Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Killer tree almost maims cyclist

But the tree did get the bike and trash the front wheel.



This is Daniel. When this huge tree came down at Haight and Broderick in San Francisco, he almost ate it. More about Daniel and his adventure at SFist. Photo by expuestosiempre. H/T to Murph.

I just took a walk around my apartment complex and saw at least a half dozen broken trees, and I've heard chainsaws buzzing all around for most of the day.

Rather than chance getting stuck at the office today, I'm working at home. I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, though not in the evacuation areas mentioned in the news clip below.






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How was your commute today? Did you bike? And did you have to dodge any huge trees?
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8 comments:

  1. TJKnightOctober 13, 2009 at 2:29 PM

    I rode 17 hilly miles cautiously in a light mist around the Rose Bowl area canyons near my home. Then it started really raining. I saw at least five public works crews driving around. I assume they were scouting for mudslides.

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  2. ChrisOctober 13, 2009 at 3:18 PM

    Trees are dangerous! They cause forest fires and kill people. We should really cut them all down!

    ;)

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  3. velogirlOctober 13, 2009 at 3:55 PM

    you realize, of course, that this is a serious topic. I know three riders who have had trees fall on them. one of those riders is no longer with us.

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  4. Yokota FritzOctober 13, 2009 at 4:01 PM

    Lorri - ditto, and it's part of the reason I stayed home today. Most of the incidents I hear about are mountain biking, but I've heard of a couple of urban incidents like this also. In Santa Cruz County all of the parks are closed today because of the risk of falling redwoods and other trees.

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  5. bikesgonewildOctober 13, 2009 at 4:15 PM

    ...being off work today, for a brief instant i thought about going up the hills on my cross bike...

    ...not one of my better thoughts - way to dangerous w/ that wind...my best thought of the day was "hey, i've got enough food here, i can procrastinate on a couple a' errands & stay nicely ensconced in my place & watch the storm through my big ol' window"...

    ...& that's what i did...even though things seem to be settling down out there, i'm good for the evening...

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  6. murphstahoeOctober 13, 2009 at 4:19 PM

    Lorri - I think it's good to laugh when fortune actually gives us a break, and certainly this isn't something we can reasonably plan for.

    Fritz stayed home today, but an oak took out some triathletes on Westside Road in Sonoma County - during the race! In the middle of summer with light to no wind.

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  7. JymOctober 13, 2009 at 6:43 PM

    =v= It's safer to bike than to drive, and this one close call notwithstanding, today was no exception.

    Street trees on Haight have a tough time. They take damage to the trunks from cars and to the branches from trucks. They're expected to take root in a tiny basin made even tinier when the sidewalks were reduced to make room for parking. And (as in this case, I went by and checked it out) they lack wind protection from successor trees when the spots on each side of them are dedicated to driveways.

    So overall the trees are glad we're biking. I think this one was really trying to take out the SUV it landed on.

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  8. Yokota FritzOctober 13, 2009 at 6:46 PM

    Murph, feel free to link to your offer of a replacement wheel for Daniel.

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