Ducati Monster Forum

Who was that masked bicyclist?
by Joseph Rose, The Oregonian
Monday February 09, 2009, 9:21 PM

What do we call him? Bikeman? The Pedaler? Supercycler?

Actually, it's probably premature to come up with a superhero moniker for the masked bicyclist who, according to reports on a local e-mail list, has appeared out of the darkness to help fellow two-wheelers and pedestrians in distress.

For one, we don't know whether he exists. Even so, the legend is growing on Portland-area bicycling forums.

The mystery started Sunday night, when a woman posted a message on the e-mail list of Shift, a Portland bicycling Web site, about a masked "bike phantom" who stopped to help her fix a flat on Northeast 33rd Avenue. "I didn't even get to ask, he just knew," she wrote. "I asked for his name and he just smiled."

She added that a friend told her the same rider came to his aid during a mugging. "Sounded like the same guy because he described the same all black bicycle," she wrote.

This morning, another tale emerged on the Web site. "I heard about this person from a couple who said they were escorted by the 'black biker' on the (Eastbank) Esplanade after being hassled by drunks that were hooting at the woman," posted "Alex," another Shift user. "It rang a bell because they mentioned the mask -- and said at first it was startling."

If the do-gooder does exist, Portland police don't have a file on him.

"A black mask? A bike? Helping people?" Detective Mary Wheat asked. "I've heard a lot of interesting questions this morning, but this one tops them all."

-- Joseph Rose; josephrose@news.oregonian.com