Katie Jenks has died from a bicycle crash while on Fat Country. No real details at this time. No helmet. No cars involved. That's about all we know.
The gang from Fat Country are in a car and on their way home now. I don't know much more than the rest of you but we wanted to get this up.
Condolences to all.
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fourfingersdown
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:40 pm
r.w. = rainn wilson!Joined: 21 Mar 2008Posts: 1078Location: NOT FUCKING ENGLAND
Thanks for posting this Scott.
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derrickito
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:43 pm
now with 50 percent more EVILJoined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 10566
God dammit.
I feel terrible for her family.
When people hear some news please share.
Last edited by derrickito on Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:44 pm; edited 1 time in total
Marley
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:43 pm
Joined: 08 Sep 2014Posts: 428
A few of us are getting together at the Triple R Alley Tavern in Ravenna to chat/process if anybody wants to be in community.
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the dreaded ben
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:44 pm
Grumpy GreebJoined: 20 Aug 2005Posts: 5329Location: flavor country
fuck.
BazookaTooth
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:45 pm
Joined: 24 Sep 2011Posts: 28
Rest in peace kiddo. Ride on. Also, I'm so sorry for what the Fatcountry kids must be going through right now. Hugs, and ugly crying all around.
Last edited by BazookaTooth on Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
langston
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:45 pm
Joined: 25 Jul 2005Posts: 5547Location: Columbia City
Goddammit.
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Jessica
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:46 pm
Joined: 18 Sep 2007Posts: 309Location: Capitol Hill
Awful news.
Condolences to Katie's friends and family.
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Bo Ttorff
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:48 pm
GO SEAHAWKS!! 12 for LYFEJoined: 20 Jul 2011Posts: 3092Location: King County
Damn. I really hope this wasn't a hit and run situation. This is devasting news.
tehschkott
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:51 pm
daywalkerJoined: 09 Nov 2007Posts: 6108Location: Hatertown
According to the report, Police don't seem to believe there was a car involved.
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Moira
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 6:59 pm
MoistraJoined: 28 Nov 2014Posts: 712
She was one of us.
That's the long and short of it in the end.
Chip McShoulder
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:05 pm
dog licking ice cream coneJoined: 11 Aug 2008Posts: 3022Location: Rainbow Road
Joined: 12 Oct 2012Posts: 1493Location: Pundercover
Ride in peace, Katie. You may be gone, but you'll never be forgotten. Thanks for sharing the bad news in an appropriate fashion, Scott. I remember the time I rode out to Golden Gardens to meet-up with a ride. I made it to the park before the group arrived and ran into Katie hanging-out with some of her peers from work. She introduced me to her friends and we hung-out around their renegade fire eating Taco Time, watching the most stunning sunset I've seen in my life.
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jsmg
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:52 pm
baby bearJoined: 23 Aug 2009Posts: 843Location: your mom
Fucking awful. My condolences to everyone who knew her better than I did.
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henry
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 8:04 pm
somewhat piggishJoined: 05 Aug 2005Posts: 5415Location: on porch with shotgun
I'm so sad to see this. My thoughts to her family and her community.
That's a beautiful spot, is that where she was found?
_________________ riders wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.
Alex
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 9:04 pm
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
It's really fucked up. I didn't know Katie that well, but enjoyed getting to know her a little bit on joeball country two years ago and would run into her around town drive then.
Thanks for messaging me Scott, and I'm glad I was able to go to the Triple R for a few minutes and talk about it so thanks for posting the invite Marley.
Dravis Bixel
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 9:55 pm
Joined: 14 Mar 2011Posts: 982Location: Wherever you go, there you are
I am going to miss the "what's up buddy?" every time she saw me. My thoughts are with her family.
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tictoc
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 10:38 pm
Joined: 08 Jul 2009Posts: 765Location: Right here, Right Now!
Fuck. RIP Jenks.
_________________ ------------------>TO EXIST IS TO COMPLY<--------------------
I noticed Katie's last post on FB was about donating to Violence Policy Center. http://www.vpc.org/
I donated in her honor. Maybe that feels right to other people too.
BrianRC
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 1:31 am
Joined: 12 Jun 2014Posts: 12Location: Boston
My condolences to her family. ... I can't fucking believe it. I'm going to miss her.
mark
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:30 am
Joined: 28 Oct 2010Posts: 263Location: First Hill
shit
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Marley
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:25 am
Joined: 08 Sep 2014Posts: 428
Tom from Seattle Bike Blog has offered to run a piece on Katie, so if anybody wants to write one that was good friends with her, I can put you in touch.
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Meg-ha!
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:06 am
Joined: 19 May 2008Posts: 240Location: Seattle
My stomach hurts...
Im sorry Katie.
Be strong together Fat Country team and our Club
ifaey
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:07 am
Joined: 10 Jun 2011Posts: 335Location: seattle
I swear to god this month is jinxed.
I'm so sorry you guys.
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MyNameIsJeff
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:36 am
BOOSH!Joined: 17 Jul 2007Posts: 2042Location: Nearest bar.
I wish I could be mad at a driver or something. FC crew; I hope you're not carrying this on yourselves, sometimes accidents are just really bad. It's no ones fault really.
First, I think I speak for all of us on the Fat Country crew in saying that we are all pretty shook up by yesterday's events. I really appreciate the supportive comments that have been posted here. Please be patient with us. I've already had several people reach out to me with questions, and while I understand that people are looking for answers, I for one am not ready to discuss it in detail. This has been hard, and we're all grieving. In case anyone is worried, all the rest of us are safe and sound.
One thing that brings me a little comfort, that I want to share with all of you, is that Katie was in high spirits yesterday morning, really stoked for the day's ride, and she died in a beautiful place, doing what she loved.
I'm sad for Katie and her family, and I'm sad that this was the ending to what was until yesterday a gorgeous, challenging and super fun tour. I'm sad for myself, having lost a friend.
One last thing - I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the rest of the Fat Country riders and support, especially Rob and his partner Angela, who really stepped up to make sure we were taken care of, and made the important decisions in a moment of shock and confusion.
Goodbye, Katie. I'll miss you.
Last edited by elpablogrande on Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:48 am; edited 2 times in total
claudia
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:44 am
Joined: 29 Jan 2015Posts: 284
Condolences all around. And I offer emotional support to The Fat Country Crew.
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zackh
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:50 am
Joined: 26 Jun 2014Posts: 28Location: burlurld
Hi everyone-
Thank you all for the support that has been offered to me and the rest of the group. I just want to take a few minutes and provide some more information about what happened yesterday. There are some graphic details included - I don’t intend to sensationalize anything, but people should know what occurred. Read ahead at your own discretion.
A friend and member of my community, Katie Jenks, passed away yesterday. We were riding bicycles together, along with a group of 6 other people, on a planned week-long tour through central Oregon. She was not a close friend of mine, but we were, during this trip, family. We had all survived an incredibly difficult ride the day before, long miles through 100+ degree temperatures on the East side of the Oregon Cascades. Yesterday was supposed to be an easy recovery day on some nice roads, moving from our camp at Smith Rock to Sisters, OR.
Katie, Joe, Tom and I had dawdled at the park for a while in the morning, going to a viewpoint to look at the rock formations and talk about other adventures. We all left at different times, filtering out onto the road in groups of one or two, stopping at the town store if needed. Katie was the rider on the road ahead of me, by some unknown distance. I was riding alone. About seven miles in, I stopped to take a picture from the top of a hill, before a sharp descent down into the river valley. As I was putting my things away and preparing to continue moving, a pickup coming from down the road stopped and asked if I knew other bike riders on the road, and told me that there had been an accident down the hill. I rode down and found another pickup pulled off the road and a man tending to Katie as best he could. Nothing was pointed in the right direction - she was lying off the road, her head pointed up-hill and her bicycle in the scrub slightly further up, off to the side. She wasn’t moving, barely breathing, almost entirely non-responsive. Not conscious. She had a bad head wound, maybe a neck injury. The man in the truck had already called emergency services, and there wasn’t really anything else we could do.
My timeline isn’t perfectly clear here, but emergency response showed up within 5-10 minutes of my arrival. I don’t know how long she had been on the road before she was found by the driver and then myself. It can’t have been too long. The other Zach on the trip rolled up shortly after the medics arrived, and then the rest of the party came in gradually over maybe the next twenty minutes. Rob, who had been well ahead of all of us, got into cell reception in Sisters not long after and I was able to get in touch with him.
I don’t know the cause of the accident. I have no reason to believe it was motor-vehicle related - traffic on the road was sparse, and people had been respectful that day as they passed me. Perhaps an examination of her bicycle would have yielded more answers, but I did not do that, so I don’t know. Perhaps her front tire blew, or something got caught in her spokes, or she hit a rock, or looked down for a few seconds to adjust something and veered off the road. She’d been having trouble with her front rack the day before, but had fixed it.
This is all imperfect speculation.
As was her custom, she was not wearing a helmet. This is not a point for shame or judgement. We all make choices, and that was hers, and it is legitimate. Although we were all on this tour together, we were all responsible for our own well-being, and aware of that fact, and this is no different.
Katie passed away as the medics were arriving, probably some time a little before noon. An air-evac helicopter flew overhead a few times and then departed. The medics left. It was a beautiful day in a harsh, beautiful place. There was a view of the high Cascade mountains around us and the Deschutes river wound around below us. Small birds were flitting in and out of holes in the bluff right above the road. I am glad that I was there when I was, and saw what I did. I can’t imagine she knew I was there, but it feels important anyway.
Eventually, we got back on our bicycles, rode to Sisters, and departed for Portland, then home. Thank you Rob for arranging our transport, Angela for coming to get us from Sisters, and Clarissa for helping get us back from Portland to Seattle.
I cannot imagine the grief and shock that those closer to her must be dealing with. It is the saddest and most tragic thing that I have ever been a part of.
Rest in peace, Katie.
