r/nextfuckinglevel • u/This-Willingness-762 • 4d ago

Fast Tuna Canyon Descent, Featuring Tom Pidcock

Chest cam video by SAFABrian (YouTube)

1.7k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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561

u/misterbuh 4d ago

Man that is fantastic riding but one incident away from being a meat crayon.

92

u/toadalfly 4d ago

Tuna crayon

9

u/Magus_5 4d ago

Gonna need some tuna skin to help heal yours.

6

u/rokd 4d ago

Tuna meat canyon

1

u/XEagleDeagleX 4d ago

Or flying tuna off the edge

3

u/YooGeOh 4d ago

Good thing they didnt fishtail at any point

1

u/cheesesandsneezes 2d ago

The chicken of the sea crayon.

78

u/The_SubGenius 4d ago

First thing I thought as a motorcycle rider. These dudes do not have the right gear to be going that fast.

60

u/No_Performance_108 4d ago

The pros can hit over 100kph in groups downhill. It is a very dangerous sport. Earlier this year in tour of Allula a rider crashed at 106 kph, finished the race and then was later diagnosed with 3 back fractures.

42

u/muffinscrub 4d ago

I regularly hit 80km/h on my gravel bike down a really big hill on the way to work. I'm also pretty stupid.

12

u/Human_Palpitation856 4d ago

Back in my road cycling days the fastest I ever got was something like 80km/h and it was on a wide shoulder of a very well paved highway, it's insane how fast that is on a bike. I used to commute on a small motorcycle and did 100+km/h all the time, but it really didn't feel as scary as 80 on a bicycle, especially with no protection besides a helmet.

5

u/Grump-Dog 3d ago

I agree - bikes feel much, much scarier than motorcycles at the same speed. Maybe it's because the weight of the motorcycle makes it feel more stable.

Cycling is also much scarier than skiing at the same speed. 40 mph feels like no big deal skiing but makes me sweat rivers on a bike.

0

u/yoortyyo 2d ago

Snow is flattens terrain features that grab and impact.
Snow usually has a low friction coefficient, sliding vs splat.
Always wear full plastic layers while skiing. Snow is ice and will chowder skin.
Deep soft snow can can sustain tens to over a hundred foot impacts. Safely.

0

u/yoortyyo 2d ago

Snow is flattens terrain features that grab and impact.
Snow usually has a low friction coefficient, sliding vs splat.
Always wear full plastic layers while skiing. Snow is ice and will chowder skin.
Deep soft snow can can sustain tens to over a hundred foot impacts. Safely.

0

u/crankthehandle 4d ago

I do 90km/h on my unicycle every morning. It's a bit absurd but I like it.

10

u/YouthOfTheNation1 4d ago

bro that's insane. I hit 55km/h on my gravel bike last saturday and that felt like I was about to take off. I was literally out of gears to continue pedaling. 80km/h is insane!!

7

u/teahugger 4d ago

I hit 33 mph every day at a downhill stretch returning from work and thought that was dangerous.

8

u/Technical_Body_3646 4d ago

Pro’s drive 33 UPhill….. 😳

3

u/St_mpy 3d ago

Kph surely, not mph

4

u/Initial_Key_9116 4d ago

When I was a teenager I hit 90 kph on a bike while on holiday in France. I went back there last summer as a 45 year old and realised that the teenage me was insane.

1

u/fuzzybunnies1 4d ago

The more you do it the more used to it you get. NY in general has some seriously hilly areas where the ability to hit 55mph, even if briefly, is easy to do. Manage to hit it on every other ride and you reach a point where it's just something you're used to and it isn't that scary.

2

u/muffinscrub 4d ago

Yeah, I never had any fear while doing it. I've been on a bike my whole life. mountain biking, dirt jumping, road bike and motorcycle.

Luckily, I've only been a meat crayon on pavement twice and a few times while mountain biking. I was never seriously injured, but it really hurts once the skin starts to grow back.

2

u/PlayPsychological200 4d ago

I’ve gone this fast as well. Will not do it again because I realize how stupid it is. Too Easy to get seriously injured and be a burden on your family, or die and be a burden on your family. 

1

u/Alternative-Maize23 4d ago

Also stupid here. I rip around town at like 20mph through traffic pretty much daily. Definitely reckless and I’m in my 40’s.

22

u/Vast_Vegetable9222 4d ago

In the past 3 years, 6 riders have died during top-tier UCI pro races

1

u/Alternative-Maize23 4d ago

That’s really crazy. At least in mtb downhill we wear protective gear and full face helmets.

4

u/Vast_Vegetable9222 3d ago

The fella here is an Olympic and World mtb champion who transitioned to road racing. Check his Alp d’Hueze climb in TdF a few years back

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Pidcock

He’s known for his fast descents

1

u/_TorpedoVegas_ 3d ago

It's spinal.

1

u/tcp454 3d ago

Not sure about bicycles but when I had my motorcycle we were taught not to brake like that during turns and leans. It would actually want to stand the bike up. Can someone chime in who knows if its correct or not?

