Full Transcript for When Risk Goes Wrong: The “Swerve Out” Trend

production value. 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:24.399 And this makes me want to talk about the algorithm. 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:25.839 I want you to consider this. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:38.240 The algorithm doesn't understand, you know, human emotions like fear and courage, consequences, or even mortality, it understands one thing: engagement. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:45.519 You know, a successful near-miss can generate an enormous amount of attention. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:52.480 But unfortunately, so can the video of someone doing the opposite and not making it. 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:55.759 This behavior I'm referring to isn't new. 00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:59.360 It's just it's not just another viral trend. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:01.600 It certainly existed before social media. 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:15.279 However, I think that social media takes this risk-taking behavior, it pumps it, it amplifies it, it normalizes it, and creates pressure for escalation. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:19.839 And it that escalation doesn't guarantee success, but it guarantees exposure. 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:24.240 And so seeing that, it leads me to my next question. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:38.720 If this really is connected to the cycling culture, what do the people who ride bikes uh actually understand and not just the ones that ride bikes, the ones that take calculated risks, what do they really feel about this behavior? 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:45.759 In doing my research for this episode, I really looked for interviews with participants of this swerve out trend. 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:47.680 There's not a lot of them. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:57.839 I don't know why the participants are so afraid to hide their identity, maybe because they have a morality problem with what they're doing. 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:07.439 But of the clips that I did find, many of them tried to say that this behavior is part of the freedom of the cycling community. 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:12.800 I mean, one of them went so far as to say it was how he expressed himself. 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:20.720 But as a cyclist, I am conflicted by this, and I wonder what the rest of the cycling community think about this. 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:23.279 You know, I'm not an extreme athlete. 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:33.600 I've always felt kin to those who push themselves physically: BMX riders, skateboarders, triathletes, climbers, surfers. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:43.920 You know, these communities understand something that I think gets lost when adults see someone doing something perceived as dangerous, and they say, oh, that's stupid. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:47.040 But risk isn't automatically bad. 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:51.199 In fact, learning to manage risk is part of becoming physically competent. 00:07:51.360 --> 00:08:04.319 A BMX rider attempting some difficult stunt on a half pipe, you know, they have to understand the speed, the timing, the mechanics of their body as they're in the air, and and the and how to land it. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:12.720 That downhill mountain biker has to learn how to read terrain and make decisions at a speed that you know flatland bikes struggle with. 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:17.199 You know, in climbing, we learn how to assess a route and manage our exposure. 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:22.800 You see, the risk is real, but there is preparation behind it. 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:30.720 And here's where I feel like that the swerve out viral trend is fundamentally different because the rider isn't controlling all of the variables. 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:39.519 They are, to the best of their ability, controlling their bicycle, but they can't control the the car coming towards them. 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:42.399 The driver is the unknown variable. 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:46.399 It and it's because the the driver is an unknown participant. 00:08:46.720 --> 00:09:05.039 But also, the swerve out rider doesn't know if the driver has excellent reaction time, whether the driver is distracted by a child in the back seat, whether the driver has bad night vision, or whether the vehicle even has a mechanical problem. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:12.080 The rider chooses to take the risk, but the driver is is a forced participant in this. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:16.000 And that's that's the ethical line that I keep coming back to. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:22.960 You can choose to risk your own body, but you don't get to choose the risk that someone else has to absorb for you. 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:25.919 And I I don't think I'm wrong here. 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:27.919 What do you feel like, movers? 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.799 Is is that a fair assessment? 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:36.159 Now there's another problem here, and I think it has to do with what we're calling mastery. 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:55.440 Uh, some of the other comments on here mentioned how these swerve out riders had mastered their bicycle, and I don't I don't like that being used for them because when I think about real movement expertise, I know it is about learning to read an environment and adapt to it. 00:09:55.679 --> 00:10:01.440 But it is skill built upon hard work and learning from mistakes. 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:16.000 You become better because you understand the terrain, you you learn how to anticipate what might happen, you you you understand that seal skill comes through moving through an environment with increased control. 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:19.600 But the swerve out turns that upside down instead. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:30.159 Instead of mastering the environment, the rider intentionally creates an unpredictable situation and then relies on another person's reaction to complete the stun. 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:32.960 The driver becomes part of the trick. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:42.799 That's something that I don't think the broader cycling community can embrace because cyclists are already have hard enough time convincing motorists that bikes belong on the

