View source for Zoobomb

{{short description|Weekly bicycling activity in Portland, Oregon, United States}}
{{Infobox recurring event
| name         = Zoobomb
| logo         = Zoobomb (logo).png
| logo_caption = Zoobomb logo
| image        = <!--DO NOT include "File:" part of image name
                 (different from above because of merger with
                 Template:Infobox festival)-->
| imagesize    = frameless
| caption      = 
| date         = <!--"dates=" also works, as merged from Template:Infobox festival. Do not use both-->
| begins       = 
| ends         = 
| frequency    = Weekly
| location     = [[Portland, Oregon]], USA
| years_active = Since {{Start date and age|2002}} <!--Date of the first occurrence-->
| first        = 
| last         = 
| participants = Over 100 (as of 2005){{update after|2011|11|06}}<ref name="ww2005"/>
| attendance   =
| genre        = Bicycling 
| website      = [http://zoobomb.net/ zoobomb.net]
| footnotes    = 
}}
'''Zoobomb''' is a weekly bicycling activity in [[Portland, Oregon]], [[United States]] during which participants ride [[bicycle]]s rapidly downhill in the city's [[Tualatin Mountains|West Hills]].  Zoobomb began in 2002.<ref name="ww2005">{{cite news |first=Brandon |last=Hartley |title=Still Bombing after all these years |newspaper=[[Willamette Week]] |date=August 24, 2005 |url=http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=6645 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051206060225/https://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=6645 |archive-date=2005-12-06 |access-date=2023-06-18 |quote=The club began locally in 2002 when Zach Archibald, fresh off a bus from Texas, met a few people who rolled up on mini-bikes outside Rocco's Pizza at Southwest 10th Avenue and Oak Street. They eventually took Archibald up to Washington Park to go bombing, and the club fell together once word got out.  Zoobombers are mostly teenagers and twentysomethings, with an occasional older rider thrown in. Skateboarders, longboarders and riders of "assacres" (low-rider scooters) have also joined in the weekly run, which routinely draws over a hundred people and has lured riders from as far away as Britain, South America and Japan.}}</ref>
 
Participants carry their bikes on [[MAX Light Rail]] to the [[Washington Park (MAX station)|Washington Park]] station next to the [[Oregon Zoo]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Portland's Bike Culture Creates Market| url=http://news.opb.org/article/portlands-bike-culture-creates-market/| access-date=1 October 2010| newspaper=OPB| date=January 9, 2008| archive-date=29 February 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229213907/http://news.opb.org/article/portlands-bike-culture-creates-market/| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bbc2011"/> From there, participants take the elevator to the surface and then ride their bikes down the hills in the vicinity.<ref>{{cite news|title=Two-Wheeled Terrorists |url= http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=28528&category=22107|access-date=2010-10-01 |newspaper=[[Portland Mercury]]|date=February 27, 2003}}</ref>  This process is often repeated several times throughout the night.<ref name="bbc2011">{{cite web| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-15591350 |  title= Close-up: Zoobombing in Portland, Oregon | date= 5 November 2011 | publisher= [[BBC News]] | access-date= 2011-11-06 | quote= Some of the bikes are left chained up in a pile in the city centre, which has itself become a local landmark. The ride, often repeated several times in an evening, starts with a journey on Portland's light rail system then a hike to the top of a hill, near the city's zoo.}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{quote box|align=right|width=33%|quote = The people that are going 35-mph-plus have backgrounds in BMX, mountain biking, bike messengering or downhill skateboarding.  I don't know that people showing up for the first time understand this.|source= —Zoobomber Mark Verno in August 2005<ref name="ww2005"/>}}

