Cracldown on Zoobombers

`
News Article from The (Portland) Oregonian - August 3, 2007

Nearly 50 bicyclists gathered in a forest clearing in Portland's West
Hills, waiting in the twilight for someone to announce the start of last
Sunday's Zoobomb ride. Instead, they heard this: "The cops are waiting
for us!"

Rather than starting their weekly daredevil ride at the usual spot -- a
paved road near the Oregon Zoo where a scouting party reported seeing
squad cars waiting -- the bikers braved a curvy, gravel-patched route
where some edges drop 20 feet or more into the darkness. They call it
"back door."

But the Zoobombers, a group with a storied history of run-ins with
Portland police, have grown weary of such cat-and-mouse games this
summer. Next week, some of the cyclists plan to hold a Zoo-summit with
the city's traffic commander, hoping to end what they see as excessive
enforcement of stop signs and red lights in recent weeks.

"The pepper is showing up and just waiting for us in the dark," said
Morgan "Turbo" Nielsen, using Zoobomb code for the police. "Basically,
on this ride, it's pretty tough to stop every time you're supposed to.
It's like someone wants to shut us down."

Portland police Lt. Mark Kruger, however, said there is no conspiracy to
defuse the Zoobomb. The interim Traffic Division commander said the
stepped-up patrols are a response to complaints about the late-night
cyclists barreling past traffic flaggers in construction zones along
West Burnside Street and zigzagging across lanes on U.S. 26.

And a $30,000 Oregon Department of Transportation grant has helped pay
for the stings. More than anything, Kruger said, he sees the effort as a
way to make this fixture of the local bicycle culture safer.

Police in unmarked patrol cars and on motorcycles cornered and ticketed
14 Zoobombers, including Nielsen, on July 15 after they allegedly rolled
through a stop sign en masse near a U.S. 26 on-ramp. Last Sunday, police
handed out 10 more citations -- with $242 fines -- along residential
streets in the hills.

This week, Kruger sat behind a computer monitor in his Southeast
Portland office, showing video footage taken from police cruisers during
Zoobombs. On the screen at one point, about a dozen riders, many without
helmets and lights, weaved in and out of highway traffic. "The shoulder
of the road is perfectly legal," Kruger said. "But this lane-surfing,
when they go all the way to the center lane, is dangerous. And it's
unacceptable."

Reluctant to stop the riders on the busy highway, especially since many
Zoobombers openly admit trying to elude police who attempt to pull them
over, Kruger said his officers try to nab them for stop-sign violations
on their way to the off-ramps.

Every Sunday after sunset for the past five years, the Zoobombers have
piled onto MAX trains that take them to the Oregon Zoo station. After
taking an elevator to the parking lot, they walk or ride their bikes to
the top of a nearby hill, waiting for waves of riders to show up. About
10 p.m., following a countdown and a shout of "Zoobomb!" the pack zooms
en masse into the city. Several runs down the hill typically end about 1
a.m. Occasionally, they take U.S. 26 between the zoo and Jefferson
Street exits, a run they call "Hellway."

Similar run-ins with police last summer, when the highway was completely
closed to bike traffic due to construction, led to a meeting with police
at which the bombers agreed to stop running the highway for a while.

If the bombers need to know why the police have started cracking down
again, Kruger said, they should take a look at bicycle-fatality
statistics. Riders running stop signs and red lights are among the
leading causes of deadly collisions with vehicles, he said. Another:
Drunk drivers hitting cyclists from behind -- which Kruger says is his
primary concern with the lane-surfing down the Sunset Highway.

"All the 'Keep Portland Weird' bumper stickers in town aren't going to
save the Zoobombers from themselves," Kruger said. The fact that the
group didn't ride U.S. 26 last Sunday and now wants a meeting with
police, he added, shows "the message has been sent and received."

Portland attorney Mark Ginsberg, who specializes in representing
bicyclists, will host the meeting -- still in the final planning stages
-- at his downtown office. "The enforcement level is greater than in the
past," Ginsberg said. "I think this (meeting) will relieve some of the
pressure."

Last Sunday, many regular Zoobombers were ready to ditch the "Hellway"
route altogether, saying it isn't worth the constant run-ins with
traffic cops. "It's fun," said one rider, "but it's dangerous and
someone's eventually going to die. And if someone dies, the Zoobomb's
over."

Thomas "T-Mass" Dealmeida, however, said he would argue against
abandoning the run. "I'd end it to save Zoobomb," he said, "but we're
all part of a phenomenon. And Hellway gives people driving out there a
chance to see us doing crazy speeds like 35 or 40 mph -- and to realize
that, in fact, we're in complete control."

`

`
News report from KGW (Portland) Oregon

Portland Police say the rowdy bunch of cyclists known for bombing down
hills from the Oregon Zoo, are now bombing down West Burnside and
Highway 26.

Traffic has been narrowed to one lane on parts of Burnside during
construction, and the terrain is rough and dangerous.

Police say the bike bombers are barreling through construction zones and
blowing by traffic flaggers.

On highway 26 during the night, the riders are zigzagging across lanes,
some with no lights and no helmet.

That kind of behavior needs to be curbed, said Portland Police Lt. Mark
Kruger.

"You know it's a badge of honor for them to be involved in this
particularly irresponsible dangerous behavior and they get injured in
the process. And my fear is that this kind of thing is going to lead to
other members of the public getting injured or killed."

Police are citing Zoobombers for disregarding stop signs and careless
driving.

