Austin Crenshaw wasn’t a Portland native, but his presence and way of living inspired a lot of deep friendships — many of them forged on long bike rides and on the race course.

Austin was on one of those rides this past Saturday morning. With friends at his side, the very skilled rider leaned into a corner and reportedly lost control of his bike. As he overshot the curve, someone was driving a car in the opposite direction and a collision ensued. Despite attempts to save his life, he passed away minutes later.

Austin’s friend Erin Playman was on that ride. Now she’s encouraging anyone who knew Austin and who was touched by his good nature, sportsmanship, and love of life, to attend a funeral service tomorrow in southeast Portland.
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Austin Crenshaw

37-year old Portland resident Austin Crenshaw died Saturday morning from injuries sustained in a crash on East Haines Road near Corbett.

According to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Crenshaw was riding downhill with a group of friends when he “crashed on a curve” and veered into the opposing lane of travel. Someone driving a car in the opposite direction collided with Crenshaw. Friends attempted to revive him, as did emergency responders, but he was pronounced dead on the scene. The driver of the car remained at the scene.

The collision happened on East Haines Road near the intersection with E Larch Mountain Road. This is a very popular place to ride as Haines connects to Alex Barr and the Historic Columbia River Highway. I’ve ridden this exact same stretch of road myself many times (it’s featured on one of my RideWithGPS Ambassador Routes). It’s very quiet and rarely has traffic; but the curves are sharp and the road is very narrow in some spots.[Read more…]