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justgarth
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 12:03 pm
Joined: 04 Apr 2011Posts: 802
Thank you, Zack. Take care of yourself. That sounds very difficult to go through.
tehschkott
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 12:36 pm
daywalkerJoined: 09 Nov 2007Posts: 6108Location: Hatertown
Thanks Zack. Couldn't be easy to put that down.
Rest easy Katie.
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axel
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 1:05 pm
Joined: 15 Feb 2013Posts: 1654Location: St Johns PDX
cross-posting for those not on Facebook:
It was supposed to be an easy day.
The Sisters to Smith Rock Scenic Bikeway is a 35-mile road ride connecting the towns of Terrebonne and Sisters in central Oregon, descending gradually and crossing the Deschutes River roughly halfway through the route at Lower Bridge Road at the Borden Beck Nature Preserve. I've ridden it many times over the years, even in years before the state designated it as a scenic bikeway, and I've always found it to be one of the most enjoyable roads anywhere. It is a beautiful place.
Travel Oregon says that "at no points are there sustained or treacherous sections that will overly challenge the novice rider".
I don't know much beyond what's been reported already or what you've read from the news.
But I'll try to tell you what I know while it's still fresh in mind.
Katie was so incredibly happy at Smith Rock, as happy as I think I'd ever seen her in the years I've known her. It was the first time she'd been there and I knew she loved it. She told me that after the trip she was going to drive back down from Seattle to spend more time there. We'd chatted about a few things at breakfast, like the terrible cars we've owned.
After breakfast, we all returned to the campground and packed up the bikes for the day's ride. I was working just a little slower than everyone else that morning and Paul and I were the last to leave the campsite. I'd assumed that relative to the rest of the riders that I was a minute or two behind and that I'd catch up on the road. As it turned out, they had all stopped for pictures at the Smith Rock day-use area or to get food in Terrebonne, so I ended up riding the route by myself.
Sometimes we travel together, but we often ride at our own pace and rarely as a full group on these trips. After less than two hours on the road, I reached the campground in Sisters shortly before 12:45 PM and saw I had messages on my phone.
Zack - 12:15 PM: "Rob,call me asap. Emergency."
I immediately called him. He let me know that Katie was deceased.
Zack was the first rider on the scene. He was riding some distance behind her and there were no witnesses to Katie's fall. The rest of the group had stopped at the site of the crash while the road was closed for investigation. We agreed that there was nothing more we could do at that moment and that we needed to regroup. Everyone would ride to Sisters and we would decide what to do from there.
After Zack and I finished our call, I decided to end the ride and get everyone else home.
I started making phone calls while I waited. I called Angela in Portland and she started driving to Sisters to pick us up. I called a local U-haul dealer in Sisters to reserve a truck to get the bicycles and camping gear back to Portland. I looked up Katie's parents on Facebook and left messages to call me so I could forward their contact information to the Sheriff's office. I also called my parents because I felt very alone waiting there and needed someone to talk to.
Zack arrived at the campground and we hugged each other. I really wanted to cry but I was feeling so worn out.
Once Joe and Tom arrived, I let them know that the plan would be to return to Portland that night. The four of us all went to get something to eat at Three Creeks Brewing while we waited for everyone else. Once Angela arrived, we picked up the truck and packed it with the bicycles and camping gear. I received a text with Katie's mom's number and left a message with the Sheriff's office. Their detective called me back as we left Sisters and informed me that they'd notified Katie's parents.
Tom ended up riding in the trunk of Angela's Subaru all the way to Salem due to us not having quite enough seating for everyone, but it worked out. As we arrived in Detroit Lake and I started getting cell reception again, I began receiving a flurry of calls and texts from those that had seen the breaking news reported by the Bend Bulletin. The story had been picked up by KOMO, The Oregonian, and The Seattle Times.
We dropped Paul off in Salem to be picked up by his father. The rest of us continued north to Portland. Clarissa met us there and transported Zack, Kale, and Zach back home to Seattle. Tom and Joe left to drive back together. Afterwards, Angela and I dropped the truck off and got a hotel room to spend the night in Portland, too tired to do much of anything else.
Right now, I am extremely grateful to everyone that helped us get back to Seattle and those that have reached out with messages of support over the last 24 hours.
I have been overwhelmed by the task of keeping my composure and getting everyone home as safely and quickly as possible. The group pulled together and has been through things that no one should have to experience.
I will miss Katie a lot.
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ride bikes
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 1:28 pm
Joined: 12 Oct 2012Posts: 1493Location: Pundercover
Zack & Rob, thanks for your detailed descriptions of yesterday's horrible affairs. I know it's super hard right now, esp. for those who were on the scene of Katie's crash. Give yourselves the time & space to heal, seek out professional help if you want / need it.
Rob, don't let this discourage you from coordinating events and leading rides in the future. Accidents happen, you can only do so much. I'd be honored to follow you over the river and through the woods on two wheels any day. And as for the news? It's up to you but remember that real journalism is now dead - I'd advise leaving it to the authorities to fill them in.
While I'm incredibly sad today, I'm proud of how you all are handling this. Do not hesitate to ask for help, you have a large community behind you that's ready & willing to offer whatever you need.
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r.w. = rainn wilson!
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now with 50 percent more EVIL
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