo Sato. Not in the comp itself but in training for it:

www.xgames.espn.go.com/article/8999804/japanese-fmx-rider-x-games-competitor-eigo-sato-dies-crash

Ski Jumping
Ski Aerobatics
Half Pipe
Sky Diving
Paragliding
Climbing
Mountaineering
Cliff Diving
MX
etc.
it's only a matter of time

Yeah, we should ban this for their own safety! Along with the TT, show jumping, mountain climbing, marathon running, the Dakar rally, the round the world yacht race, base jumping etc. etc. etc.

It's all about risk and reward. And at the end of the day, better that the event is risk mitigated as much as possible in a more formal atmosphere than the alternative.

We remove as much risk from our world as we can and wrap much up in cotton wool, but at the end of the day life threatening situations are what make some people feel alive. These were the people that went and had a look what was in the next valley as stoneage men, or went to space with no idea what the consequences would be. These events are the modern equivalent.

I used to ski to a very high level and quite often we would go off on a pair of skis where now in my 40's I wouldn't dream of.

In my teens and 20's the buzz was getting down something that you know you could have just died getting down, the buzz was like nothing else, and I will never forget it.

We weren't offered any money, Youtube didn't exist, it was just great fun doing something where you knew the consequences were massive, that was the big part of the buzz

, we should ban this for their own safety!

This was debated in motor racing in the 60s wasn't it? The competitors felt they were being forced to rake too many risks.

Then again, the point of motor racing is to be fast; there appears to be nothing else in this Rampage stuff part from risk.

Then again, the point of motor racing is to be fast; there appears to be nothing else in this Rampage stuff part from risk.

Yeah, we should ban this for their own safety!

Unlike actual racing, the Rampage is about going big. Yes theres the tricks aspect but its ramping up, look at how the competitors are going bigger and bigger every year. Its only going to end one way.

I still like the street racing courses though.

hora - Member
Its only going to end one way.

it's only going to end one way if you're supercilious enough to think the riders are cow-witted idiots just throwing themselves off cliffs in the vain pursuit of cash rather than skilled athletes that have practised their tricks over and over and over and enjoy pushing themselves that little bit further each time because it's a large part of what makes them tick

they're savvy enough to know what their limits are without you telling them what's dangerous like their boring Dad that gets a bit scared going down a hill on a road bike

JoB, slow down and read the signs for a minute.

Can you see the trend/direction its going? Going back to racing drivers- if you told a guy he could be a second quicker but the car would be dangerous/less safe. Guess how many racing drivers would take that car?

Sometimes you have to put controls in place for the benefits of the competitors who are so (professionally) focused.

For your visual enjoyment- are you happy for them to take the bigger risks to entertain you?

Back to your road bike and please, do enjoy it.

This is why vegans live longer

Bollox! You live longer because us carnivores put all the natural predators in pies. If it wasn't for us, you'd have been killed in a cow stampede before now! Or mauled by a bad tempered sheep.

And do we get any thanks? Do we? Eh......?

Ungrateful bastards!

what trend/direction is it going then?
the same way it's been going since the year dot, certain human beings will always push themselves to go bigger/further/faster/higher, it's what we (or they to be more truthful) do, but as has been mentioned above enough Rampage competitors have walked away when feel it's dangerous for them when others have been happy to carry on

if riders want to do this kind of thing i will watch, in slack-jawed awe, are *you* going to stop watching because you think it's too dangerous and someone's going to get hurt?

Unlike actual racing, the Rampage is about going big. Yes theres the tricks aspect but its ramping up, look at how the competitors are going bigger and bigger every year. Its only going to end one way.

Its only the same as skateboarding, BMXing or pretty much anything else really. The stuff people were doing only a few years ago looks tame by comparison now. Are the skateparks littered with mangled quadriplegics and corpses? No.

People push the boundaries. Its what human beings do in every sphere of life. Not just riding down big hills. As a species we're stupid competitive, willy-waving buggers, who like doing silly things for a laugh. Even better if we're getting payed for being daft

I rode BMX in the mid 90's when it was effectively dead. There were a few local competitions around the world which attracted the best riders but the prize money was effectively zero, maybe a few quid and a t-shirt, even for internationally known riders and the best in the world. That didn't stop the riders going for every gap, every jump and every trick they could think of.
Street riding was a huge part of it and some stuff was incredibly dangerous for no reward bar a few seconds on a video. Riders made their own parts as there wasn't reallt the big companies around with the R&D cash to improve things. I remember a group of us started making our own stainless steel pegs as the ones we could buy were rubbish.
I used to ride with Jamie Bestwick when he was still an electrician (IIRC) and he used to drive from Derby to Wakefield 2 or 3 times a week to ride the vert ramp at the Wakefield skatepark, one of only a handful in the country (was barely any skateparks anyway!). He said he couldn't take too many risks as he couldn't afford to miss work the next day.

People did it cos it was fun, exciting, a big rush and very rewarding. Never for the money. These riders don't practice for a few weeks and earn mega bucks, they've been riding for years non-stop, taking risks when there wasn't a monetary reward at all. The money is a great help now as it means they can spend more time doing what they love rather than needing a normal job and they won't lose out too much if they are injured for a while. Yes there are occasions when people are seriously injured or have died but if we all stopped doing things because of a small risk of something serious happening we'd never get out of bed.

if riders want to do this kind of thing i will watch, in slack-jawed awe, are *you* going to stop watching because you think it's too dangerous and someone's going to get hurt?

I watched it live.

I was gobsmacked.

Blown away.

I literally could not comprehend the bravery and commitment of someone trying to pull a move like that. To try and front flip a 74ft gap (was it 74ft? I'm not sure if the commentators mentioned it) the sheer BALLS of it.

Its something I would never be able to even think about replicating. It was a moment of pure human endeavour.

Yes it was risky, but there is no courage without fear.

Seems a shame to dismiss such incredible ambition as foolish because he might have hurt himself.

Watch [url= http://www.wherethetrailends.com ]Where the Trail Ends[/url] for a bit of an insight into the mindset of these nutters. They're incredibly driven to push themselves ever further in what is, lest we forget, their day job. And they're more than aware of the risks they're taking. They're not stupid, by any stretch of the imagination. Far from it.

Also watch [url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2499076/ ]The Crash Reel [/url]for an insight into what a lot of the competitors think about boundary pushing in similar sports, and into how it can pan out.

Better to live one day as a wolf doing massive front flips off a mesa than a lifetime as a sheep who can't even pull a sodding wheelie.

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Imma just leave this here.

http://www.animal.co.uk/2014/10/martyn-ashton-year-one/