RHONDDA, WALES — A cyclist was nearly beheaded when he hit barbed wire stretched across a mountain bike trail last weekend.
Mountain biking guide Ben Threlfall, 31, was travelling at about 20 miles per hour and picking up speed as he led a group of six riders on a downhill trail in Wales on Saturday, Wales Online reported.
Going too fast to take evasive action, Ben hit the barbed wire at top speed and was nearly garrotted as it cut across his chest and shoulders before sliding up to his neck and wrapping around his throat.
Ben was thrown from his bike with some of the barbed wire still choking him. Luckily, he survived the impact with a just a few cuts and bruises.
But Ben told Wales Online he has his 6-foot-3 frame to thank for that, and thinks a shorter and smaller rider would have lost their head.
Other riders have reported finding nails stuck in the ground along the same trail, Ben said. So it seems like someone is setting booby traps to try to stop cyclists from using the route.
South Wales Police were investigating.
