A scene from the Ben Hurt Chariot Wars held during Mini Bike Winter 2010.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Our friends over at Zoobomb have announced the dates and events that will make up the eighth annual Mini Bike Winter. If you’ve never made it to this, you should definitely mark February 17th – 21st on your calendar.

I know it looks scary, but they actually rules and referees and stuff.

[Read more…]

The Ben Hurt Chariot Wars were held Saturday in North Portland.
– Chariot Wars Gallery/Slideshow below –

The seventh annual Mini Bike Winter ruled the streets of Portland this past weekend. Hosted by Zoobomb, the event showcased one of Portland’s distinct brands of bike fun. [Read more…]

Friday (2/13)

The Zoobomb Badass Challenge
A signature event of Mini Bike Winter
A weekend-long festival of mini bike fun and carnage. You zoobomb until you can’t any more.
6pm at the Zoobomb Pile, SW 10th and Oak

Free Commuting Workshop at the Bike Farm
A one hour workshop to learn the rules of the road, traffic dynamics and essential bike handling techniques. A great first step towards bike commuting, as well as a way for intermediate commuters to learn more and share what they know. Led by Evan Ross, of Portland Bicycle Tours. Hosted by the Bike Farm, a local non-profit, bicycle tool library and learning resource. Free.
6:00pm Bike Farm, 305 NE Wygant St
[Read more…]

Cody Reuwsaat, R.I.P.
(Photo from Zoobomb Forum)

Late Monday night, a house fire in Southwest Portland claimed the life of Cody Reuwsaat.

Cody was a professional artist, specializing in horror make-up and props (the Willamette Week wrote a story about his work last year). Cody was also a friend of many people in the community and a regular Zoobomber. [Read more…]

The Ben Hurt Chariot Wars were one of many highlights at Mini Bike Winter V.
(Photos © J. Maus)

[Read more…]

[Photos by Jonathan Maus, reporting by Mykle Hansen]

[Read more…]

[Skate Bomb!]

[This coverage of Mini-Bike Winter IV comes from our special correspondent Mykle Hansen]

Let the games begin!

Mini-Bike Winter got off to an explosive start last night when a parade of nearly 150 brightly lit bikers — including several dozen visitors from Canada, Seattle and California, and quite a few first-time bombers — zigzagged on the Lit Ride from the NE Alberta arts district to the Zoobomb pile downtown.
[Read more…]

New to Zoobomb’s Mini-Bike Winter this year are the much-anticipated Chariot Wars (yes chariots, as in Ben Hur). To help ready the masses for this series of competitions a chariot building workshop was held over the weekend.

Attendees were given a handout that covered all the various design and welding issues one might face when constructing a chariot.

Notice the fairing enclosed frame, non-slip platform (chicken wire), and padded pulpit of Gabriel Amadeus’s chariot (it still awaits a paint job):
[Read more…]

[The Chariot Wars are coming.]

Portland’s mini-bike enthusiasts (a.k.a. the Zoobombers) are busy planning their biggest and baddest ever Mini Bike Winter. The event, a “bike-centric series of events celebrating human powered culture,” will take place February 17-19th.

I attended a recent planning meeting to get the lowdown and now I understand what one Zoobomber meant when he said they are, “practically vibrating with excitement” over this event.
[Read more…]