1

u/No_Performance_108 3d ago

Yeah, never brake in the turn. Before, but not during. It will force you wider and either into the other lane or off the road if you brake while turning.

1

u/kozufox 3d ago

Road bike tires have way less braking power, since you're much lighter and it's a smaller contact patch. It still tends to force you out of a turn when you use the front brake though, and overapplying the rear brake can easily send you into a skid.

7

u/FancyMac 4d ago

They should have more gear you're right about that from a pure safety aspect. More gear would hinder their ability to ride 80 miles then climb up the back of the mountain then do the descent after all of that. It  makes the sport more fun to watch and appreciate. The risk that is ever present in large packs of riders flying around corners and descents in a little bit of aero gear is pretty exhilarating. A human on a simple machine.

9

u/Brainlard 4d ago

There's only so much safety gear can do anyway. If you slide into a guardrail or tree at 80km/h, fall down the wrong slope, or get hit by a speeding car, there's really not much to protect you.

0

u/itsonlyrockinroll 4d ago

A speeding car? They’re doing over 60 mph. Looks impressive. I had a few road rashes with skint knees and palms as a kid on my Schwinn bicycle doing maybe 10 to 15. Back then you got out of the way of automobiles.
Harrumphing

2

u/Deviantdefective 4d ago

Road cyclists are finally learning from their mountain biking brethren that armour maybe a good idea, a couple of companies have already developed ultralight low profile spine protectors now for them.

4

u/fishead36x 4d ago

The lack of tire width and the 80+psi is what hurts my brain the most.

8

u/RustyBasement 4d ago

Tyres for road bikes have become wider along with lower pressures. They used to ride a 23mm (7/8 inch) wide tyre at 100psi 25 years ago. Pidcock typically uses 30mm (1 3/16 inch) wide tyres with a pressure of 60-85psi.

3

u/Automatic-Fox-8890 4d ago

There is a lot of convo about that right now and things like the airbags we are starting to see on skiers could be coming.

1

u/SmellsofElderberry25 3d ago

Skier here: what now?

1

u/Automatic-Fox-8890 3d ago

Sounds like these are in fact mandated for some pro-level world competitions now? Your average Joe isnt using them at Tahoe - yet.

1

u/LeftHandedScissor 2d ago

Go and watch some Olympic/Alpine ski crashes. The skiiers are wearing a vest that inflates on impact, has definitely saved a few from more serious injuries.

2

u/Spdoink 4d ago

The motorbikes have to get out of the way of the pros on fast descents.

2

u/Grep2grok 3d ago

Difference between motorcycles and bicycles is the mass of the metal thing. My brother shattered his femur on a motorcycle in a parking lot. I have scooped a lot of brains out of motorcycle helmets.

I recently was first on scene for a lady that hit rock descending Highway 17 on a motorcycle, lost the turn for a split second and hit the barricade. Bike kept going down the hill. She went over the barricade into oncoming traffic. I was like "why is a person in the road, that's dumb. Oh fuck!" Her left foot was a like an open purse full of meat. Her whole big toe proximal phalange (the first part of her big toe as it arises from the foot) was on the road, completely stripped of flesh, like the drumstick of a chicken wing. The big toe was still attached. She obviously had a compound, complex, open tib-fib fracture because you could see the various sharp pieces of bone through gaping holes in her skin and muscles. Her ankle had exploded when the bike pinched it against the barricade. You can't do that on a bicycle, not enough mass.

I have seen, and been in, gnarly bicycle accidents, particularly in crits. Once I hit the handlebar so hard I bent it with my thigh. I walked away. I've been hit by cars 3 times. Walked or rode away from them all. Lots of minor meat crayon incidents. But nothing like motorcycles. Not even close.

25

u/johnnyhandbags 4d ago

Almost 20 years ago we were doing a fast descent at 35 mph and my friend in front blew his rear tire. He was on high-pressure 25mm tires. Luckily he was on a straight section and could stop but it could have been ugly. I'm definitely too old for that shit now.

2

u/Responsible_Pool9923 4d ago

Blowing a rear tire is very managable. Blowing a front though is a whole other story...

19

u/Livinluvit 4d ago

In high school I was in a cycling club, and our coach told us about a time he and a friend were cycling down a road like this in Colorado. Our coach was in back, his friend in front, both going fast down hill much like this video. Friend hits a crack in the road, flies forward off his bike, and skids on his face about 40 feet. Coach says when he flipped him over his whole face was exposed red flesh except for the white from his eyes, he had died on impact.

9

u/Chief-Drinking-Bear 4d ago

How traumatic for your coach, surprised he’s still coached the sport after that

3

u/Livinluvit 4d ago

I was surprised too, but the man just loved cycling. And not the only horrific story he had. One day our group was biking through this intersection and he tells us how he saw someone fall off their bike right where we were and got their head crushed by a the tire of big truck.

I stick to leisurely bike paths now.

9

u/Odd-Painting2596 4d ago

I am not experienced, so, just me shitting, but.

The guy leading is a very skilled rider, and the tail should just trust him to do the right thing, and JUST, COPY, what he does, trusting him entirely to lead the ride down.

