Fun stunt biking video

[Guus]

Unbelievable. And scary

[PotomacCyclist]

He’s a skilled rider, no doubt. But I really think he’s going to end up like Martyn Ashton, the guy who made those Road Bike Party videos using a road bike to do stunts. Ashton fell during one stunt and broke his back. He is now paralyzed and wheelchair-bound.

MacAskill has already suffered multiple injuries while filming other videos. During one interview, he said he had hardly ridden over a one or two-year period because of all the injuries and the physical pain. The guys who perform in these videos get injured a lot.

[GovernorSilver]

Apparently he competes in UCI Trials events. Just learned this type of sport exists.

UCI women’s highlights:
http://www.uci.ch/trials/videos/women-elite-trials-205-uci-trials-eorld-championships-valnord-and/

UCI men’s highlights:
http://www.uci.ch/trials/videos/best-moments-men-elite-trials-205-uci-trials-world-championships-vallnord-and/

Who knows why some people compete in sports more dangerous than others. That’s sidetrack I’ll stay clear of.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

No thank you very much please.

[PotomacCyclist]

It seems as though his videos are involving more and more risk, as if he’s trying to outdo himself with each one. His earlier videos involved tricky moves and some risk, but he wasn’t riding up on narrow ledges so high up. The video at the abandoned train station was great. He did ride on top of old train cars but those were stationary and much wider than the ledges in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShbC5yVqOdI

The set of the children’s toy video (where he was riding around super-sized versions of kids toys like Hot Wheels loops and building blocks) was cool too. He fell several times, as seen in the outtakes at the end of the video (and also in a separate behind-the-scenes video) but again, he wasn’t so high up. He landed on his back during one backflip/spin combo. He appeared to be injured on that crash.

But those are all different from this video. In terms of risk, I’d say the earlier ones were like participating in pro football or gymnastics, both of which can involve hard crashes and collisions and serious injuries, but not necessarily death (although some of the injuries have occasionally been very severe). This one is more like being a tightrope walker without a net. One minor slip-up and you’re likely paralyzed or dead. That’s the part that troubles me. That’s also the part that reminds me a lot of Martyn Ashton. He was injured while doing a stunt high above the ground. Despite his skills, he slipped, fell and broke his back, leading to his paralysis.

They both seem like decent guys so I don’t really care to see MacAskill join Ashton in the wheelchair club. But I fear that’s where he’s headed if he keeps ramping up the danger factor on his videos. I liked the earlier videos because he and the director were turning bike stunts into art. This one is still artistic but he’s crossing over the line to being reckless, I think. If you put yourself into such extreme high-risk scenarios over and over again, it’s only a matter of time before you end up very badly.

[PotomacCyclist]

His video with the super-sized toy props

[GovernorSilver]

I’m sure he’s a big boy and has already been nagged by concerned friends and loved ones. At first, I thought he was simply born with more “risk taker” genes than the average person, but as with many things in life, the real answer may be more complicated:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324102604578497133593217870

On a related note, a roundup of injuries sustained by a more famous stuntman:
http://kotaku.com/jackie-chans-major-injuries-a-catalogue-of-pain-461465578

[Vicegrip]

I agree it looks like the level of risk has gone way up with each video. In a way I can understand why. This latest video has a level of risk based attention getting that caused it to transition out of the cycling arena and into the much desired viral territory. Unlike his earlier videos I have seen non riders linking this one many times. Sadly I suspect he will become disabled or worse at some point.

I have to say I enjoy watching his more skills based videos a bit more than the latest one. I feel a slight bit wrong watching him take risks that look to be mortal if missed.

[GovernorSilver]

I dig the Imaginate video – especially the blooper reel at the end.

Here’s the guy who created the Road Bike Party video series – basically displaying the same skills on a road bike. He suffered an injury that appeared to have put a permanent end to his riding, yet his friends, including Danny, figured out a way to get him riding again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX_hn3Xf90g

Bike commuting here is inherently risky too – getting hit by a car is no less damaging than falling off a building – yet we do it…

[Vicegrip]

@GovernorSilver 129891 wrote:

I dig the Imaginate video – especially the blooper reel at the end.

Here’s the guy who created the Road Bike Party video series – basically displaying the same skills on a road bike. He suffered an injury that appeared to have put a permanent end to his riding, yet his friends, including Danny, figured out a way to get him riding again.

Bike commuting here is inherently risky too – getting hit by a car is no less damaging than falling off a building – yet we do it…

Assessment of risk without assessment of likelihood.

