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Mountain Bike Brake Rotor Started a Forest Fire in Austria

By Monica Buck

If you’re ever in doubt about how powerful your brakes are, remember that they can ignite an entire forest. Not that such superpower is particularly useful, as an unnamed cyclist learned in the Bikepark Brandnertal last Sunday. He stopped to rest for a bit during a long descent and laid down his bike in a meadow. A tuft of dried grass promptly caught fire, and despite the mountain biker’s attempts to put it out, the fire spread very quickly.

The rider in question quickly called for help, and several fire brigades came to aid. The fire started around 4PM and, with some help from a police helicopter, it was contained at around 6PM. A nearby gondola lift had to be stopped, but luckily nobody was harmed.