Another Mountain Biker Dies while Mountain Biking

[Mike Vandeman]

So much for the ALLEGED "health benefits" of mountain biking.

Mike


http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-jun1907-biker_death.1b91b9aa.html

Biker's death shocks those close to him

12:01 PM MDT on Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Nick was passionate about the outdoors BOISE -- An outdoor enthusiast
who spent his time helping others is remembered fondly by family and
friends.

Nick Raganit was one of the state's best-known mountain bikers.

His death last weekend was unexpected. And those who knew him, or of
him, are paying tribute to a man they say was a friend to everyone.

NewsChannel 7 talked with Nick's brothers and friends about his
untimely death.

They spoke highly of Nick's kind and adventurous spirit.

Even though he is gone, Nick will be remembered as someone who left
his mark on this community

“He was only 34 years old. It was just amazing that this could happen
to someone so young. He had a lot ahead of him,” said Larry Raganit,
Nick’s brother.

Nick spent much of his life dedicated to teaching people to appreciate
the great outdoors.

“He got a lot of pleasure out of introducing folks to outdoors
activities,” said Tom Chelstrom, REI store manager.

That's why his death came as such a surprise to those who knew him.

“I knew something bad had happened, but I didn't know what it was
until he mentioned that Nick had died that afternoon, and then it just
sunk in,” said Frank Raganit, Nick’s brother.

Nick was riding in the 10th annual Cycle Idaho event Saturday when
something went terribly wrong.

According to the Boise County Sheriff’s Office, another cyclist
stumbled upon Nick's body and found he wasn't breathing.

First responders were called. They performed CPR, but Nick died on
the scene.

The cause was a heart attack, something very unexpected for a man who
was at peak physical condition.

“He'd done previous bike rides. He started out young doing bike rides.
He backpacked, he hiked,” said Frank.

One of Nick's passions was helping out. He helped shape the Web site
for the Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association and was a major
contributor to the Web site Idaho Outdoors.

“He wanted to make sure they had everything they were supposed to have
without getting hurt,” said Larry.

Nick worked part time at REI where he became a friend to customers.

“People will best remember him as the face of REI and the person who
greeted him at our garage sale,” said Tom Chelstrom.

Even though his life was cut short, friends and family say he died
doing something he truly loved.

“He was always full of surprises. ‘Yeah, I did this last week or I did
this, I hiked back in the backcountry,’ said Frank.

“He was excited. Everyday was an adventure,” said Larry.

Nick's brothers Larry and Frank mentioned they would like to thank the
paramedics who tried to help keep him alive.

Nick's funeral is planned for Friday at the Valley of the Lady
Catholic Church in Caldwell.
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

 

[JP]

Not his fault.
Sociopaths can't relate to others.

 

[=?utf-8?B?4paAU2xhY2s=?=]

On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 10:19:08 -0700, JP <[email protected]> wrote:

> Not his fault.
> Sociopaths can't relate to others.
>
>

Yep, here's is his profile: http://www.hss.caltech.edu/~mcafee/Bin/sb.html

Note some of the characteristics at the bottom of the list, which is why I
suggest he
is probably a child molester, too, regardless of whether he's actually
ever done
the physical act.
--
Slack

 

[Callistus Valerius]

> So much for the ALLEGED "health benefits" of mountain biking.
>
> Mike
----------
I think the only people who talk of health benefits of cycling are health
professionals who never ride a bike themselves. The carnage is huge, the
accidents I have witnessed personally sometimes give me nightmares at night.
I've seen 4 cyclists get hit by cars with my very own eyes. The terror can
even be funny at times. One time a rider overshot a sag that many of us
were sitting around at, so what does he do? He makes an abrupt left turn
without looking behind him, and an SUV hits him POW. I thought he was dead
for sure, but the SUV merely took off his front wheel, never touched him,
but he sustained some injuries from finding himself riding a bike with no
front wheel. Came upon a dead cyclist who had crossed a cattle guard in
pack, so he couldn't see the slot in it, and had his head pile driven into
the pavement when his front wheel dropped in the slot and the bike rotated
around. I saw another cattle guard incident, same scenario, and the guy now
sits in a wheelchair. You can't fool me, their ain't any health benefits
that I can see.

