Too bad Darwinism doesn't apply to the truly stupid or politicians.

The cyclist is probably from Portland and has been told or heard that the Chancellor of Green, aka Mayor of Portland, says the roads belong to cyclists and everyone else is a trespasser, and not to worry because he's made sure emergency services are on standby 24-7 just for them.

Go by bicycle.

I don't want my tax dollars being used to have medical/police on stand-by, using personnel to take calls to arrange stand-by positions. Let'em bomb, but please bombers, wait for ObamaCare.

"Rescuers say they'd appreciate advance warning if the Hoodbombers do this again."

Its the same story across Oregon. The more medical calls equate to more funding that equates to bigger EMS organizations and better chances for income advancement and/or Assistant Chief positions.

When they are prioritizing emergency responses and medical treatments, morons like this should get dropped to the end of the line. Risk taking stupidity should not be rewarded in any way.

Indeed, anyone who ventures onto any mountain by any means for any purpose should be left to rot.

If I were the Battalion Chief, I'd tell them to hire their own EMT unit and pay for it.

Look, if I decide to do a alpine climb in baby shoes, can I have the appropriate department stand by?

Alan,

I support a legal doctrine called "Assumed Risk". It doesn't mean you won't be provided with 911 response or medical care, but you forfeit the right to sue if the ambulance takes too long to get there, or the road had defects which "caused" you to crash.

It's the same thing with mountain climbing or other adventure activities: don't expect us to put rescuers into situations which are likely to cause them injury to save your a*s...That said, we will always make an effort to locate your body when it's safe to do so. Your mom deserves that.

I'm just glad some poor schmuck in a car didn't hit this dummy -- I'm glad for the drivers' sake.

Amen, Jack, amen. Because these morons also involve unwilling participants in their risky behavior

This weekend I saw some guy on a "bike" that was 10 feet tall, and made of other bike frames welded together. The sole purpose of this seems to be for identification as a Hypocritical Mass participant, as it serves no utility that a standard triangle-frame bike wouldn't, and actually would cause much more resistance to movement through mass and wind shear.

Not to mention that if he blew a stop sign on that thing and got hit by a car which had right-of-way, it would act like a giant lever and throw him like a catapult...

Darwin awards?...anyone???

Commenters' vitriol against the "moron on the tiny bike" in specific, and against bikes in general, is misplaced. First, remember that it is TYPICAL for EMS and other emergency response services to be invoked when risky outdoors behaviors produce concrete harm. In fact, that's why we have those services. I was in central Oregon this past weekend, and there were no less than five different stories in the Bend and Sisters papers about hikers getting lost, resulting in big and expensive search-and-rescue teams in each and every case. And these weren't mountain climbers, they were just hikers.

We don't distinguish, in our society, between emergency services for people who get hurt doing "worthy" things and those doing "unworthy" things. There's a fair argument that after those services are provided the recipient ought to bear the economic cost of the risks that materialized into injury, and shouldn't be able to externalize them onto society at large, but I don't think that any of the above commenters want 9-1-1 operators to be in charge of deciding who gets emergency services and who doesn't.

Two more points: (1) would the response be different if the "moron" was part of a Bike Gallery tour, and had crashed while descending on a $3,000 Orbea instead of a 8"-wheel Barbie bike? (2) at least he was wearing a full helmet.

Sounds like the original "Lawnchair Larry" Darwin contender. +10,000 feet above LAX final approach on patio furnature with a rifle, waving at passing jetliners.

Wow, I never heard of that guy before, Fred. Just read about him after you posted that. Amazing.

http://www.fact-index.com/l/la/larry_walters.html

He didn't have a rifle, though, just a BB gun. Still hilarious.

As for the fool on the bike: Dock his paychecks to pay for every taxpayer dime spent on his rescue.

Is it just me, or did I hear the theme to the show "Jackass" when I opened that page?

Thinking this guy has poor judgment is one thing, but the anger and vitriol at this guy are pretty uncharitable.

I know our host skis, an activity that I have always considered insane, and there are always plenty of skiers-hurting-other-skiers stories near the slopes. And the manufactured outrage about what could possibly have occurred had he encountered a car is a bit much, considering the carnage on the roads and the SUV entitlement culture where people drive known unsafe vehicles that handle poorly and cause egregious injuries to other people because of their height -- nary a peep here about them.

I'm not defending the guy or what he's doing or the zoobombers or any other thrill seekers; but the barely suppressed rage expressed here is ugly.

I hope he recovers fully and is able to persuade others not to follow his example.

Matt the Biker, I don't think you get it. Most of us are saying that we don't want to spend taxpayer money to send out medics, police, EMS to be on "standby" when someone decides they want to do something knowingly crazy. Sending the forces out after a crazy accident is another matter.

"would the response be different if the "moron" was part of a Bike Gallery tour, and had crashed while descending on a $3,000 Orbea instead of a 8"-wheel Barbie bike?"

Depends - Is the Bike Gallery guy engaging in behavior that he would have pretty good reason to believe would endanger his safety or health or that of others?

Hilarious that the biking zealots will even defend this clown. That being said, even idiots are entitled to EMS. I would, however, be opposed to tax dollars being used to keep them on standby whenever these morons want to perform jackass stunts.

Sure idiots are entitled to EMS. They are also entitled to be mocked and scolded for being idiots. And, yes, it would make a difference if he were riding an adult bike and riding down the road in an adult fashion. Our society is willing to approve of/ accept lots of risky behaviors - mountain climbing, hiking, skiing, surfing, trail bikes, etc, etc, etc. We all need to recreate and enjoy a thrill or two. But we have to draw the line somewhere, too. And "adults" riding children's bikes recklessly down mountain roads or steep city hills for the sole purpose of being "weird" just doesn't pass the sniff test of acceptable behaviors for most people. Why? Because it is absurdly childish and stupid, that's why.

Ditto what DG said above. If the simpleton in question had tried the descent in a radio flyer wagon would this be considered sufficiently stupid to rate condemnation? Is there are possible correlation to the quantity of tatoos, nose rings and ceremonial scars on the individual in question? Actually it would be interesting to know if the fellow was actually stupid or fully barking mad...