There is an emphasis on unusual bicycles, first and foremost the children's bicycles or "minibikes," but extending to [[tall bike]]s, [[swing bike]]s,<ref name="ww2005"/> choppers, non-functional bicycles, skateboards,<ref name="ww2005"/> [[longboard (skateboard)|longboards]],<ref name="ww2005"/> etc.
The Zoobombers are made up of a wide demographic, with a tendency towards young adults.{{citation needed|date=May 2008}}  The event is treated in a very lighthearted fashion, including a large amount of socializing between rides.  Riders often dress up in costume or decorate their bicycles.  Parents have brought their children on rides, and a legally blind person "The Blind Bomber" regularly attends (on a tandem bike, behind a sighted rider).{{citation needed|date=May 2008}}  Though not technically a race, there is some prestige in getting down the hill first.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}  However, there is never shame in getting down the hill last, as safety and fun are what is encouraged, not going fast.  The participants espouse a "[[pack it in, pack it out]]/leave no trace" philosophy in an effort to maintain cleanliness in the areas where they congregate.  Zoobomb tries to be a positive force in the community by providing a safe environment{{citation needed|date=February 2009}} to have a good time and to support bicycle advocacy and alternative non-polluting transportation.

==Zoobomb Pile==
[[File:ZoobombPile.jpg|thumb|The Zoobomb pile, the meeting point for participants (December 2007); the pile is located near [[Powell's Books|Powell's City of Books]], seen in the background, at left.]]

{{See also|People's Bike Library of Portland}}

Though many riders bring their own bicycles, the participants maintain a "Zoobomb pile".  This is a tower of minibikes anchored to a bicycle rack at the Zoobomb meeting point. These are spare bikes that are used as loaners for would-be Zoobombers who don't have their own bike. The pile has become a local landmark.<ref name="bbc2011"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bikeportland.org/2007/10/02/zoobomb-pyle-will-become-official-public-art/| title=Zoobomb pile will become official public art|publisher= BikePortland.org |date=October 2, 2007| access-date=2008-08-14}}</ref>

In March 2009, a new pile was dedicated, in a ceremony attended by Portland mayor [[Sam Adams (Oregon politician)|Sam Adams]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Sam Adams at Zoobomb Pile Dedication  | publisher = [[The Oregonian]] | date = March 28, 2010 | url = http://photos.oregonlive.com/photogallery/2010/03/sam_adams_at_zoobomb_pyle_dedi.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025014835/http://photos.oregonlive.com/photogallery/2010/03/sam_adams_at_zoobomb_pyle_dedi.html |archive-date=2014-10-25 | access-date=2023-06-18| quote= Mayor Sam Adams hangs with the Zoobomb crew at the dedication of the new Pile.}}</ref> The new pile is located at SW 13th and Burnside.

==Related events==
There are several annual events hosted by Zoobomb organizers and participants, including:
*Zoobomb Century in June
*MiniBikeWinter in February
*Zoobomb Summer Olympics (aka BiffDay) in August
*Alleykitten Invitational

Zoobomb has inspired Hoodbomb, where participants gather at the [[Timberline Lodge]] and bomb the {{convert|5.5|mi|adj=on}} course of Timberline Road on [[Mount Hood]].<ref>{{cite news| last=Frochtzwajg| first=Jonathan|title=State police lose tolerance with dangerous Hoodbombing|url=http://www.sandypost.com/news/story.php?story_id=128149095457218900 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820193115/http://www.sandypost.com/news/story.php?story_id=128149095457218900 |archive-date=2010-08-20| access-date=2023-06-18 |newspaper=[[The Sandy Post]]|date=August 11, 2010}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Sports|Oregon}}
* [[Portland Urban Iditarod]]
* [[Idiotarod]]
* [[Kinetic sculpture race]]
* [[Shopping cart race]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
*[http://zoobomb.net/ Zoobomb website]
*[http://bikeportland.org/cats/the-scene/zoobomb/ Archives of Zoobomb coverage] on BikePortland.org
*[http://gridskipper.com/travel/sean-moriva/portlands-zoobomb-does-this-make-sense-227528.php Zoobomb] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928121316/http://gridskipper.com/travel/sean-moriva/portlands-zoobomb-does-this-make-sense-227528.php |date=2007-09-28 }} on Gridskipper.com, The Urban Travel Guide
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-15591350 BBC coverage of zoobombing]

{{Cycling in Portland, Oregon}}

[[Category:2002 establishments in Oregon]]
[[Category:Cycling clubs]]
[[Category:Culture of Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:Cycling in Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:Entertainment events in the United States]]
[[Category:Sports in Portland, Oregon]]