 

[Jeff Strickland]

"Callistus Valerius" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
>> So much for the ALLEGED "health benefits" of mountain biking.
>>
>> Mike
> ----------
> I think the only people who talk of health benefits of cycling are health
> professionals who never ride a bike themselves. The carnage is huge,


Please don't feed the troll.

The guy that the article was talking about suffered a massive heart attack,
he was not plowed over by an errant SUV.

 

[OzCableguy]

"Callistus Valerius" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> I think the only people who talk of health benefits of cycling are health
> professionals who never ride a bike themselves. The carnage is huge, the
> accidents I have witnessed personally sometimes give me nightmares at
> night.

Yes, driving a car is so much safer. No one is ever killed or maimed in car
accidents and no one ever got fat & out of shape and ended up dying from
heart attack or stroke or diabetes related illness from driving a car when
there were alternatives. And no one ever got sick from the pollution spewed
out by cars either. I'm selling my bike today!

 

[Callistus Valerius]

>
> Yes, driving a car is so much safer. No one is ever killed or maimed in
car
> accidents and no one ever got fat & out of shape and ended up dying from
> heart attack or stroke or diabetes related illness from driving a car when
> there were alternatives. And no one ever got sick from the pollution
spewed
> out by cars either. I'm selling my bike today!
------------
I could write a book with all the accidents and mayhem with bicycles that I
have witnessed personally. Car accidents, I've seen a few too. But that
isn't my point, my point is if you are riding thinking that it's a life
extender, you may be making an error. And I'm talking from a road bike
perspective. I ride because it's fun, and I get a high from it, but if my
goal was to live to be 100 years old, I would park the bike today for good.
In fact I thank my lucky stars I'm still around now, with all the close
calls and attempted homicides I have survived up to this date. This
includes one time when I was shot at by drug smugglers, backpacking under a
bridge I had unfortunately stopped at to eat a cliff bar. I had to lay flat
on the shoulder, and by luck a border patrol unit responded to the shots,
and arrived at the bridge and I finally had the courage to get up and
continue my ride. The border patrol told me that it wasn't wise to ride on
that road, but I do anyway. On that very road I see hundreds of illegals
crossing it, it is an invasion, no doubt.

 

[=?utf-8?B?4paAU2xhY2s=?=]

On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:43:20 -0700, Callistus Valerius
<[email protected]> wrote:

> it's fun, and I get a high from it...
>In fact I thank my lucky stars I'm still around now, with all the close
> calls and attempted homicides I have survived up to this date. This
> includes one time when I was shot at by drug smugglers...

Maybe you should start paying your bills on time.
--
Slack

 

[Mike Vandeman]

On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 20:58:11 GMT, "Callistus Valerius"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>> So much for the ALLEGED "health benefits" of mountain biking.
>>
>> Mike
>----------
>I think the only people who talk of health benefits of cycling are health
>professionals who never ride a bike themselves. The carnage is huge, the
>accidents I have witnessed personally sometimes give me nightmares at night.
>I've seen 4 cyclists get hit by cars with my very own eyes. The terror can
>even be funny at times. One time a rider overshot a sag that many of us
>were sitting around at, so what does he do? He makes an abrupt left turn
>without looking behind him, and an SUV hits him POW. I thought he was dead
>for sure, but the SUV merely took off his front wheel, never touched him,
>but he sustained some injuries from finding himself riding a bike with no
>front wheel. Came upon a dead cyclist who had crossed a cattle guard in
>pack, so he couldn't see the slot in it, and had his head pile driven into
>the pavement when his front wheel dropped in the slot and the bike rotated
>around. I saw another cattle guard incident, same scenario, and the guy now
>sits in a wheelchair. You can't fool me, their ain't any health benefits
>that I can see.

