Same here: woman dies after falling off the back of a motorcycle on Santiam Pass.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090802/NEWS/908030308/1103

How is that even legal?

Color me surprised: the first two articles I read (Oregonian and KATU) only referenced her "small bicycle" without mentioning the Zoobombers. Let's tiptoe around the bike lobby to avoid getting any nasty emails.

You're right George, there should be a law again falling off of motorcycles. Or did you mean that it should be illegal to die? I agree with that also.

Err, I meant two on a motorcycle, but I like yours too, if you can arrange them.

Err, George I have never heard of the law that makes it illegal for 2 people to ride on a motorcycle. Many motorcycles are designed and built to carry 2 people. He wasn't cited or arrested, I assume he must have been riding on one of those.

The rider was, in fact, an out-of-towner visiting Portland to participate in an event called HoodBomb. Think of it as ZooBombing on steroids.

Just bad, bad luck to crash this hard AND to be the last in your line of riders so that no one notices you are broken on the road until the next motorist happens by.

Yes, let's for God's sake not have anyone riding a bicycle down a hill!

Don't worry, I am sure the ZOoBombers post a bond for this officially sacnctioned event and have taken adequate security precautions.

Social darwinism reigns.

Yes, let's for God's sake not have anyone riding a bicycle down a hill!

As if that were all we were talking about here. Come on.

It's cute when voluntary stupidity costs everybody else around you.

And I differentiate between voluntary stupidity and accidents. The grown "girl" was riding a very small bike as fast as she could, down a mountain highway, to be part of a "cool" event.

The most ironic part is, this is just the TV show "Jackass", but with hipsters on bikes.

Maybe the movie "Idiocracy" was right--in the future, there'll just be one form of entertainment--a spectator sport called "Ow, My Balls".

How can this "Hoodbombing" ride escape publication in Oregon's newspaper of record (the New York Times)?

Because Mister Tee this is an even greater threat to public safety -

http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/dangerous-cows/?ref=science

What you're all seeing, I'm somehow missing. Zooboming, clearly dangerous (night-time, urban downhills with cross traffic). Timberline road in the afternoon, on the other hand, just an ordinary descent, maybe a little tricky on a BMX bike, but still within the envelope of reasonable risk. Except, of course, for the crash.

None of the words above cuts through the visual of hitting one of those fog markers.

Wear leather.

The "fog marker" is probably a snow pole that is used in the winter time for the plow drivers to know where the edge of the pavement is. Probably 3 inches in diameter. Having descended (after riding up, unlike the Zbombers)that road, it is easy for a regular sized bike not to make a turn if one is not paying attention. On a small bike, it must be real sporty. I see the zbombers descending SW Fairview as I am climbing same on my bike. Stop signs do not exist for them.

"Timberline road in the afternoon, on the other hand, just an ordinary descent"

OK, so the reason ZooBombers pick this road is for a leisurely ride to practice hand signals and learn to follwo traffic control devices?

I'm not really seeing the problem with grown adults doing risky things in isolated areas.

I do wonder why the last person down that hill was a non-local girl from a state that has less elevation than my second floor apartment.

PDXNAG,

There are photos of last year's HoodBombing Ride on the bikeportland.org website: a single rider is dressed in full motorcycle leather. Let's hope he's the one who procreates before he dies. The rest were in spandex and costumes (many without helmets): Darwin runner ups for sure.

From my perspective, this is less about assumed risk and more about the law not preventing the most egregious acts of stupidity. When swimming in the shallow end of the gene pool, those who choose to dive in head first are likely to get hurt.

The grown "girl" was riding a very small bike as fast as she could, down a mountain highway

I just saw a photograph of the bike in question taken by an OSP trooper. (You could see a shadow of the trooper's hat in the photo.)

The bike in question was not one of the ridiculously small bikes Zoobombers usually ride. It was a regular size BMX bike.

I think it also reaching to say she was riding "as fast as she could". She was LAST in the line of friends she was riding with, after all.

Perhaps inexperience and inattention (or even faulty equipment) played a more important role in this crash than reckless abandonment. Her hometown of Panama City, Florida ain't got any hills at all, much less one the size of Wy'east.

Further to my last comment, the photo of the bike was quickly displayed on the 5pm news on KATU.

It was a regular size BMX bike.

Which is "regularly" sized with 20" wheels, one speed, and appropriate for an adolescent or medium-sized teenager. oh, and a favorite of downhill bombers. but you knew that, right?

I think it also reaching to say she was riding "as fast as she could"

then you missed what the "event" was about.

Perhaps inexperience and inattention (or even faulty equipment) played a more important role in this crash than reckless abandonment.

Oh? You mean the goal (of her and Hoodbomb) was to come across
the country to take a leisurely, careful, cautious ride down a long, steep, winding mountain road? uh huh.

Her hometown of Panama City, Florida ain't got any hills at all, much less one the size of Wy'east.

Good use of Google. She was said to be from there, but you're reaching here, "none".

I'm not really seeing the problem with grown adults doing risky things in
isolated areas.

But that's not what these folks seek. They want their coolness to be seen. Timberline Road on a Saturday is not "isolated."

Snowboarding is the safe and civilized way to amuse oneself on Hood.

you're reaching here, "none"

Of course I am. I'm just trying to point out that there may be any number of credible explanations for why this happened besides the rider's extreme negligence. Nobody knows all of the facts.

I only saw one mention of a helmet anywhere in either article and the comments... in Mister Tee's comment, stating that many of the bombers don't wear helments. Talk about dropping the ball on this story.

Chances are that we wouldn't be reading this if she wore a helment. It's as simple as that. You can do incredibly stupid things on a bike and still be OK if you wear a lid.

I'm just trying to point out that there may be any number of credible explanations for why this happened besides the rider's extreme negligence. Nobody knows all of the facts.

Nope, you're still reaching. there are plenty of facts available. Several readers have posted about them. It's disingenuous to act as if no fairly clear assumptions are possible.

Nope, you're still reaching.

This calls for a Beer Summit. Anybody know if there's any good beer in Portland?

Anyone but me wonder if she was f**ked up...

...before she hit the pole, that is.

I guess we'll have to wait for the toxicology report.

Sure sounds "cool" though.

This is news? A girl hits a pole riding down a hill? How many snowboarder and skier injuries and deaths this past winter were covered on here? How about the recent spurt of water related drownings? One injured bicyclist generates a few dozen comments. I think there might be a bit of a bike obsession here?

This isn't news, it's an unfortunate and preventable accident.

Interesting thing is that zoobomb.net, the website of this group, removed the forum entries discussing the accident.

They also removed a photo from their front page which was promoting hoodbomb 2009 and depicting a shirtless zoobomber, a small bike, a boom box and an open bottle of beer, in the parking lot at Timberline.

Seems to me that there's some damage control going on here.

I want to know if there was alcohol involved before the ride and if the consumption of that alcohol was condoned by the organizers?