MC ride report through Chernobyl radiation zone

[bajakirch]

OK, not my ride report. But I thought of this the other day and figured some here might find it interesting reading. I stumbled across this a few years ago and wasn't sure it would even still be available on the Internet. But it looks like there was enough interest to keep it out there. Some have called it a hoax, I think it's authentic; read it and form your own opinion.

A bit longish, especially if you read part 1 & 2.

http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chapter1.html

[fishball]

I've read this before.  Good of you to post again as I had forgotten about it.

[SliverXZennon]

Wow, very cool. I would enjoy a ride like that but if you get stuck, you are so very much screwed..

[leftfield6]

Wow, amazing story.  Thanks for the link!

[Bumblebee]

That one has been around for years.

Some people who have been on the tours into that area say the pictures are common points on the tour bus routes. Note the absence of the bike in certain areas and the helmet carried in the helmet bag. The bike is never seen in the critical areas that are definitely off limits. Some of the side reports are in the surrounding country may or may not be completely restricted though mostly abandoned for who knows what reasons. Maybe it's a little of both.

IMO: Whether the ride report into the zone is real or made up with partially staged imagery, it's good reading nonetheless. The theme, plot and images tell a powerful story that should not be ignored. It shows what can happen to a people when technology goes wrong and how fragile our civilization, lives, and world really is. The World and Universe is brutal and does what it does. It has no compassion nor tolerance for those who make mistakes or for those nearby.


FWIW, at the time, I was working on a degree in physics at University and was one of the dozen main students in the physics department. My job was working in the neutron accelerator lab while all that was going on. Some of the things we heard about in terms of radiation and containment, or lack thereof, in later months...that was some serious poop going on. You really can die just from looking at the exposed core - and hovering over it at close range is even more dangerous. I remember sitting in the physics dept meeting room looking at the nearly live images when one of the professors who worked on radioactive stuff he can't talk about walked in, quietly looked at the video for a minute, calmly said "those people are all dead, they just haven't quit moving yet" and left. He was right. (IIRC, it was a graphite moderated reactor. Igniting graphite is not playing around with matches at the kids campfire. The flash point/auto ignition temperature is "not known but extremely high" and the firefighting procedure states "extinguish or contain the surrounding fire, graphite is non flammable and will not ignite" or words to that effect. They ignited the graphite. Bad stuff in the extreme)

Prometheus is not one to trifle with -- after all, he had the audacity to steal fire from Zeus. And messing with Zeus is asking for trouble.

[ariwhiteboy]

Creepy but a very good read.

[Option13]

My god. I was just thinking last night how I have to visit Chernobyl on my own. It's on my list of things to do before I die (and before it is totally reclaimed by nature). Apparently the "Red Forest" is one of the most contaminated places on earth. I'm utterly infatuated with abandoned buildings and places. How did you know what I was looking at last night??!?  

I've seen it before, but now I have to give it another read.

[SliverXZennon]

That one has been around for years.

Some people who have been on the tours into that area say the pictures are common points on the tour bus routes. Note the absence of the bike in certain areas and the helmet carried in the helmet bag. The bike is never seen in the critical areas that are definitely off limits. Some of the side reports are in the surrounding country may or may not be completely restricted though mostly abandoned for who knows what reasons. Maybe it's a little of both.

Bee...

Photos on this site are mostly mine or from my dad's archive. Few pictures were taken by other photographers. Unfortunately, I do not know the names of authors of those photos because I received them through the internet.

You are right, some aren't hers, but still an awesome mind trip either way.

[ak85lp]

Wow, amazing story.  Thanks for the link!

+1

[ariwhiteboy]

My god. I was just thinking last night how I have to visit Chernobyl on my own. It's on my list of things to do before I die

Maybe you should make sure it's one of the last things on the list...