Same here. I witnessed several accidents, including broken arms &
legs, at the NORBA races last Sunday. They (the "ski resort") has also
had someone die & someone turned into a quadriplegic. And this is the
sport that's going to save our kids from being couch potatoes? And
turn them into simply potatoes? What are they thinking???
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

 

[[email protected]]

On Jun 25, 11:43 am, Mike Vandeman <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 20:58:11 GMT, "Callistus Valerius"
>
>
>
>
>
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> So much for the ALLEGED "health benefits" of mountain biking.
>
> >> Mike
> >----------
> >I think the only people who talk of health benefits of cycling are health
> >professionals who never ride a bike themselves. The carnage is huge, the
> >accidents I have witnessed personally sometimes give me nightmares at night.
> >I've seen 4 cyclists get hit by cars with my very own eyes. The terror can
> >even be funny at times. One time a rider overshot a sag that many of us
> >were sitting around at, so what does he do? He makes an abrupt left turn
> >without looking behind him, and an SUV hits him POW. I thought he was dead
> >for sure, but the SUV merely took off his front wheel, never touched him,
> >but he sustained some injuries from finding himself riding a bike with no
> >front wheel. Came upon a dead cyclist who had crossed a cattle guard in
> >pack, so he couldn't see the slot in it, and had his head pile driven into
> >the pavement when his front wheel dropped in the slot and the bike rotated
> >around. I saw another cattle guard incident, same scenario, and the guy now
> >sits in a wheelchair. You can't fool me, their ain't any health benefits
> >that I can see.
>
> Same here. I witnessed several accidents, including broken arms &
> legs, at the NORBA races last Sunday. They (the "ski resort") has also
> had someone die & someone turned into a quadriplegic. And this is the
> sport that's going to save our kids from being couch potatoes? And
> turn them into simply potatoes? What are they thinking???
> --
> I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
> humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
> years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)
>
> Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!
>
> http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -


COME ON FOLKS, THIS GUY IS USED TO REPAETING HIMSELF OVER AND OVER AND
OVER. " DONT FEED MINDLESS TROLL" I HAVE BEEN ON EVERY OUTDOOR THREAD
POSSIBLE SINCE 1980'S AND THIS GUY JUST LIKES TO RANT AND RAVE... LET
HIM *****, HE PROBABLY FORGOT HIS PROZAC THAT DAY OR FORGOT TO PUT AIR
IN HIS BLOW UP DOLL AGAIN.... THE DAY HES IS GONE FROM THIS EARTH I
WILL DRINK A HEALTHY PINT OF GUINESS AND **** ON HIS GRAVE AND RIDE MY
MOUNTAIN BIKE, DIRT BIKE, GO CART, OFF ROAD 4X4, VIBRAM SOLE BOOTS, &
SNOW SHOES OVER IT...WHILE I LAUGH!!!...

MIKE VANDEMEN YOUR MY HERO!.... FOR SHOWING THE WORLD YOU A MORON!!!!
GO BACK IN YOUR CAVE AND CLOSE THE DOOR AND WE WILL TELL YOU WHEN YOU
CAN COME OUT....

 

[Crescentius Vespasianus]

And this is the
> sport that's going to save our kids from being couch potatoes? And
> turn them into simply potatoes? What are they thinking???
-----------
It's a conspiracy......

At an early part of my life, I was a druggie. There wasn't anything I
wasn't addicted to, and there isn't a drug I didn't take. But in those
years, I never ended up in an ambulance, I had to take up cycling to do take
that trip.

 

[CowPunk]

http://www.cyclelicio.us/2007/02/judge-judy-bicycle-case.html

>From the letters:
" Hi,

I'm the biker in the video. I never spoke with an attorney about
the matter. It became evident early on that the defendants didn't have
a lot of extra cash laying around and they were renting the home they
were staying in...doubtful that they had any sort of insurance policy
to tap into. All I ever wanted was for them to meet me half way. They
never budged an inch in my direction.

The costs to get my bike fixed were $1,100. The other bills were
for the ambulance ride and co-pays as my health insurance covered
nearly all of my costs.

Several months went by between the time of the crash and filing a
law suit with the county. I was reasonably sure that there were no
lingering affects from the crash aside from a strong paranoia that
another dog would jump out in front of me when I was riding...for
real. It took two years for those fears to subside.

Judge Judy was pretty cool with us. A bit of my testimony was left
out but for the most part they did a good job of editing it together.

