News Story: Biker who sank on Canyon Ferry ID'd

[HotRodZilla]

Well, that sucks! Was it stupid? Yes. Did he deserve to die for it? No! Have we all done stupid shit that could/should have killed us? Yes.

People are pushing extremes more and more these days. By the article, I'm hoping he wasn't dumb enough to strap himself to the bike. It sounds like he got "tangled," but I don't know what that means. I thought 11:59 PM was a typo and this was some valid record attempt. If it was just kids screwing around, that's a bummer. I wonder of he got tangled in some rigged flotation device for the bike. No reason to die coming off of it. Same thing happens on jet skis hundreds of times a day.

 

[Klubis]

Let's not forget he made a successful 5+ mile (whatever the word is for driving a motorcycle across a lake, maybe "bikayaking"?) earlier in the day. That probably encouraged him to try again. The Wright brothers did it too (after their first flight, they made a second flight). It's human nature. The kid was probably emulating, or trying to emulate, Robbie Madison. No doubt he f'd up, but he was innovative and ballsy. Those are admirable qualities.

 

[Pterodactyl]

Better to have "Smart, Innovative and Ballsy" on your headstone that indicates you died after being shot by a jealous husband at age 98.

 

[Klubis]

Snap, gettin' shot by a jealous husband ain't nothing! On the other hand, drowning while trying to do something that is possible but very few people have accomplished, and even fewer are ballsy enough to try, that's pretty impressive! Amelia Earhart, are you out there listening?

The kid died! How about showing something other than ridicule or nominating him for a Darwin Award? He went out on fire (although admittedly wet). You old bikers are going to the same eventual end (yes, no matter how safe you are or how much the government "protects" us from ourselves), but unless you're lucky enough to meet the Darwin Award qualifications assigned to us by the general population for being Darwinish enough to ride motorcycles, you are going to suffer a long slow death in the hospital or hospice or whatever. I've seen what happens when we get old, and believe me, it's much more horrible than drowning doing something audacious.

I applaud the kid!

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Yeah. I bet everybody who loved him is real proud of him right now.

 

[Boxer]

It can be done.

Here's Guy Martin giving it a shot.

https://www.google.com/search?q=guy+martin+riding+on+water&rlz=1CASMAE_enUS645US645&oq=guy+martin+riding+&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.14036j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[gixxerjasen]

Something seen in that video that I bet wasn't present in the OP's linked attempt. Preparation and safety teams.

"Hey guys, hold my beer and watch this" does not count for either.

 

[Pterodactyl]

It was mentioned in some news article that there was a boat in the water to help him if needed. The people lost sight of him and also could not detect any sound after awhile either.

They gave up searching for his body a few days ago. Even with some high tech sonar they could not locate him or the bike. At 140 feet, very poor visibility and with a bottom that is probably a jumble of trees it would be too risky to send a diver down to just search a huge area.

 

[Klubis]

Would there be gas or oil leaking and rising to the surface?

 

[philter]

I want to say something sarcastic about this but the man died. It's a bit difficult to take any life for granted where I am sitting right now.
But really? He tried to ride a dirt bike across a 140 foot deep reservoir? What will they think of next?

He definitely should have tried it in a 10 foot deep reservoir first to see if he could do it.

 

[Pterodactyl]

He rode over five miles on water earlier in the day. Maybe he needed to refuel.

 

[Klubis]

I want to say something sarcastic about this but the man died. It's a bit difficult to take any life for granted where I am sitting right now.
But really? He tried to ride a dirt bike across a 140 foot deep reservoir? What will they think of next?

He definitely should have tried it in a 10 foot deep reservoir first to see if he could do it.

Now that's funny! Motorcycle

He rode over five miles on water earlier in the day. Maybe he needed to refuel.

If he hadn't run out of gas, he'd be in China by now.

 

[TripperMike]

I guess it all boils down to this: Sometimes it's no more than a crapshoot if we survive the stupidity of our youth. I was one of the lucky ones. I think most of us can reflect back and we shake our heads in amazement that we survived.

I feel for his family and I hope they find him.

 

[PhilJet09]

Better to have "Smart, Innovative and Ballsy" on your headstone that indicates you died after being shot by a jealous husband at age 98.

^^^^^ This guy cracks me up. :rofl:

 

[Pterodactyl]

His body and the motorcycle were recovered today.

 

[HotRodZilla]

^^^^Ugh...How deep was he? Any idea?

Sorry, I also meant to ask: Any word on how he was connected to the bike? I'm wondering if he was attached on purpose or just got hung up.

 

[dcarver]

What HRZ said. Somehow, closure...

 

[Pterodactyl]

Turns out the rider was wearing a Go Pro. From our local paper:

"A video filmed by a stunt motorcyclist who drowned in Canyon Ferry Reservoir has provided answers to authorities and his loved ones about what went wrong the night of July 23.

Blake Becker, 19, of Clancy, was wearing a GoPro video camera when he attempted to ride a modified motorcycle across the surface of the reservoir.

While snapping the buckles on his life preserver before the ride, Becker can be seen on video inadvertently fastening his final buckle around one of two coils of paracord attached to his motorcycle. The ropes were attached to buoys intended to facilitate recovery of the bike from the water. The fatal error is what caused Blake to sink with his motorcycle after the engine seized up, said Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton."

 

[HotRodZilla]

That sucks!! Dayum!

 

[mcatrophy]

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