Citations are often $242.

Zoobombers --who call Highway 26 "Hellway"-- are complaining about the
Police Bureau's "excessive" ticket-writing.

But Kruger says the enforcement won't stop until the bad behavior stops.

"If they want to get out and they want to ride their bicycle down 26 and
they want to use the shoulder of the road that's perfectly legal.
Surfing in and out of the lanes is illegal. Running through stop signs
is illegal," he said.

Usually on Sundays, late in the evening, the cyclists use a MAX train to
get their bikes up to the Oregon Zoo, and then they bomb down hills on
their way back to the closest MAX stop.

The process is repeated, like skiers on a ski lift.

Police and neighborhood leaders have tried to worked with Zoobombers to
keep noise and injuries to a minimum.

Earlier this year, the cyclists jumped aboard Portland's new aerial
tram, taking the tram up to OHSU on a day when admission was free.

There were complaints about rowdy behavior of cyclists on the tram from
the public and OHSU hospital staff.

Lt. Kruger says the cyclists can have their fun in the West Hills, as
long as they don't break any laws.

And right now, what he's seeing on West Burnside and on Highway 26,
causes him concern.

~

"~ Paul Berg ~" wrote in message
...

"The pepper is showing up and just waiting for us in the dark," said
Morgan "Turbo" Nielsen, using Zoobomb code for the police. "Basically,
on this ride, it's pretty tough to stop every time you're supposed to.

Wow.

I have a friend with a '63 Impala who would love to try that excuse. It's
pretty hard to stop every time you're supposed to if you're
drag-racing up Broadway or 82nd....

-c

`
Photo of a Zoobomber

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/24/38...1a8d1014dd.jpg

`

In article ,
(~ Paul Berg ~) writes:
`
News Article from The (Portland) Oregonian - August 3, 2007

....

Reluctant to stop the riders on the busy highway, especially since many
Zoobombers openly admit trying to elude police who attempt to pull them
over, Kruger said his officers try to nab them for stop-sign violations
on their way to the off-ramps.

....

A buncha energized kids out for kicks.

They need a velodrome.

Gawd, if I was 16 or 17 again, I'd be into track
like a burr on the ankle of a cotton sock. Except
at that age I didn't even know there was such a thing
as track bicycle racing. All I had was a wind instrument
teacher named Lazarus Smrekar, and all he has/had is this
testament by me to him as the guy who really explained to
me the socio-policitcal connection between Offenbach and
Kafka. No, he didn't try to bugger me. He was just a
nice ol' fat guy who instilled in me East European values,
like the beauty of Le Boheme, the more arcane works of Ravel,
and other post-modern stuff.

I've never acknowledged ol' Mr. Smrekar until now.
Maybe nobody else has, either. He was a lonely ol'
music teacher from Eastern Europe, in Vancouver in
the mid-sixties. But he deserves much acknowledgement
and credit. It's his teaching to me of music reading
that got me to be able to decipher so many format codes.

And I can still toot a B-flat clarinet with the best
of 'em, given a good 2 1/2 reed. As long as I get
to pick my own tunes.

I think I should have learned track racing instead
of figuring things out. After all, one can still
figure things out in track racing. There's lots
of stuff to figure out.

And there's lots of opportunity to put heart & soul
into it, just like any other performing art.

These zoobomber kids need a place and a focus.
They need a velodrome.

Or at least a jumpy dirt track.

If they're so full o' **** & vinegar, they certainly
need /some/ appropriate accomodation where the cops
can't get 'em.

I like the velodrome idea, myself.


cheers,
Tom



--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

(Tom Keats) wrote:

I like the velodrome idea, myself.


Good idea!

If the city can find $430K to build a Labor Hall for illegal immigrants,
they ought to be able to come up with a velodrome.

Tom Keats wrote:

A buncha energized kids out for kicks.

They need a velodrome.

Probably wouldn't do any good. with a velodrome they'd have to get
all their speed from their own pedaling with no gravity assist from
the hill. They wouldn't go as fast and wouldn't have the captive
audience of the drivers.

Build a velodrome and my guess is that it would remain empty while
those idiots still did their zoobombing thing.

In article .com,
hal lillywhite writes:

Tom Keats wrote:

A buncha energized kids out for kicks.

They need a velodrome.

Probably wouldn't do any good. with a velodrome they'd have to get
all their speed from their own pedaling with no gravity assist from
the hill. They wouldn't go as fast and wouldn't have the captive
audience of the drivers.

Build a velodrome and my guess is that it would remain empty while
those idiots still did their zoobombing thing.

For the most part, I don't believe the antics of
some riders affects how the majority of riders are
generally treated or regarded by motorized traffic.

If my impression of the behaviours listed in
the original post are correct -- especially
the part about wantonly threading in-&-out of
the traffic lane, this may be exceptional to
my position. That is, /if/ other road users
are directly and adversely affected.

If their point is to antisocially get in drivers'
faces and freaking them out, they're cruisin' fer
a bruisin'.

However, I don't know that for sure, and I'm
not making accusations or judgments. I bear
in mind they might be taking steps to minimize
risk as they engage in this activity.

Still, if it's whee! factor they want, there
are already many existing ways to achieve that.
I already mentioned track racing. If that's too
structured and regimented for young rebels, there's
always (BMX) Street. Of course, that takes a little
more ups than sparking-up some chronic and hurtling
headlong down some stoopid hill.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

It's jackass stupid to do it that way and I've expressed this
elsewhere.

Rollfast