[PotomacCyclist]

@GovernorSilver 129852 wrote:

I’m sure he’s a big boy and has already been nagged by concerned friends and loved ones. At first, I thought he was simply born with more “risk taker” genes than the average person, but as with many things in life, the real answer may be more complicated:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324102604578497133593217870

On a related note, a roundup of injuries sustained by a more famous stuntman:
http://kotaku.com/jackie-chans-major-injuries-a-catalogue-of-pain-461465578

Some of these performers can be quite naive outside of their specialized skill or talent. It’s sort of like musicians from the 1950s and 1960s who entered into terrible record contracts and ended up with very little despite successful hits and albums. They knew a lot about music and performing, but almost nothing of business and law.

Or he may feel an obligation to follow the demands and suggestions of his manager or sponsor (Red Bull). He’s dependent on those sponsors. If he doesn’t have good business and promotional skills, he could have a very difficult time making a living without those managers and sponsors. But those sponsors may only be looking at short-term gain, not the long-term health of MacAskill.

If he keeps ramping up the risk level, it’s almost inevitable that he will end up paralyzed or dead. Even someone as skilled as he is falls frequently during the filming of these videos. We know this from the behind-the-scenes videos and from his own interviews.

I can easily see him being caught in a bubble, where he only hears the words of his managers and sponsors, and some fans who only look at short-term enjoyment but don’t consider the risk to MacAskill’s long-term well-being. Or he may think that he is completely dependent on the sponsors and managers and can’t afford to disagree with them. That’s entirely realistic and possible.

[jabberwocky]

I come from the skateboarding world, where this sort of risk is pretty routine. Honestly, the type of person who gets really good at this sort of thing is an inherent risk taker, always pushing the limits. I knew several guys over the years who went on to skateboarding sponsorships and such, and they were constantly getting hurt but always itching to get back on the board and keep pushing things. I think they would have been doing it no matter the outside reward (and the guys I know were getting rewards like “free decks and t-shirts”, certainly no compensation for constant broken bones).

I personally really doubt Red Bull is telling him to get out there and do crazy shit he doesnt want to do.

[GovernorSilver]

@Vicegrip 129893 wrote:

Assessment of risk without assessment of likelihood.

Um, you win?

The risk sure feels real to me every time I ride to work and back.

[GovernorSilver]

A documentary on the making of the Road Bike Party 2 video. The guy who made the original video suffered an accident that left him paralyzed, so he recruited MacAskill and another skilled trials rider to finish the stunts for him. Based on this documentary, I agree with jabberwocky. Nobody forced these guys to try crazier and crazier things on bikes.

[PotomacCyclist]

I like parkour/free running although I don’t practice it myself. And yes, I see that can also be risky. But not in every situation. (It’s also connected to the Ninja Warrior/American Ninja Warrior contests. Those require a lot of agility and upper-body strength. While they involve a moderate risk of injury, there doesn’t appear to be a serious risk of death. One exception is the Warped Wall. If someone ever fell from the top of that and landed head-first, that could be bad.)

I’m not calling for any sort of ban. I’m simply adding commentary to these videos, because I don’t think a lot of viewers appreciate how destructive the process actually is. I used to watch the videos in amazement and awe, but then I started looking into the price that they pay. I liked the creativity and the bike skills in the earlier videos. The latest one not as much. It comes across to me as more like one of those amateur YouTube videos, where some adrenaline junkies do insane stunts just to film it. I hope MacAskill doesn’t go down that path, because that didn’t appear to be his approach before. He has much more to offer than just extreme risk taking.

This is also why I don’t follow downhill bike racing that much. I saw part of a broadcast a few months ago, just out of curiosity. I was stunned to hear the long list of very serious injuries from almost every single competitor in the field. Not just sprained ankles or bruised ribs or other “garden variety” injuries. It sounded more like a battlefield injury report: broken backs, shattered limbs. crushed bones. It doesn’t have the same artistic element that MacAskill’s earlier videos had, and the races are too short in duration (at least for me).

They are putting these videos out in public, so people should feel free to comment on it and criticize, which I’m doing. I used to be more of a fan of MacAskill but I think he’s starting to become foolish. I also think it would be a waste of talent if he gets himself killed when he could dial it back just a bit and continue to create videos for a much longer time. Maybe even survive into his later years and continue to be a personality in the stunt bike world.

As for the risk-taking gene, I know that exists. It’s similar to those rock stars who lived wild lives and burned out very quickly, although their risks came from the use of voluminous amounts of drugs and unprotected… other activities. That’s partly why I started to get tired of rock and some popular forms of music. (I used to play music a lot, so it’s a field that I’m deeply familiar with. Or at least I used to be familiar with. I don’t know about that many current performers other than a few of the bigger names.) I like the freedom in their attitudes, but I wasn’t as fond of the excesses that many of them indulged in. Maybe I just got old. (I can’t tell you to get off my lawn because I don’t have a lawn.)

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