Just so you know...the defendants don't actually have to pay the
judgement against them. The show picks up the tab for that and all
related expenses for travel, food and lodging.
2/21/2007 11:08:00 PM"

 

[OzCableguy]

"Callistus Valerius" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I could write a book with all the accidents and mayhem with bicycles that
> I
> have witnessed personally. Car accidents, I've seen a few too. But that
> isn't my point, my point is if you are riding thinking that it's a life
> extender, you may be making an error. And I'm talking from a road bike
> perspective. I ride because it's fun, and I get a high from it, but if my
> goal was to live to be 100 years old, I would park the bike today for
> good.
> In fact I thank my lucky stars I'm still around now, with all the close
> calls and attempted homicides I have survived up to this date.

I was talking to a former roadie the other day who'd decided to quit road
riding for the same reasons. I too get the occasional shudders when I think
of the pschopaths, road ragers, distracted drivers or even just the
consequences of falling at high speed as a result of mechanical failure or
whatever. eg A friend of mine last year (a bike commuter for over 20 years)
hit a dog at speed and spent several weeks in bandages. However, I also know
that the perception of danger is 1000 times higher than the reality and
statistically and comparitively it's quite a safe activity.
But OTOH while an accident is less likely road riding, the injuries can be
devastating. While with MTB, crashes are pretty much expected but the
injuries are usually minor and not life threatening.
Conclusion: Build more trails!

 

[Mike Vandeman]

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:09:48 GMT, "Crescentius Vespasianus"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
> And this is the
>> sport that's going to save our kids from being couch potatoes? And
>> turn them into simply potatoes? What are they thinking???
>-----------
>It's a conspiracy......
>
>At an early part of my life, I was a druggie. There wasn't anything I
>wasn't addicted to, and there isn't a drug I didn't take. But in those
>years, I never ended up in an ambulance, I had to take up cycling to do take
>that trip.

I have nothing against bicycling, when it's not used to destroy
wildlife and wildlife habitat. It's a beautiful sport.
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

 

[Callistus Valerius]

> > And this is the
> >> sport that's going to save our kids from being couch potatoes? And
> >> turn them into simply potatoes? What are they thinking???
> >-----------
> I have nothing against bicycling, when it's not used to destroy
> wildlife and wildlife habitat. It's a beautiful sport.
--------
See what happens to your precious habitat when the gas runs out. Imagine
when millions of Americans have to switch from their cars to some sort of
bicycle, roaming and ravaging the countryside. Fantasy, nope. How do I
know this? Like I've said before, I do a lot riding on the borderland with
Mexico, Arizona. Hundreds of square miles, trashed by immigrants, simply on
foot, crossing the border. Trails, up the gazoo, trash everywhere you look.
A couple years ago, I hiked up to Miller Peak, in the Huachuca Mtns, Sierra
Vista, AZ, and the top third of the mountain was completely filled with
trash as they used part of the trail as their infiltration route. Mountain
Bikers have zero impact if you compare them to the hundreds of thousands of
immigrants crossing the borderlands. Something to look forward to, when the
gas runs out.

 

[Mike Vandeman]

On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:50:05 GMT, "Callistus Valerius"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>> > And this is the
>> >> sport that's going to save our kids from being couch potatoes? And
>> >> turn them into simply potatoes? What are they thinking???
>> >-----------
>> I have nothing against bicycling, when it's not used to destroy
>> wildlife and wildlife habitat. It's a beautiful sport.
>--------
>See what happens to your precious habitat when the gas runs out. Imagine
>when millions of Americans have to switch from their cars to some sort of
>bicycle, roaming and ravaging the countryside. Fantasy, nope. How do I
>know this? Like I've said before, I do a lot riding on the borderland with
>Mexico, Arizona. Hundreds of square miles, trashed by immigrants, simply on
>foot, crossing the border. Trails, up the gazoo, trash everywhere you look.
>A couple years ago, I hiked up to Miller Peak, in the Huachuca Mtns, Sierra
>Vista, AZ, and the top third of the mountain was completely filled with
>trash as they used part of the trail as their infiltration route. Mountain
>Bikers have zero impact if you compare them to the hundreds of thousands of
>immigrants crossing the borderlands.

Mountain bikers don't have "zero impact", regardless of what you
compare it to. Multiply their impact by the millions of mountain
bikers out shredding the countryside (many of them illegally) every
week.

Something to look forward to, when the
>gas runs out.
>
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande