Mountain biker injured by wire in Toronto’s Don Valley says incident could have been worse
John Lobraico shares his story of being cut by wire while mountain biking Monday afternoon
After getting caught in barbed wire during a mountain bike ride in Toronto’s Don Valley on Monday, John Lobraico considers himself lucky to have walked away without serious injury. While he does have several deep cuts on both his arms, “it could,” the Cycle Solutions employee says, “have been much worse.”
On Monday, June 4, Lobraico was out on a lunch hour ride on a popular multi-use trail, sanctioned by the City of Toronto, descending from Lowblaws down to Pottery Road. “It was my day off and I was out pre-sweeping for Cycle Solution’s demo day happening the next day,” says Lobraico. “I was taking it easy because I was pre-riding, and because I hadn’t ridden that trail yet this year and with all the wind and rain that we’ve just had, you never know if there will be branches or trees down when you’re coming around some of those blind corners on that trail.”
Lobraico’s casual pace was crucial to walking away from what happened next without more serious injuries. “I was coming around one of those tight corners, and I saw something flash that I thought was a branch,” Lobraico recalls, “so I put my arm up to brush it away.”
“Instead of brushing off like a branch, that’s when the wire dug into my arm.” Lobraico’s bike pitched off the trail, sending him rolling into the wire with his other arm as well. “It cut up my left arm pretty good, and tore through my T-shirt,” he says. Lobraico has eight deep cuts on his left bicep and several more on the right arm. “I didn’t end up needing stitches,” he says, “though one was close. They were able to close all of them with glue, and I have tagaderm patches all over.”
Lobraico has little doubt that the wire was intentionally placed to catch out trail users. “It was tangled in the bushes on one side, and wrapped around a tree on the other side of the trail,” he says, “so it’s not like it could have just blown there in some wind by accident.” The was solidly placed to take an impact, too. “It toook me a good ten minutes to untangle and clear,” Lobraico notes, “after I got myself untangled from the wire.
While the injuries aren’t comfortable, there also not as bad as they could have been. “I was not going full tilt, because I hadn’t ridden that trail this year, and because I was riding to clear it for the next day,” says Lobraico, “so I was only going about half the speed I usually do.” The trail, labelled on Trailforks as “Pottery Road Descent” is a one way, downhill trail that runs parallel to a connecting climbing trail. “Going slow is the only thing that saved me from getting more major injuries, for sure, so if it had been someone else it would have been different.”
The other key factor, Lobraico thinks, is his height. “The height the wire was at, it hit me right in the chest and the crease of my elbow.” Standing just between 6’1 and 6’2 and riding a 29” wheel Santa Cruz Tall Boy, Lobraico’s on-trail stature is taller than other riders. The height the wire was it is concerning, he says, “it would have been different if it was someone shorter, or if it had been someone’s kid.”
There are increasing numbers of young riders out on the trails, and Lobraico says he frequently sees them when he’s riding in the area. “The guys that build this trail are now building for the next generation of riders out there, so this is concerning,” he continues, “I’m more nervous for those kids.”
It’s not just cyclists that should be taking note of what happened to Lobrico in the Don Valley, though. The trail is frequently used by hikers, dog walkers, trail runners and all sorts of children. “It’s one of the most commonly used and popular hiking trails in the area,” Lobrico says, “but with the speeds we’re going when we’re riding that trail, it makes it that much more dangerous on you’re riding.”
The incident has been reported to police, who have spoken with Lobraico twice since Monday’s incident. While says he hopes that process moves forward quickly, Lobraico also thinks the incident is still a rare occurrence on the Toronto trails.
“I’ve been riding on these trails since my teens,” says Lobraico, who is now 28,” and it’s the first time I’ve run into anything like this.” In general, he says, “everyone’s pretty harmonious. It’s really rare to see see sabotage of any sort on the trails.”
On the few occasions he has seen where someone has intentionally disrupted a trail, Lobraico says “usually it’s very minor stuff, like cutting down trees and leaving them across the trail, or dragging branches across. This is,” he continues, “the first time I’ve seen or heard of anything that could cause serious harm, or worse.”
As for what riders concerned about running into something similar themselves can do to stay safe, Lobraico says general attention to conditions and your surroundings is always important. “I’d say for any other riders that any time they’re going out on the trails, especially if it is after a windstorm or rain that could knock down branches across the trail, just to be mindful the first time you’re out riding. Especially around blind corners.”
The incident has, Lobraico says, to some extent shaken him out of the sense of safety on the trails. “Cyclings been my sanctuary,” he says, “it has been where I can go to feel safe and clear my mind when there’s other things going on. I certainly don’t want to see that change.”
While he doesn’t want to downplay the incident, Lobraico is still positive about where the Toronto mountain biking scene is at. “We have such a cool thing going here right now,” he says, “to be under the shadow of the CN Tower and have close to 60 km of trail here.”
Cycle Solutions successfully held their demo day on the Crothers Woods trails on Tuesday, and Lobraico is still riding. The incident is, understandably, still on his mind, says Lobraico, “I really, truly believe I got lucky two days ago.”