road. 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:45.600 I mean, do you have this problem where you live? 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:47.440 Are the roads shared? 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:51.200 Or do you see tension between the bikes and the cars? 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:56.720 I also wonder, movers, is this a factor you consider when you ride? 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:01.679 Because for me, I I don't feel comfortable riding on street roads anymore. 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:13.440 And I used to ride from my home in North Houston all the way to downtown Houston and back without any concern of drivers. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:28.639 And now when videos circulate of cyclists deliberately riding into traffic for views, I feel like it becomes incredibly easy for people to take the behavior of a small group and use it as evidence against an entire cycling community. 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:35.679 But I don't I also don't want to stop there because if we simply call these kids reckless, I think we're missing something important. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.960 The question is, why are they doing it? 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:46.399 The research and the interviews surrounding bike life culture point to something happening outside the norms. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:56.159 It's a complicated mixture of oh god, it was adrenaline, belonging, rebellion, and identity. 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:12.799 And and I can't I can't be the only one who feels like like this is taking the normal range of emotions and exposure found with bicycles and then using it to veil unchecked behaviors and fictional freedoms. 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:16.240 And that brings me to my third question of this episode. 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:23.679 I'm a parent, an educator, and a huge fan of pushing the bounds of what humans are capable of. 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:30.960 And I wonder how do we let our kids experience thrills without letting them throw their lives away for an algorithm? 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:35.919 Now, as an educator, I don't think the answer is to eliminate risk from childhood. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:39.759 As a parent, I feel kids need to experience uncertainty. 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:44.879 They need to move fast and climb, they need to fall, they need to explore. 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:52.960 They've got to test their physical boundaries, and even occasionally they need to feel the surge of fear. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:55.919 I can't be alone in feeling this way. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:08.559 Looking over the last, I don't know, 35 to 40 years, it seems like we as a society have systematically removed many of those experiences from childhood. 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:19.200 Play is now so structured and supervised that I even had to check with my own mother to confirm, but she assured me there were no planning of play dates when I grew up. 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:28.240 And it's not that they didn't, our parents didn't want us to be safe, but I think that there was a you know an accepted freedom to discover. 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:44.879 And my problem is outside of organized sports, we haven't created enough spaces where kids can experiment with speed and risk, and then we act surprised when they find their own places to do it, or how casually forget we did the same things. 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:53.440 I'm not, let me be very clear, I'm not trying to excuse dangerous behavior, but it does raise an uncomfortable question. 00:13:53.679 --> 00:14:02.159 What happens when we remove healthy opportunities for risk without removing the biological desire for risk itself? 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:10.240 Now it's a little deep for this episode, but you know, the desire doesn't disappear, it just looks for somewhere to go. 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:16.720 And today the internet is really good at offering that risk a destination. 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:22.080 In my opinion, the answer isn't simply telling kids don't do that. 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:33.279 And we can't just go tell kids to play organized sports, because not every child wants to play sports, and even if they did, there aren't even enough spaces for all them to play. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:38.960 But as a parent and a teacher, what I do know, all kids want to be seen. 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:45.279 All kids want to feel included, and all kids want to experience life with what interests them. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:50.000 Maybe the answer is giving them something better to do. 00:14:50.240 --> 00:15:09.039 I feel we need more pump tracks, more skate parks, more mountain bike and hiking trails, more climbing opportunities, more greenways, more places where kids can try, adjust, try again, and eventually become genuinely skilled. 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:11.039 Here's where I'm curious. 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.279 Is this just a pipe dream of mine? 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:19.840 Because it seems like every space now needs a waiver, every activity needs a supervisor. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:26.960 Tell me, do I have a lawyer in my audience who could tell me, will I need a waiver just to ride my bike in the future? 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:31.279 When will we take back personal responsibility? 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:33.039 And how about you, movers? 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:35.039 Am I alone in this feeling? 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:40.960 And I think I think there's something even more important than the facilities themselves. 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:45.600 We need to build communities where skill earns status. 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:55.360 Because you see, the algorithm has figured out how to give these kids the attention, the belonging, the identity, and the recognition they're looking for. 00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:00.639 And if we want to compete with that, we can't just take away dangerous behavior. 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:05.679 We have to give young people somewhere else to find those same human needs. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:13.440 And and we can't just make some random driver responsible for the final two

seconds of some experiment. 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:20.000 All in all, the swerve out is not just some viral trend. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:28.799 The behavior is older than social media, but social media has transformed the way it spreads and the incentives surrounding it. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:32.320 What are I mean, what does the cycling community feel about this? 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:36.320 What do people who take risk feel about this? 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:40.559 The people who understand calculated risk aren't necessarily afraid of danger. 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:45.840 They understand that there is a difference between pushing yourself and gambling with someone's life. 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:56.159 How do we let kids experience thrills without allowing an algorithm to turn that desire into something potentially catastrophic? 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:01.279 I feel like we don't eliminate the thrill, we redirect it. 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:08.720 We build places where kids can test themselves, where kids can try opportunities to become skilled. 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:17.200 We create communities where courage and persistence and physical competence matter more than how many people watched your video. 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:26.880 And that's that's where I want to come back to the bicycle, because it's in my mind one of the greatest freedom machines we've ever invented. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:40.559 It can take a child farther than their feet can carry them, it gives independence, it teaches things like balance and persistence and failure and confidence, and it does eventually lead to mastery. 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:46.960 But I don't think that the bicycle needs to become a vehicle for proving how close you can get to death. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:55.599 It can simply be a way to experience the world, and maybe that's the thing we need to teach our kids. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:18:05.759 The goal isn't to get as close to the edge as possible, the goal is to learn where the edge is and learn how to move beautifully without falling over it. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:13.279 And this brings me to one of my favorite movies of all time, and one of the most impactful quotes. 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:25.680 It's a state of mummy, it's a place where you lose yourself and you find yourself. 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:36.480 The movie is point break, and it's this scene where Patrick Schway's character, Bodhi, is explaining something to Keanu Reeves' character, Johnny Utah. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:46.160 But I really feel like to these participants of that swerve out trend, I don't think they figured out what riding is all about yet. 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:53.680 Because riding isn't about the car, and it's not about the camera, and it certainly isn't about the algorithm. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:59.119 Riding a bicycle is about feeling completely alive on two wheels. 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:06.960 And it's not about putting anyone else's life at risk to enjoy that freedom. 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.599 Thanks for joining me today on this episode. 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:11.839 If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.920 I'd love to hear your feelings about some of the things we talked about today. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:20.079 Until next episode, do me a huge favor and go outside. 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:21.680 Lift your face to the sun. 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:23.519 Move around a little bit. 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:27.200 It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be yours. 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:31.839 I'm your movement Sherpa, and I'll talk to you next week.