Chile is best known for its beautiful scenery, beautiful women, and rich history, but did you know that it also hosts an incredible death defying urban downhill bike race as well? They call it Valparaiso Cerro Abajo, and I promise you… you’ve never seen anything quite like this.
Once a year, downhill racers from around the world meet to compete on a “track” that’s little more than the everyday city streets, complete with huge drops out of windows, endless staircases, and all manner of obstacles, and jumps over said obstacles. Oh, and track markers? We don’t need those… simple ribbons are good enough!
Valparaiso Cerro Abajo Helmet Cam Video
I’m going to show you a few stills below, because they’re amazing in their own right, but there’s nothing quite like video – especially this one. What you’re about to watch is helmet cam footage from one of the riders as he tears his way down the track. It starts out slow, but I promise you, you’re in for a few surprises. I highly recommend watching this one full screen.
So, what did you think? When the dog ran out and started running along side the rider, man, I thought for sure it was going to get crushed under his wheels. I’m glad that didn’t happen, as it would have been shit for all parties involved.
You know, call me crazy, but I got a distinct Parkour vibe from watching this clip. I was trying to figure out why, and I’ve decided that it’s because of the urban setting, and the impromptu nature of the Valparaiso Cerro Abajo race. Nothing looks overly professional (except the riders), and it’s clear that someone just walked through and marked out what they thought would be a bad-ass run. That’s my kind of style.
Action Shots, or, I would die horribly riding in this race
Well, he wasn’t too high up… that’s nothin….
Ahhhhh!!! I take it all back. Who knows how high this guy is in the air, but I’m betting he’s quite a ways up. It doesn’t help that he seems to be riding off the top of a war torn building.
I would say that this looks a lot more reasonable, but you know what? Not really. Just riding down a few steps was a nightmare for me as a teenager. I can’t imagine what something like this would be. Actually, I can… a ball wrecker.
Thoughts?
Have any of you guys seen this event first hand? I could actually find very little information on the whole thing. Heck, there isn’t even a Wikipedia entry for it. If you know something that I don’t, please share it in the comments below!
