"Relatives have paid tribute to a cyclist who fell to this death at a south Wales beauty spot. Mike Ford, 27, had been trying out a new mountain bike along a cliff path in Southerndown in the Vale of Glamorgan, when he plunged 100ft. ...."
I know this spot because I lived nearby for a short time as a boy and later was at school just down the coast.
Next to the road there is what looks to be a rolling, steep grassy hill. You simply cannot see the 200 ft cliff that follows. The idea of brakelessly rolling over the edge used scare me witless when I was younger and even typing this has given me sweaty fingers.
"[Not Responding]" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:[email hidden]:
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Next to the road there is what looks to be a rolling, steep grassy hill. You simply cannot see the 200 ft cliff that follows.
Nasty. I can understand how things like that happen. I once almost jumped off a 100ft plus cliff on the Isle of Lewis (almost exactly here - http://tinyurl.com/2mm8h). I was new to the area and I'd been walking along the beach with a girlfriend in the half light of a Lewis night. I didn't notice the gradual climb once we were off the beach and when we came to the next bay I was just about to jump down on to the sand (I had taken the short run up to clear what looked like a small rock at the edge of the grass) when I noticed two rather large stacks, the tops of which were level with me and the bases were way below on the beach.
Next to the road there is what looks to be a rolling, steep grassy hill. You simply cannot see the 200 ft cliff that follows. The idea of brakelessly rolling over the edge used scare me witless when I was younger and even typing this has given me sweaty fingers.
Aye. It used to scare me witless, too, when we used to go there when I was a kid. It's also a popular suicide spot, for obvious reasons.
That was the day I was cycling to Barry. My mate phoned me when he saw it on the news, to make sure I hadn't gone on beyond Barry.
Graeme <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
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"[Not Responding]" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:[email hidden]:
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Next to the road there is what looks to be a rolling, steep grassy hill. You simply cannot see the 200 ft cliff that follows.
Nasty. I can understand how things like that happen. I once almost jumped off a 100ft plus cliff on the Isle of Lewis
When I was about 12 or 13 and on holiday in Ness at the north of Lewis I almost fell off a seacliff. I'd been scrambling down a ledge from the top and my handhold broke off. I was falling backwards but managed to grab something. Just one of those teenage incidents parents never know about unless it goes seriously wrong. Iain
Graeme <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
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"[Not Responding]" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:[email hidden]:
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Next to the road there is what looks to be a rolling, steep grassy hill. You simply cannot see the 200 ft cliff that follows.
Nasty. I can understand how things like that happen. I once almost jumped off a 100ft plus cliff on the Isle of Lewis
When I was about 12 or 13 and on holiday in Ness at the north of Lewis I almost fell off a seacliff. I'd been scrambling down a ledge from the top and my handhold broke off. I was falling backwards but managed to grab something. Just one of those teenage incidents parents never know about unless it goes seriously wrong.
It always amazes me that anyone lives through childhood. I'm sure I'd never get away with half the daft things I can remember doing if I were to try them now.
I also (sexistly) assumed that my sisters and their friends were picking flowers and playing tennis whilst my friends and I were attempting explosions and testing homebuilt parachutes.
Now we're older and have talked about it, I know they had no more sense than I did.
Next to the road there is what looks to be a rolling, steep grassy hill. You simply cannot see the 200 ft cliff that follows.
Nasty. I can understand how things like that happen. I once almost jumped off a 100ft plus cliff on the Isle of Lewis..
A couple of years ago my son very nearly tried to 'grab some air' over Beachy Head in Sussex. I just realized in time how close we were to the edge and managed to warn him. Makes me go wobbly thinking about it. Moral: don't go cycling near cliffs in thick fog.
Mike Farnes wrote: A couple of years ago my son very nearly tried to 'grab some air' over Beachy Head in Sussex. I just realized in time how close we were to the edge and managed to warn him. Makes me go wobbly thinking about it. Moral: don't go cycling near cliffs in thick fog.
IIRC some scouts did it off the side of ben-nevis, one of thereasons the SA has tightened its rules....
