Bike-Eating Tree Caught on Film!

in rec.bicycles.misc

On Sun, 27 May 2007 13:45:45 GMT, "rms"
wrote:

Trees do find bikes tasty, proof he
http://www.neatorama.com/2007/05/25/...aten-by-a-tree

rms


If it can't be ridden, is it still a bike?

On Mon, 28 May 2007 08:39:03 +1000, Aeek wrote:

If it can't be ridden, is it still a bike?

Someone I showed that pic to said that it must be a fake, because
trees don't hoist objects into the air when they grow around them. Does
anyone know whether that's true?


--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

Michael Warner Wrote:
On Mon, 28 May 2007 08:39:03 +1000, Aeek wrote:

If it can't be ridden, is it still a bike?

Someone I showed that pic to said that it must be a fake, because
trees don't hoist objects into the air when they grow around them. Does
anyone know whether that's true?


--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw
there's a lot of comment on neatorama about this bike and the tree,
consensus is, its not a fake...looks like the bike was stuck up in a
fork, (even chained there) and as the tree grew it enveloped the bike
frame into its bark then into its structure around the fork...40 to 50
years of growth...


--
rooman

Michael Warner wrote:
On Mon, 28 May 2007 08:39:03 +1000, Aeek wrote:

If it can't be ridden, is it still a bike?

Someone I showed that pic to said that it must be a fake, because
trees don't hoist objects into the air when they grow around them. Does
anyone know whether that's true?


Trees might not hoist things into the air but people certainly can! It
is plausible, especially if it was lifted into the tree by someone, say
about 50 years ago.

There's an additional link from that page which has additional photos
which support the idea that it's not a fake:

http://tinyurl.com/23pjsl

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying

rooman wrote:
Michael Warner Wrote:
On Mon, 28 May 2007 08:39:03 +1000, Aeek wrote:

If it can't be ridden, is it still a bike?
Someone I showed that pic to said that it must be a fake, because
trees don't hoist objects into the air when they grow around them. Does
anyone know whether that's true?


--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw
there's a lot of comment on neatorama about this bike and the tree,
consensus is, its not a fake...looks like the bike was stuck up in a
fork, (even chained there) and as the tree grew it enveloped the bike
frame into its bark then into its structure around the fork...40 to 50
years of growth...



I have a tree in my garden that has wrapped itself round a steel post that was
used to hold it up when it was a sapling (I presume), it's now some 15' off the
ground, much higher than it was when I bought the block some 15 years ago.

--
Karen

If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.'
Catherine Aird

Duracell Bunny wrote:
Michael Warner Wrote:

Someone I showed that pic to said that it must be a fake, because
trees don't hoist objects into the air when they grow around them.
Does anyone know whether that's true?

I have a tree in my garden that has wrapped itself round a steel post
that was used to hold it up when it was a sapling (I presume), it's
now some 15' off the ground, much higher than it was when I bought
the block some 15 years ago.

That's very interesting. Most trees grow up from the top, and just get wider
at the bottom.

Theo

On reading this thread I initially thought it might be another bike
eating tree in Scotland that was also being talked about a few weeks
ago on uk.rec.cycling - http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6U8J98

I've seen this one myself so it's definitely not fake (though perhaps
not as impressive as the other one).

Graeme

"Theo Bekkers" wrote in message
...
Duracell Bunny wrote:
Michael Warner Wrote:

Someone I showed that pic to said that it must be a fake, because
trees don't hoist objects into the air when they grow around them.
Does anyone know whether that's true?

I have a tree in my garden that has wrapped itself round a steel post
that was used to hold it up when it was a sapling (I presume), it's
now some 15' off the ground, much higher than it was when I bought
the block some 15 years ago.

That's very interesting. Most trees grow up from the top, and just get
wider at the bottom.

Theo
That doesn't sound right. How do trees wind up with substantial amounts
(metres in some cases) of straight trunk prior to the first branch then?

Resound wrote:
"Theo Bekkers" wrote
Duracell Bunny wrote:

I have a tree in my garden that has wrapped itself round a steel
post that was used to hold it up when it was a sapling (I presume),
it's now some 15' off the ground, much higher than it was when I
bought the block some 15 years ago.

That's very interesting. Most trees grow up from the top, and just
get wider at the bottom.

That doesn't sound right. How do trees wind up with substantial
amounts (metres in some cases) of straight trunk prior to the first
branch then?

I don't know what happens to the lower branches. Maybe some trees shed them
and some don't. I know that in a dense forest the lower branches die and
fall off due to lack of sunshine for their leaves. We have about ten Golden
Ambers in our driveway which are now at four to five metres. I started
trimming the lower branches last year, otherwise they would be lying on the
ground. I've noticed that the gums in my backyard have long clear trunks
but the same tree in my front yard with lots of space has branches down to
ground level. See below for explanation of a very common misconception.

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/forsite/howdoes.htm
Trees grow in height as a result of meristems that are located at
their branch tips. These meristems are called apical meristems. Roots also
expand through the soil by growing at their tips as a result of apical
meristems. All buds that you see on a tree contain apical meristems. Trunk
diameter growth occurs as a result of another meristem already mentioned
called the vascular cambium. The vascular cambium produces new xylem and
phloem each year and as a result the trunk, branches and roots continue to
increase in diameter. Have you ever seen a fence wire or board grown into a
tree?

That is the result of the vascular cambium. The fence wire or board
doesn't rise into the air because height growth doesn't occur out of the
ground, it only occurs from the branch tips.
picture of fence board in tree left out
Now for a little demonstration on how a branch grows. Notice that the
buds grow out - the whole twig doesn't extend. This is the reason why a
nail pounded into a tree trunk never changes height. New growth is added to
the tips. The only other way a tree grows is in diameter.

Cheers.

Theo