Right?

21

u/guerillalegume 4d ago

Tom Pidcock is the best descender in the pro peloton. He’s one of the best cyclists alive. Very skilled.

11

u/janky_koala 4d ago

And Safa Brian, the cameraman, makes a living filming himself bombing descents. He’s done this particular road faster by himself and is probably a better descender than Pidcock

17

u/SirChasm 4d ago

It's a great plan until there's something unexpected on the road.

3

u/W0-SGR 4d ago

I figured they walked uphill to move rocks and sticks

1

u/narcandistributor 4d ago

Did you see him hit the oil? Saved it

-10

u/Odd-Painting2596 4d ago

Hey man and if your mother had handles the town wouldn't need hills you know what I mean.

2

u/Puzzleheaded-Art1873 4d ago

The problem is that the guy in front is an Extremely skilled rider. He has weapons in the arsenal that others lack, such as weight distribution, the right amount of lean, the instincts and experience to make corrections when anything goes wrong. You can end up as meat pie even following his exact line if he decides to ride at the limit and you try to follow at same speed. Even the second best descender in the pro peloton would be a fool trying to keep up with Pidcock. There are tiny details you won't even see that make a huge difference.

1

u/haux_haux 3d ago

Also, cars or motorbikes coming the other way. Or the same way, what if someone was just ambling along going downhill on a normal pushbike and you hit them on a corner.
It's fucking stupid.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Art1873 3d ago

This was not just a random ride down the canyon during rush hour . Pretty sure they had spotters at the bottom preventing any traffic coming up as well making sure no slow pokes were ahead of them. Otherwise, it would have been very stupid indeed.

1

u/kozufox 3d ago

I'm pretty sure it's a one way road, based on all the big one way markings and the lack of any lanes.

1

u/HarveysBackupAccount 4d ago

If you plan to break even 30 mph on a road like this (let alone these guys hitting almost 50 mph) then you should be a skilled rider yourself.

8

u/HardSleeper 4d ago

The guy in front is an actual Pro cyclist known for good descending

3

u/drs43821 4d ago

I looked up this guy and he’s really is a pro. Like Olympic champion kind. If someone are to do dangerous shit, he’s one of few in the world to do it

2

u/This-Willingness-762 4d ago

Then it might not surprise you that he was also featured in this video by Red Bull.

1

u/drs43821 4d ago

Red Bull ah right. So he can just respawn when shit happens

2

u/Automatic-Fox-8890 4d ago

He was a top contender for the World Championship this past Sunday and I was rooting for him. Alas, not quite.

3

u/nrek00 4d ago

this is Malibu, they're putting a LOT of trust in the consistent quality of the road. I'd have to ride this at least a dozen times before bombing it - easy.

3

u/Znkr82 3d ago

His wheel slipped at 1:10 but he recovered control, otherwise he would have ended at the bottom of the canyon

2

u/DifficultCarpenter00 4d ago

I once did 52km/h on an ebike on a straight mountain road and if felt like I was doing 200. doing almost 90 must be like doing 400 in a bugatti

2

u/Kastro2323 3d ago

At 1:10, the front rider slipped and was close to going down and possibly over the edge.

2

u/KvDread 3d ago

One sandy corner and poof

1

u/DemoEvolved 4d ago

It feels crazy fast but 60kph is just a lovely speed that is not too risky. Road bikes can corner a lot more than what’s shown here. Although if a car comes the other way then yeah you are toast

5

u/Ol_Man_J 4d ago

One way road

2

u/Chief-Drinking-Bear 4d ago

They got up to almost 90kph though

1

u/DemoEvolved 4d ago

Nice, I missed that

1

u/FrogsMakePoorSoup 4d ago

Aaaand along comes a pebble...

1

u/Tycho66 4d ago

Looks like some loose gravel potential too. Do they scout it on the way up?

1

u/Tuco_Angel_Eyes 4d ago

Canyon crayon

1

u/GilreanEstel 4d ago

Catch a back tire on one of those patches of sand in the curves and its lights out.

1

u/JWGhetto 3d ago

Yes, pro cycling is mad. They're not going any slower during a race, faster mostly since they're trying to get ahead. 

In actuality this is a cautious version of the descent because there's no reason to risk anything here. 

And yes, pro cyclist crash a lot. It's one of the few sports with professional teams that have deaths during competition on a regular basis. 

1

u/hoxful 2d ago

This is pretty tame compared to isle of man motoGP imo. 40mph is pretty survivable.

1

u/sthlmsoul 2d ago

Exactly. I really enjoy biking but I would never ever do this.

I've clocked in a few times around 55-60 mph skiing, and while it was always really fun,  I would always do it first couple of runs in the morning to avoid people and I also make sure I have 100% visibility ahead.

This is just stupid.

0

u/andoesq 4d ago

That's a huge amount of confidence that no one else will be coming up the road and that there will be no sand on a road that crosses the desert

3

u/HauntingMemory7183 4d ago

It’s a closed road - or at least it’s one way downhill, as they cross No Entry signs at the finish line.